http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irene-could-leave-many-apf-2011674395.html?x=0
America:doesn't want to maintain anything, especially foreseeable stuff.
More importantly, we don't want to develop new infrastructure. Like say, resonance induction technology that could replace high-tension power lines with individual transmitter towers and magnetic fields. The towers could be built to retract/collapse ahead of a storm, so that you have planned outages, but then after the danger passes, you pop up all the towers back up and voila...you're up and running.
But that would be expensive. And if there's one thing we've all learned about America, it's that we're a nation of cheapskates who want as much as as possible for as cheap as possible, and will gladly pay 50 cents every day for 50 years rather than pay 10 bucks up front and never pay again.
I don't understand this anger (from either of you)... It was a huge freaking storm. The workers are out restoring power as fast as they can... as stated in the article.
"resonance induction technology" -- are you serious? Do you know how much wasted power there is involved in this? Do you know how that will impact so many households between towers? Your speakers would blow out of their cases and you'd probably develop cancers from all the radiation. Do you realize how big these coils would have to be? It's not a simple matter of pop-up towers or expense.... I don't even... ugh.
The only thing I can think of that would be even slightly "anger" inducing is that most of the power lines are not buried. Some of them cannot be, but a greater majority can with today's technology levels.
It isn't the response, it's the planning or inadequacy thereof from the planners.
Yes, it was a big storm, a hurricane, which we can foresee. We know we get them regularly along the Atlantic/Gulf and we know sometimes they are big storms, but we don't plan adequately.
The gripe isn't about the crews working or performance; it's that someone didn't hire enough crewmen. We need more than the "let's cut costs" skeleton crews. Yes this costs money; yes they should pay it, however it needs to be paid. Hire, more, utility workers, so we can get things up and running quicker. Also trim more tree branches that are in danger of falling on power lines.
The issue is maintenance, no one wants to properly fund and pay for it. People have taken the eight letters in "overhead" and condensed them into a four letter curse word no one wants to deal with. We then have the audacity to wonder why nothing gets done/nothing works....
The repair crews are understaffed. The maintenance is underfunded and underdone as a result.
The solution is to hire and retain more skilled utility workers and do more tree trimming of branches over power lines.
No one does this, because no one wants to pay for it or anything else.... Most Americans are cheap bastards (and yes I am American). I don't care if its done through increased utility bills or taxation, but we need to pay for things. You don't get something for nothing and there is no such thing as a free lunch. "But I don't wanna pay for anything," is not a valid reason and people should be forced to pay because it isn't acceptable to let the country rot: electric power grid, roads, bridges, etc. Somehow we are. <---- This is the larger issue here, proper infrastructure care, or its lack.
Same thing goes for our pothole infested roads and failing bridges:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge. Most of our roads were built when, 50? 60 years ago? Many of them need major repairs. Our bridges aren't receiving passing grades. The ones in Cleveland suck horridly and we had to move the I 90 bridge into downtown 7 inches to avoid collapsing it.
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/ClevelandUrbanCoreProjects/Innerbelt/Pages/default.aspx They are finally doing something because the engineering reports were atrocious....
This is not just me saying this; this is real and the experts agree:
http://www.dcnonl.com/article/id32356