Posted on 10/29/2019 7:53:29 AM PDT by karpov
California is staying true to its reputation as the land of innovation it is making blackouts, heretofore the signature of impoverished and war-torn lands, a routine feature of 21st-century American life.
More than 2 million people are going without power in Northern and Central California, in the latest and biggest of the intentional blackouts that are, astonishingly, Californias best answer to the risk of runaway wildfires.
Power and all the goods it makes possible is synonymous with modern civilization. It shouldnt be a negotiable for anyone living in a well-functioning society, or even in California, which, despite its stupendous wealth and natural splendor, has blighted itself over the decades with misgovernance and misplaced priorities.
The same California that has been the seedbed of world-famous companies that make it possible for people to send widely viewed short missives of 280 characters or less, and share and like images of grumpy cats, isnt doing so well at keeping the lights on.
The same California that has boldly committed to transitioning to 50 percent renewable energy by 2025 and 100 percent renewable energy by 2045 cant manage its existing energy infrastructure.
The same California that has pushed its electricity rates to the highest in the contiguous United States through its mandates and regulations doesnt provide continuous access to that overpriced electricity.
California governor Gavin Newsom, who has to try to evade responsibility for this debacle while presiding over it, blames dog-eat-dog capitalism for the states current crisis. It sounds like hes referring to robber barons who have descended on the state to suck it dry of profits while burning it to the ground. But Newsom is talking about one of the most regulated industries in the state namely Californias energy utilities
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Secretary of the Interior...===
Bruce Babbitt
“As someone living in California I am coming to believe that these power outages are being used as a political weapon.”
Pet theory: forcing people to turn to local renewable energy sourcing.
Were I in CA and not inclined to leave, I’d be installing 100% solar/battery last week. I’m no “environmentalist” (though conservationist inclinations), but more practical survivalist: if the grid is proven unreliable, absolutely must get own power/etc generation ability.
Likewise, I expect a very large number of current & prospective homeowners soon clamoring for home or local solar/wind/nuke/hydro/etc power sourcing. I’ve long wished it a social norm (like mortgages) that homes have at least a minimal baseline electric generation, if not practically >100%. Water collection & storage should be considered likewise.
Whatever the reasoning & sociopolitical preferences, upshot is a LOT of people will be moving to renewable energy systems, or moving into urban areas where power distribution is more manageable & less risky ... exactly what Green New Deal types want.
So the viable plan could deliberately be:
- wait for inevitable/periodic wildfire season
- sue non-”green” power company for crippling damages
- power co. fights back via tactical blackouts
- population at large faces existential risk from blackouts, turns to home solar/wind power capture.
Greenies make progress against fossil-fuel-based power companies.
Financiers make a killing in renewable energy sales.
Not an unreasonable plan for those interested in such results.
Investment bank portfolios are sure to include large monopoly utility combines such as PG&E and believe me they can pressure the PG&E boardroom to maximize profits and stock returns by cutting maintenance. The banks control the planet as we know. They should be personally held responsible for the costs of this fire.
Go to YouTube and log onto the X22 Report. Best analysis of anti-Trump initiatives out there.
X22 Report
Wait until the rains and ensuing mudslides come, then they'll double down and blame PG&E for that as well.
OUrs went out again at 4 am (Tuesday) for the fifth or sixth time now...Came back from town this afternoon and saw plumes of smoke coming from our neck of the woods. Yup, wildfire less than a mile from our property. Air tankers were brought to bear quickly, knocking this thing down and keeping it to about ten acres. Very close this time. The wind was coming from the north and east so it was pushing the fire away from us, (thankfully)...Everyone on alert. The GMRS radios kept the neighborhood area appraised of the situation. Everyone is dark of course. Generators hum in the distance this evening. We participated in the weekly net...more people than in the past few weeks felt the need to check in...
Down in town today, a couple of different folks were wanting to purchase the 9K watt generator, but none to be had. Nex shipment Thursday. Wait in line for a ticket to maybe get a chance to purchase one. Last shipment was a whole truck full and sold out in a couple of hours.
We are holding off on another generator. We have a fridge and stove with the RV...Just no water because the well uses electricity. RV is filled with water and when the electricity comes back on we shower, run the dishwasher, etc... I do have a hand pump on the well, so we do have water when needed. Not the greatest system, but it works.
The radios keep the neighborhood informed of what’s happening. Folks listen to the fire frequencies and pass along the information. We actually had two fire incidents nearby today. The first one was dealt with quickly.
Its pins an needles until the rains come. Looks like the next wind event will be sometime later next week?
Run across people and ask..do you have power? No... Folks getting tired of it all, but really don’t know the answer. Yeah, there is plenty of blame to go around, but pointing fingers ain’t going to get anything fixed and us regular citizens have no power. The city folks in the Bay Area get their juice back on quickly or don’t have it turned off period. Us rural folks have it turned on first and restored last. Just the way it is...We can handle it though. Tough folks up here. We just pull up our britches and get along with our day.
PG and E says it will be this way for the next ten years as it will take that long to fix the problems with the infrastruture...Maybe I do need to invest in a bigger generator, eh?! What time is the truck coming?
Liberals took a perfectly good state, and destroyed it.
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