A Day, Infamy

Stealing from Ed.

Before World War II, the US was an isolationist nation struggling through a protracted economic disaster, mostly uninterested in foreign entanglements. After this attack, America began its quick march to becoming a superpower projecting its might around the world. Pearl Harbor provided the impetus for that transformation, with a nation vowing never to be taken by surprise again — and succeeding for almost 60 years in preventing it.

Here's an interesting part of that history.

Both residential and commercial end use of electricity grew rapidly from 1941 to 1945, despite the war. Almost one-half of all farm dwellings were electrified by 1945. Growth in demand was helped by continuing technological improvements, yielding overall heat rates below 16,000 Btu per kilowatthour(13) and residential electricity price drops averaging over 2 percent a year.

Ponder that. In December of 1941, we were learning to project power, at the same time we were electrifying our country. The light switch, which we take for granted, was so unknown over so much of the nation. Reeling from economic pain, we found the burners and lit them up, and became the country who led the world from that time on.

A sleeping giant. Filled with a terrible resolve. I pray we never forget it.

posted by Dave In Texas at 08:40 PM

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