Chemical emergency. Dam Failure. Earthquake. Fire. Flood. Hazardous Material emergency. Heat emergency. Hurricane. Landslide. Nuclear emergency. Terrorism. Thunderstorm. Tornado. Tsunami. Volcano. Wildfire. Winter Storm. A scary list, but it's too late for Halloween, so what is it?

It's a list of types of disasters on the FEMA website, disasters they plan for in their mission to "reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters." But what happens when the disaster is not a hundred-year storm, but instead the intersection of ordinary winter weather, a struggling economy, and depleted energy supplies? When it's not just one region or city in a state of emergency, but households across the colder parts of the United States facing what the EIA estimates will be a 15% increase in heating expenditures over last year compounded by ever-rising unemployment?

It's probably not fair to expect FEMA to have a plan for such a large-scale, systemic, and essentially predictable problem. They specialize in responding to sudden, dramatic disaster, like a hurricane or a blizzard. Other, less high-profile federal programs, like LIHEAP, are more applicable to the troubles that will face countless families this winter. However, since it is at the local level that energy emergencies will be experienced and are starting to be felt, maybe it's at the local and state level that emergency preparations should be made?

"On Oct. 25, the last day of the annual conference of the Alaska Federation of Natives, the organization passed a resolution requesting that the state and federal governments declare a state of emergency for rural villages. AFN lists energy costs, lack of public safety and lack of economic opportunities among the reasons that rural Alaska is suffering. As a result, communities are losing residents at an unprecedented pace as they leave the villages for towns, and leave towns for cities." Indian Country Today

Last month, the National Association of State Energy Officials held a Winter Fuels Conference. Seems like that would be a likely place to talk about plans for ensuring the safety of citizens in the case of energy costs that might make home heating prohibitive. But like the state energy emergency plans I found in recent research, it looks to me like most of the speakers at the conference who talked about potential emergencies talked about supply disruption, rather than energy poverty.

Supply disruption can be a big deal, as Juneau, Alaska learned back in May, when their electricity rates increased hugely due to supply disruption and they cut their electricity use by 30%. Suppose that had been in January?

As the Alaska Federation of Natives resolution points out, rural Alaska is a particularly good bellwether for energy poverty because energy prices can be so dramatically different between urban and rural areas there. And because of the tremendous cold. In a well-insulated house in many parts of the lower 48, hardy people with sweaters could do ok without heat -- they wouldn't be comfortable, but their survival wouldn't be threatened. In Alaska, it would be foolhardy to attempt same.

Stephanie Scott, the Energy and Sustainability Coordinator of Haines Borough, Alaska, reports that the Haines Energy and Sustainability Commission and the Haines Emergency Local Planning Committee have been working to cobble together a systematic response to potential crises. "Energy Shortages" has been added to the Haines Borough Emergency Operations Guide, including recommendations for community assessments that could be undertaken anywhere: "Are there facilities in the area that should be evacuated, closed or provided with alternative energy sources?" "Inventory auxiliary power equipment by KW rating and determine the fuel supplies" "Identify areas for emergency shelters, if needed." The Commission is also working on policies meant to "save energy in a hurry"¹.

Unfortunately, in my aforementioned search for energy emergency plans, I failed to find any other, similar plans at the local level. Perhaps our readers can help here? Do you know of any city or town with plans in place for dealing with energy emergencies, especially those that coincide with winter?

The cold of winter is one deadly reality that our temporary energy wealth has shielded us from -- for so long that, as individuals and as a society, we are unprepared to deal with it without that shield. It's November, and the wind is blowing. It is up to communities to ensure that all of their members are kept warm through the cold times.

1. ^ Useful texts for such a project from the International Energy Agency: Saving Oil in a Hurry and Saving Electricity in a Hurry.

Photo credits:
Heather Watts
Ian BC North