Rolling Blackouts

1. Blackouts

I was making the final adjustments to my vacation schedule the other night when it happened. The lights went out, the wifi internet stopped working, and the music that usually plays every night in the street went silent. What was strange was that it would happen at around the same time every night; the power would go out for about fifteen minutes starting at eight o'clock, come back on for another fifteen minutes, go out again for half hour, and then remain on for the rest of the night. For some reason, however, I had connected the power outages with the construction that had been going on.

In hindsight, it should have been obvious that wasn't the case since they usually stop construction work around seven, but it never occurred to me that the power company would just choose certain parts of the city to not have power for a specific period of time. I talked to Dipesh about it, and he told me that they were called rolling blackouts. I had heard of the term before, but I wasn't familiar with the actual meaning of it, nor had I connected it with what was happening.

In America, we take for granted that, so long as we pay our electric bill, any time we flip a switch there will be light. But this was the first time that I had actually experienced the fact that electricity, as with other forms of energy, is finite and has to be measured out. We understand this in America - that we need oil for cars, coal and other catalysts in the creation of energy, but there is enough energy in America so that it is always available. For now, at least.

This night in particular, I was making final preparations for my vacation to Los Angeles to be with David. The plan was that we would stay at his parents' house for the month of August, except I would fly home at some point for the week. The power had turned back on when I got the message.

"Marcus, I have some bad news."
"What is it, David?"

lights go out, internet dies.

"Shit."
"What is it?" Dipesh asked.
"David has some bad news."

We waited for fifteen minutes. The lights came back on, and after a few minutes, the internet started working on my computer again.

"What is it, David?"
"We can't stay at my house for August."
"What do you mean?"

lights go out, internet dies.

"Damn it!"
"What?" Dipesh asked.
"We can't stay at David's parents' house. I don't have the money to stay anywhere else."
"These blackouts seem more frequent tonight. I wonder why."

We waited for half an hour. I lazily pick up a cigarette and light up. I know it's a terrible habit, but fortunately, the stress is only here, in Morocco, so I will stop when I return to America. Finally, the lights came back on, and the internet started to work again.

"What do you mean we can't stay at your parents' house? An extended motel would end up costing us another 2000.00 dollars."
"I know, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do? You aren't mad at me, are you?"

lights go out, internet dies.

"Oh damn it!"

I know that there are numerous sources of renewable energy - wind, solar, hydro - but so far, none of these energies are taking off in America. It is only now that the country is doing anything serious about mileage standards on vehicles. Apparently, most Americans seem to equate the fact that we have a responsibility to not destroy the earth and keep it habitable with socialism. I bet that if rolling blackouts were to return, we would find a huge market for these other energies within moments. The lights came back on, as did the internet.

"No, of course I'm not mad at you."
"Are you sure?"

I began to type.

"No, it's just that we're having rolling blackouts, so I don't know when-

Lights go out, internet dies.

"..."
"You're simply accepting it now?"
"May as well."
"You do realize that you've lit up a cigarette about every time the internet went down, right?"
"Shut up, Dipesh."

By this time, the brief exchange that should have taken about five minutes has gone over the course of over an hour. A friend, Princess Leia, once gave me a piece of advice; no matter what else life throws at us in America, we'll always be content with the fact that it's not happening in Morocco. It's true, I can no longer think of anything that could happen in America that would make me very frustrated. Traffic jam? Meh, I was driving too fast anyway. Long line at the grocery? I'm just glad they know how to make lines and go in turn. Taxes? That means I get to use the interstate, the library, the police, the firemen, and the EMTs. The lights come back on and the internet works.

"I'm sorry, there are blackouts."
"I have great news! I talked with a friend and you can stay with her."
"That's great. Okay. I'll talk to you later. Bye."
"Bye."

I turn off my computer and stare at the wall. I shuddered to think about what would happen to the developed world if, heaven forbid, an electromagnetic pulse were to erupt from a nearby supernova that would cause electronic devices to fail. Much of the developing world would be able to get along just fine, but as for America, Europe, and the rest of the developed world, most of our lives are dictated by electronic devices. All of our money is electronic, placed in banks, stocks, and other bytes of information that float around. If the power went out, we'd be left with basically nothing. And our farms are based on electronic devices now, except for small family farms. It would be so disastrous for us if that were to happen. I think I am going to reread my old boy scout manual at some point to refresh myself, and perhaps look into properties where I can learn to grow my own vegetables.

You know, just in case.