Blackouts and tragedies

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/15/national/main568422.shtml
I know this was only a small part of our discussion last Thursday but it still boggles my mind. I did some research on it and found out that it was the largest ever blackout recorded in United States. Roughly 50 million people were affected and without use of power over night, including massive cites such as NYC, Hartford, Detroit, Toronto, amongst others. Some areas such as Cleveland didn’t even receive water during the period, affecting 1.5 million people. In the cities people couldn’t use Subway stations or enjoy the large advertisements surrounding the Times Square buildings, revenues were at losses, and old people were dying of heat due to no AC. The stock market, which was done on electrical boards at the time wasn’t able to perform up to par. What im trying to say is that electricity is a major factor in our country now.
More important than discussing the details of the blackout, I wanted to bring up how much we have relied on electricity since the creation of it. Electricity has turned around the way we communicate and it continues to advance! Starting with the Telegraph in 1844 all the way to present day with instruments such as Skype and the internet, communication has not only be easier to do, but it is something we depend on. Take WW1 for example, this was the first time that we used telegraphs to talk amongst each other. This saved us time from rewriting documents and leaving evidence.