The steps of the solution are listed in detail on the Start Here! webpage. What follows is an overview of the three main parts of our solution, and then an explanation of its benefits and strengths.
A brief overview
All three parts of our approach are necessary. Doing one out of the three isn’t enough without the other two.
Preparation. Once people are convinced that the threat is real and that the government at this time cannot protect everyone, people are urged to do preparation to survive 3-6 months. We estimate that this is only $300-400 per person in most cases, and we want people to think of it as insurance. Purchasing these supplies and a few key pieces of equipment is much cheaper than all the major forms of insurance that people buy — and it’s a one-time expense!
Part of preparation is also knowing some key information. For instance, once you are sure that it’s not just a normal power outage, it will be crucial to organize block-by-block with the people around you for mutual protection.
Those who absolutely cannot afford any preparation are asked to spend more time informing others and doing advocacy — other people and local government eventually become part of their safety net.
Informing some of the people that you care about, and eventually supporting them to inform others. The timing of this step is critical. We ask that people only spend a few hours to do the most critical preparation, and then begin to tell others. Then they can return to preparation after people have been notified. The sooner that people tell close friends and out-of-town family, the sooner the chain reaction takes off and spreads across the country.
It’s critical to support people and help them move forward. Your conversations and communications should be short and targeted. You should find out if they are moving forward or stuck. Then if they become stuck, help them overcome the obstacle, using resources from the website. There’s no need for you to explain or persuade, when videos can do this for you. Just offer personal encouragement to take action, and then to pass this on to people in their network.
To keep this from being too much, focus on no more than seven people at a time. If someone makes a firm decision to do nothing, you can explore their reasons, but ultimately it’s not your job to pressure them.
Advocacy with local, state and national government and with other organizations. These will be brief phone calls, emails or Facebook/Twitter campaigns. There are several key actions that government must eventually take. In general they fall into three categories:
Actions that will lead to a ready-to-go rescue and recovery plan
Better regulation of the electric utilities so that they better protect the grid
Actions that decrease our vulnerability.
We know that many people have doubts about getting government to act quickly. But since everyone is affected by this problem, and since it’s urgent, it will be much easier to get critical mass. We say “Raindrops make rivers, and you can’t argue with a river.” We expect rapid change, beginning at the local level.
While government is the main target of our advocacy, other organizations such as businesses and nonprofits have a huge stake in having a secure grid. Most will be powerful allies.
Benefits and advantages
The major benefits are pivotal: 1) This plan protects the entire population of both countries. 2) It’s the fastest way that all the people can be protected. 3) It’s affordable for all, in terms of both time and money. Those who can’t even borrow $300 can spend more time telling others and doing advocacy. 4) Emotionally, it’s much less stressful and intimidating than the way most people find out about the grid problem. By making it a project that takes roughly 15 hours, people can see that there’s an end to this project.
There are several indirect benefits that are worth mentioning:
- It will raise people’s self esteem to the extent that they learn how to protect themselves, and to the extend that they demonstrate caring for others.
- If the chain reaction succeeds, it will boost the self-esteem and self-image of the nation. Americans won’t think of themselves as spoiled or weak, since they quickly mobilized. People won’t be so easily terrorized. Less fear may in turn lead to wiser policy decisions.
- The $300-$400 spending per person will cause a small boost to the economy.
- Because people don’t all find out about this at once, there’s a much lower chance that there will be shortages of bulk food and key equipment. As the number of participants keep doubling, businesses will be able to predict and meet demand without a spike in prices.
- As mentioned earlier, preparing for a grid collapse prepares you for all major disasters.
- If the “raindrops makes rivers” approach to political action works, it can become the template for other issues that affect a majority of the population.
Now, read about inadequate solutions if you haven’t read that page yet. If you have, then go on to the next step, commitment, to learn about staying motivated as you prepare and tell others.