The New York Times, "Providing Electricity When the Power Fails"

          June 1 was the official start of the hurricane season. And while for most people, the event probably passed unnoticed, it was the signal for home centers and hardware stores to roll out their supplies of emergency backup generators.
          Because portable generators create carbon monoxide, they can also be dangerous to owners. Ken Giles, a spokesman for the Consumer Products Safety Commission in Washington, said that running a generator in a safe location outdoors is critical. ''People put them in basements, in attached garages and just outside their kitchen window,'' he said. ''And all of those options are hazardous.''
           Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, so a homeowner might not realize that the deadly gas is seeping into the house until it is too late. ''We found out you could get fatal blood levels from carbon monoxide in as little as 30 minutes,'' he said, adding that 36 people died last year as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators.