[geeks] power (was Mr. Bill)

[Jonathan Katz]

I wrote the following letter to the editor (unpublished) right as  
Ike's remnants were hitting Indianapolis (leaving almost 400,000  
people in Indiana without power.)

Gustav, Ike, Katrina and several nameless tornadoes around central  
Indiana all reek havoc on hard-working citizens and businesses alike.  
Heart-breaking tales of lost homes, cherished possessions and injured  
loved-ones break hearts and evoke strong emotions. In the midst of all  
this tragedy I began to wonder about a practical and mundane matter;  
electricity. We have overhead power lines across much of the United  
States, and as we've seen they're extremely vulnerable to the elements  
and even an errant motorist. Given we've had about a century to  
perfect electric generation and transmission in this country why can't  
we bury power lines to ensure continuous operation in times of peril?  
The cost of constant repairs after storms should balance the cost on  
the burial and management of the cables. Additionally, continual  
electrical service will enable water treatment plants, gas stations,  
and other essentials key to modern living to continue operations  
throughout disasters. Why can't this vulnerability in our  
infrastructure be fixed?