Tuesday, February 28, 2012

State-level catastrophe planning

After hearing from Ceredwyn about Vermont's rethinking disaster planning after Katrina (2011), it was interesting to see this story about Wyoming taking things one step further.

House Bill 85 ... would create a state-run government continuity task force, which would study and prepare Wyoming for potential catastrophes, from disruptions in food and energy supplies to a complete meltdown of the federal government.
Doomed?
More:
The task force would look at the feasibility of Wyoming issuing its own alternative currency, if needed. 
And much more awesome:
House members approved an amendment Friday by state Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, to have the task force also examine conditions under which Wyoming would need to implement its own military draft, raise a standing army, and acquire strike aircraft and an aircraft carrier.
Interesting framing from its creator, balancing caution and concern:
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. David Miller, R-Riverton, has said he doesn’t anticipate any major crises hitting America anytime soon. But with the national debt exceeding $15 trillion and protest movements growing around the country, Miller said Wyoming — which has a comparatively good economy and sound state finances — needs to make sure it’s protected should any unexpected emergency hit the U.S.
I wonder if that kind of language will be handy for talking about resilience, peak oil, etc. to a general crowd.

2 comments:

Alison said...

RE: aircraft carriers - Wyoming knows it's a landlocked state, right?

Bryan Alexander said...

Sssshhhh. Don't tell them. It'll ruin the surprise.