The takedown of the Puerto Rican power grid by Hurricane Irma will, we hope, provide a teaching moment.  The United States power grid is vulnerable, and the consequences of a widespread failure, especially if lengthy, will be a disaster of monumental proportions.  This should not be a new realization.  Serious analysts such as the Foundation for Resilient Societies and the EMP Commission have been warning us for a long time.  The warnings have been ignored or even actively opposed by the electric power industry. America's electric grid can be brought down by sabotage or by natural forces, such as the hurricane in Puerto Rico.  Hurricanes have limited geographic scope, but solar storms can affect the entire country.  As was shown by the Puerto Rican experience, without electricity, credit and debit cards don't work.  Cash becomes king.  Without electricity, communications become dubious. Among natural threats to the electric grid,...(Read Full Article)