Benjamin Dancer's Blog, page 3
November 13, 2016
Are Large Transformers A Threat to National Security?
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) assessed the vulnerability of the large power transformers of the U.S. power grid and identified the vulnerability of the transformers as a major national security concern. I'm including this report in my blog because the vulnerability of our transformers is a crucial aspect of the realistic mechanism of destruction depicted in my thriller Patriarch Run. You can learn more about this national security threat in my Discussion Guide.
The video above gives a go...
November 6, 2016
Stress R Us
I recently met Greeley Miklashek, MD, psychiatrist and author of Stress R Us. What you'll find below is his essay, which correlates population density to human stress, mental health and infertility. I'm including this guest post on my blog because I think it is interesting and invites conversation.The views in this post belong to Miklashek. They are not my own. You can let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Stress R Us
By Greeley Miklashek, MD
gmiklashek950@gmail.com
Stuart Hurlbe...
October 27, 2016
Executive Order to Prepare Nation for Space Weather Events
President Obama acknowledged the existential threat our vulnerable power grid poses to our civilization on October 13, 2016, by signing an Executive Order to prepare the Nation for space weather events. This is significant to me because I finished the first draft of my thriller Patriarch Run,which highlights the vulnerability of the grid in realistic and accurate detail, in 2010. At that time, people simply weren't taking the threat to the grid seriously. They are now!
If you want to learn mor...
October 24, 2016
National Intelligence Council Reports on Threats to the Grid
The societal catastrophe that would result if the grid went down was once dismissed by many as a concern of conspiracy theorists. Those days are ending as a growing number of authoritative sources have acknowledged the threat in an official capacity.(I've also written about this topic in my Discussion Guide.)
For example, the U.S. government recently recognized several threats to the grid. The National Intelligence Council (NIC) discussed these threats in a 2012 report. The NIC is a little rec...
October 16, 2016
World's Most Dangerous Computer Virus
This BBC Documentary suggests that the Blaster worm caused the largest blackout in North American history: 50 million people without power,$6 billion in damage. The documentary also makes the case that it would be easy to shut down the entire gird with a cyberattack.
If you'd like to learn how it is your life and the life of everyone you love is dependent on reliable, widely-available electrical power, you can go to my Discussion Guide. You can also read my thriller Patriarch Run.
October 10, 2016
Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere (MAHB) At Stanford University Posts About Patriarch Run
I thought this was really cool. Stanford University's Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere (MAHB) published a nice write up of the sustainability activities I'm involved in with the release of my eco-thriller Patriarch Run. I'm also working with a number national security NGOs. That work isn't reflected in this post.
Author Uses Eco-Thriller to Raise Awareness about Population Growth
Colorado author Benjamin Dancer wrote a “a hard-shooting kick of a thriller” to raise awarenes...
Stanford University Posts About My Eco-Thriller Patriarch Run
I thought this was really cool. Stanford University's Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere (MAHB) published a nice write up of the sustainability activities I'm involved in with the release of my eco-thriller Patriarch Run. I'm also working with a number national security NGOs. That work isn't reflected in this post.
Author Uses Eco-Thriller to Raise Awareness about Population Growth Colorado author Benjamin Dancer wrote a “a hard-shooting kick of a thriller” to raise awarenes...
October 4, 2016
Patriarch Run is out Today!
You can learn more at: BenjaminDancer.com
and
amazon.com/Patriarch-Run-Benjamin-Dan...
About the book:
Nine years ago, Jack Erikson was deployed to China to protect the United States from a cyberattack. Now, suffering from a drug-induced amnesia, he is unable to recognize his own son. What Jack knows for sure is that an elite group of operators is determined to kill him.
What he does not yet remember is that he controls a cyber weapon powerful enough to return human civilization to the Stone Age. If Jack lives long enough to piece together his mission and his identity, he will be forced to choose between the fate of humankind and that of his own family.
October 2, 2016
Blackout Wars
I want to introduce you to one of the most authoritative sources on the vulnerability of our critical infrastructure, Blackout Wars. In the interest of full disclosure, I also need to offer a little of my background with the author. I met Dr. Peter Vincent Pry a few years ago when I asked him to factcheck an article I published on the vulnerability of the grid. After which, Dr. Pry also vetted the description I wrote of America's vulnerability to attack in my thriller Patriarch Run.I was extr...
September 26, 2016
Japan Sees Shrinking Population as a Good Thing
The more I think about population growth the more worried I become. I wrote my novel Patriarch Run, in part, as a therapeutic release for this anxiety. However, all the activity in the lead up to the October 4 release of the thriller has given me some peace of mind. For example, I recently received an amazing email from John Seager, President and CEO of Population Connection. John cited some facts in his email that were really uplifting and concluded:
...the facts demonstrate that we’ve made m...
