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Observations...
Nov. 3rd, 2012 10:48 pmThe devastation in the wake of hurricane Sandy and lack of response on the part of authorities (unless you call being pressured to call off a race that threatened to divert generator capacity, food, and police presence from places where homes were literally swept away by the storm a "response") suggests that most of us—particularly those who live in a metropolitan area—live a heck of a lot closer to the edge than we think. Food. Power. Heat. Sanitation. Law... All of it hangs by a pretty slender thread.
Heck, things could get tough even even in a place like Pagosa Springs, where I recall hearing the manager of the local supermarket confidently explain how food is supplied to the store using the "just in time" principle. And while there are a number of advantages to minimizing stock on hand (meat and produce can be fresher, energy costs associated with storage are reduced, etc.) events like Sandy point out one critical point of potential failure: highways must remain passable.
Part of the problem may be attributable to the dulled sense of urgency that good times bring. Back in the the 1950s, the East Coast got hammered by several Category 3 hurricanes, including Donna in 1960 (which I have fragmentary memories of, as it passed by). Then the weather got relatively quiet, hurricane-wise, and if any ideas were floated to, for example, create structures to prevent the flooding of the subways in the event of a storm surge, they certainly never saw the light of day.
Heck, things could get tough even even in a place like Pagosa Springs, where I recall hearing the manager of the local supermarket confidently explain how food is supplied to the store using the "just in time" principle. And while there are a number of advantages to minimizing stock on hand (meat and produce can be fresher, energy costs associated with storage are reduced, etc.) events like Sandy point out one critical point of potential failure: highways must remain passable.
Part of the problem may be attributable to the dulled sense of urgency that good times bring. Back in the the 1950s, the East Coast got hammered by several Category 3 hurricanes, including Donna in 1960 (which I have fragmentary memories of, as it passed by). Then the weather got relatively quiet, hurricane-wise, and if any ideas were floated to, for example, create structures to prevent the flooding of the subways in the event of a storm surge, they certainly never saw the light of day.
