One More Time!
One More Time!
As this is working its way through cyber space, over five days have passed since Irene took aim at the East Coast of the USA - and scored a direct hit! Not exactly news to any of you, but it is only the tip of the post storm coverage. What is truly devastating is the series of TV pictures that have transfixed millions of viewers with actual camera recordings of homes unfit for human occupancy, flooding that reached record levels, and scenes of desperation as the many who suffered the 'hit' give vent to their feelings of hopelessness.
Those of us fortunate to be TV viewers and not victims of Irene's power, can only give thanks that they are not in front of the cameras recording the disaster. So much is said about the force of nature and the inability of authorities to do more than provide emergency assistance, and possibly some compensation through insurance and government aid via FEMA, that we sit back and overlook the actions that can be taken to ameliorate the endless sequence of national disasters that we face.
Specifically, ViewPoint returns to a plea first broached over 5 years ago when a ViewPoint column was sent to President Obama urging him to use government dollars and industry pressures to jointly begin a program of burying all power lines strung on poles throughout the USA. We used the Eisenhower years in office to recall the massive program of high speed intercity roads that laced the then 48 states into a network of safety and security previously non-existant! It was only when President Eisenhower, with his military background, was able to convince the Congress and other authorities of the inability of this country to move troops and vehicles from one point to another with ease, that the security factor took hold, and funds were appropriated. Imagine, if you can, the state of our armed forces were it not for that action in today's world!
President Obama responded with a polite (form) letter thanking me for my interest in the conditions resulting from downed power lines every time a storm took a toll of electric power in countless homes in the hard hit areas. It was indicated that the information would be passed along (to whom?) - and nothing further was indicated.
Now, for the umpteen times since that letter was read we can only guess at the number of poles toppled, the number of homes without electricity for unmeasured days, the overall cost of everything from replacing spoiled food in homes and restaurants, to the high cost of trained crews patching together a broken network of a power grid that is the lifeline for virtually all of America!
Today, five days after Irene left, almost a half million homes are still without power. Originally the number was in the millions, and the energy industry was working at full speed to bring these millions back to life. Is this a way to continue forever? The estimated cost of Irene's overall damage is over 12 Billions. Add this to all the previous costs of system failures, such as power, or flood dikes, or any man made attempt to harness nature may be 'cheap' by comparison to the annual, semi-annual, and other terms, disasters wrought by Mother Nature!
So, it is wrong to say that there's nothing we can do. There is something. Call or write your Representative in Congress, your Senator, The President. Make it known that you believe that preventative action is possible and the cost will be absorbed as was the immense cost of building the highway network many years ago.
We have said it before\. We headed this Blog "One More Time! Maybe, just maybe, it can be the last time.
Richard Carlton
September 1, 2011
Issue No. 19
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