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The state of California, rich in natural resources and opportunity, is a disaster zone in crisis.
California has been run by Democrats for years, and while Governor Gavin Newsom and other similarly minded leaders like Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti continue to posture and preen about social justice and coronavirus masks, the state’s energy infrastructure has been collapsing. It’s been 17 years since Gray Davis saw himself recalled for his mismanagement of California, which included “rolling blackouts.” The energy situation in California has not been improved much at all. One of the state’s utility companies, Pacific Gas & Electric, pleaded guilty to causing a massive wildfire in 2018 that resulted in 84 deaths. And yet, all they got was a fine. No one is ever held truly accountable in California, so long as you have enough money to keep covering things up.
As a result, California is a wreck. Shunning of controlled burns to prevent forest fires has created a tinderbox instead. It’s only been recently that controlled burns have been embraced again. Wildfires are consuming the Sierra National Forest, and over 200 people out camping for Labor Day weekend were evacuated out of the area in a coordinated effort by the National Guard and local first responders. Those trying to fight the fire are also fighting a terrible heat wave.
With all of these hits to the system, the state’s power grid isn’t able to support those who have paid to use it. But never fear! The leaders of the state have a solution! Just use LESS POWER, everyone!
If that isn’t leadership, then I don’t know what is! It’s so simple, it’s brilliant! Of course people should just turn off everything in their homes, raise their thermostats to 78 degrees, and sit in the dark in a state still under a COVID lockdown! California went under a “Flex Alert” Sunday afternoon that was to last into the night, asking people to do just that, during a heat wave that reached 121 degrees in places, potentially killing a hiker. If the results weren’t so deadly, the Democrat leadership in the state would be the country’s biggest joke.
We pay some of the highest taxes in the nation, and what we receive for those tax dollars are riots condoned by the city, and an insufficient energy grid to deal with the super-unpredictable fact that it gets f***ing hot in summer in CA https://t.co/4vzmfuZLJ6
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 7, 2020
You know how bad it got? California actually asked the federal government for help. The state’s Independent Systems Operator, which operates most of the power grid, first put out the “Flex Alert” and then asked the Department of Energy for a boost. And they got the help they needed.
This is leadership. @recallgavin2020 https://t.co/0VWOArQ4ao
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) September 7, 2020
This resulted in California managing to avoid rolling blackouts, thankfully. This is not about people’s comfort levels. This is about survival.
But notice that last line in the Department of Energy’s Twitter announcement of federal assistance.
While the Secretary has offered this emergency assistance to California in this time of crisis, he also encourages state policymakers to evaluate why the grid is not able to handle extreme stress, which could be alleviated with the support of greater baseload power generation and natural gas supply.”
Wouldn’t that be a novel concept? Maybe California should shore up their power grid instead of going green and then running short, then buying energy from other states and STILL running short, all while making plans to shutter nuclear power plants with no plans for replacement.
So yes, California is due for a reckoning on their failures when it comes to forest management and the power grid. And yet, every time an election rolls around, the Democrats are still in control, kicking that can even further down the road. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi was trying to help Gavin Newsom out by putting at least $14 billion of bailout money into the next COVID relief bill, so that he can keep state spending up. It’s one thing for the feds to step in for emergency power assistance. It’s another for California – or any other state – to put their hand out for taxpayer money in order to fill the holes in their budget so that they don’t have to actually focus and prioritize.
Meanwhile, it’s the people of California who are seeing their state turn into the Hotel California, because between lockdowns and wealth taxes that the state wants to increase and still collect after you move away, are you ever really going to be allowed to leave? But at this point, why would anyone want to stay? Especially with another “Flex Alert” scheduled for tonight?
Welcome Instapundit Readers!
Featured image via Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license
SFC D says: Arizona residents were asked to cut back on electricity consumption due to California’s need for more power. The general consensus was NO. You made this mess, CA. You clean it up.
alanstorm says: Send ’em a few NuScale reactors and tell ’em to figure it out.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/09/first-modular-nuclear-reactor-design-certified-in-the-us/
Qaren Q. Quivers says: California’s power situation is fair game for cirticism, but this article seems to have been written just to bash California because it’s controlled by the Democratic Party. From what I’ve read, it wasn’t just California that didn’t use controlled burns. Many states, both Democratic and Republican, didn’t use controlled burns. As it became clear that controlled burns could help with fire control, they began to be used more. To single out California for this is disengenuous.
I doubt if Victory Girls will ever have an article criticizing MIssissippi or Kentucky for their problems,blaming their problems on the Repubican Party because they are Repubican controlled states. .I heard lots of gnashing of teeth about Obama not helping Chicago, as if that should have been one of his priorites when he was president because he had lived there, yet I never hear complaints about Mitch McConnell needing to do something to help Kentucky out of their sad state of affairs even though McConnell has been in Washington D.C. for years. Where’s the outrage about Kentucky and McConnell?
I’ve read that in general blue states put more money into the federal government than they take while red states take more from the federal governmetn than they give. I doubt if I’ll ever see an article in Victory Girls about this. And aren’t red states more apt to rank lower than blue states on measures like education and health outcomes?
Its’ obvious, though, that this blog is designed to be written and read in an information and ideological bubble. Victory Girls – Keepin’ It Simplistic! Keepin’ It Partisan! And Always Keepin’ It Sarcastic And Snarky! Yeah Mean Girls!
anthropic says: I was unaware that Kentucky and Mississippi, both of which do a better job of educating their kids than California, had rolling blackouts. Or feces & needle strewn streets, or allowing thieves to ransack stores for up to $950 worth of merchandise.
Theo Moore says: Information needs to be refreshed from time to time. For example the classic richest blue state of all, California (twelfth largest economy in the world) gets more back than they pay in taxes.
California, where they are proudly bring “Venezuela now” to the cities of the US. Public gyms closed down but gyms open for the elite? Check. Salons closed except for the self styled elite? Check. Homeless beggars who steal to keep up their drug habit? Check. Violence and crime off the charts and crimes “redefined” to the point where the police realize there is no use even to arrest someone for normal property crimes against individuals? Check. You want to live in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland . . . or their prime earlier example of Detroit?
If that is what you want more power to you but I do not want that. There seems to be a difference between the promises from the leftists and what their governments deliver. Most noticeable of all? You refused to even address the focus of the main article, the problems of delivering power to the people.
Beans says: Florida stopped prescribed burns back in the 70’s, thanks to so many eco-nuts and democrat politicians. And we burned in 1998. From one side of the state to the other.
We now do prescribed burns.
Florida also stopped doing much energy infrastructure repair in the late 70’s to 80’s, then Hurricane Andrew hit. So the state enacted laws and regulations pertaining to maintaining the energy grid. Which was ignored by some utilities until 2004 and the year of 4 hurricanes stressed Florida’s grid from tip to toe. Now we have some of the most robust power grids.
Funny, both fixing the burn issue and fixing the power grid issue occurred during strong republican governorships. And the issues that caused them were from strong democrat governorships.
Almost like… Dems break sh….tuff and Republicans fix stuff.
If only California would learn.
As to money, yes, Blue States put huge amounts into the Fed Treasury. And then they take it right back out. It’s like… the Amazon Forest. Yes, it produces huge amounts of Oxygen. While also using up that much O2 and more. (really surprising is that the farms produce much more NET O2 than the forests.)
Maybe if California was less interested in supporting illegal aliens and more interested in supporting actual citizens, the state wouldn’t be such a mess. And that’s not the Republicans’ fault.
alanstorm says: Yet another “target-rich environment”:
“As it became clear that controlled burns could help with fire control, they began to be used more. To single out California for this is disengenuous.”
No, it’s not, because CA has NOT been doing prescribed burns until very recently, and then on a very small scale. CA has also not allowed other methods of thinning, which would also help re: fires.
“… never hear complaints about Mitch McConnell needing to do something to help Kentucky out of their sad state of affairs…”
Please appraise us of this “sad state of affairs” of which you speak. Details, please.
“I’ve read that in general blue states put more money into the federal government than they take while red states take more from the federal government than they give.”
I’ve read that too. Do believe everything you read on the internet?
Its’ obvious, though, that your comment is designed to be written and read in an information and ideological bubble.
Keep trying – you may achieve consciousness one day!
talgus says: still building that high-speed rail line that is NO WHERE. yup. Forbid to spend any money on the power grid. nothing but wind and solar. both gone in the stifling heat of night
Linda Hagen Mooney says: What? F’em. They voted for this and chose to live there, and are thumbing their nose to our prez. Screw them.
David Longfellow says: Screw California. They voted the jerks in that caused this mess and are willing participants. The rest of us have no duty to bail their idiocy out.
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