Friday, April 20, 2012

Absurd David Chalk Smart Grid Security Talk

I know I tend to respond, Pavlovian dog style, when awful stuff like this pops up, but I can't help it. Perhaps you've seen THIS already, as Jesse Berst wrote a post around it on his widely read SmartGridNews site.

Purported Canadian security expert David Chalk is saying to anyone who will listen (and that's a lot of people) that there's a "100% certainty of catastrophic failure of the energy grid within 3 years."

Chalk's eight-minute, Smart Grid snuff film has all the requisite apocalyptic theatrics of a political attack ad. It shows light bulbs exploding in slow motion, shaky images of the 2007 DHS Aurora attack demonstration already posted on Youtube (HERE again if you like), and the following "Smart Grid Facts":

  • Completely Hackable
  • Bills Going Up
  • Privacy cost
  • Health Issues
  • Fires
  • Democracy Gone?

Beyond Chalk and the apparently unhinged Citizens for Safe Technology, not sure who benefits from this craziness. But it seems to be another odd thing for the media to shine a light on, attract moths and eyeballs, and spur less-than-lucid conversation.

The video concludes with a message that solar power is the one proven path to the world's energy salvation and away from the sure perils of the Smart Grid. As SGSB readers and many others already know, the current grid isn't well suited to handle large amounts of intermittent cleantech power.

Since one of the drivers for deploying Smart Grid tech is to allow wider use of wind and solar, Chalk and fellow film-makers, please figure out what you want. And please do so in private.