My “Modest Proposals To Fix America, The World” letter listed a number of areas that should be the concern of every American interested in the security and the general well being of this country.
Two such areas are 1. the security of our nation’s electrical system and 2. the availability of fresh water.
Per The Wall Street Journal – 8/29/14 – Power Station’s Security Is Breached, Again: “San Francisco – A PG&E Corp. electrical substation for Silicon Valley was breached for a second time, despite the utility’s efforts to bulk up security following an armed attack last year …was targeted early Wednesday morning by intruders who cut fencing at the site and stole construction equipment being used for security upgrades…The Metcalf substation is a critical piece of Silicon Valley’s grid, flowing power to America’s technology hub…Gunmen attacked the substation in April of last year, shooting out 17 large transformers …
That attack was termed a terrorist attack …Power-transmission security is a major concern of government officials since substations are linchpins in the U.S. electric grid. The Wall Street Journal in March reported details of a federal study that found disabling as few as nine critical power substations could cause cascading blackouts across the country. Repairing multiple electrical substations would be slow and difficult. Transformers …are custom built for their locations and often take a year of more to build a new unit. Getting a new transformer in place is a logistical challenge; transformers can weigh 500,000 pounds and few railcars exist that can move them.”
I’m concerned and some of you may be also But, not the FBI, under Eric Holder and the Justice Department.
The article continued: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it didn’t think last year’s attack and this week’s were connected and that the agency isn’t investigating the latest incident.” [Eric, are your absolutely sure?]
Remember ….”water, water every where, but not a drop to drink”? WSJ on 8/29/14: California Drought Squeezes Wells:
“After the water level in their well dropped by 70 feet over a decade, Jan and Gary
Seals ago two years lowered the pump in the shaft as far as it would go-to a depth of almost 500 feet But with the water falling another 12 feet since…they may have to dig a new $30,000 well…With groundwater levels falling across the Golden State – causing dried-up wells, sinking roadbeds and crumbling infrastructure-the state Legislature is considering regulating underground water for the first time.”
WSJ ON 9/1/14:
Desperately Dry California Tries To Curb Private Drilling For Water :
“The small prefab office of a well-drilling outfit hidden in the almond trees and grapevines south of Fresno, has become a magnet for scores of California farmers in desperate need of water to sustain their crops…Aquifers are natural savings accounts, a place to go when the streams run dry. Exhaust them, and the $45 billion annual agricultural economy will take a severe hit, while small towns run dry.”
But, the need for fresh water is needed world-wide. The New York Times [[8/31/14]:
New Palestinian Town In West Bank Awaits Israel’s Approval For Water :
“The first 600 apartments in Rawabi…were sold more than a year ago and should have been turned over to their new owners in the spring. But there are no people living there because there is no water here. Connecting the new city to a nearby water main depends on long-awaited approval from Israel. As a result, the future of the whole enterprise is hanging in the balance.”
Water, water every where but not a drop to drink.
John Messina
East Williston
