|
|
|
Bury the lines
We had a bad winter storm this week, when over 100,000 lost power, and now I hear there is another on the way.
Even I lost internet.
The problem....messy, overhead lines.
Why won't you bury them?
Are you too cheap or are you all union?
This really is a no-brainer and it seems only the linemen are doing well because of it.
Bury the lines and we're all be good.
Simple formula. Buried lines are more expensive to bury and install. They are harder to replace. They are subject to damage along the entire length (other diggers, moles, excavation, erosion, electrolisis, etc. They do not disipate heat as well when they are buried. Buried cables mean higher electric bills. Take your pick.
Higher bills.
You get far less power cuts in countries with buried lines.
The number of outages in the US is like living in Africa.
Although I take your point about more heat. 110 volts is a pig.
The buried cables can be HUGE voltages. Some are water cooled.
Most all phone lines are ALREADY buried.
Fixing outages is much quicker with overhead vs. underground lines. Would you like to be without power for a week while an underground break was traced, excavated, and fixed?
Also, I do think there is the small matter of size. The UK is about the size of the state of Oregon. To bury all our overhead power lines would be a monumental task.
You sent a man to the moon didn't you?
So, do it. Stop being afraid of some hard work and no excuses. The simple fact of the matter is that with buried lines outages would become a thing of the past.
There would be no long delays in restoring power since the power would not go out in the first place.
The only places I have ever lived where I have experienced power outages were America, Africa and England in the 1970s (when our lines were last overhead too!).
Bring out the shovels.
You foreigners have no problems spending my money
Yeah, and we're still kinda tired.Originally Posted by Ian Gills
Can't we do this burying the power lines thing later?
Buried lines are so clean and tidy. This overhead stuff you have here is just so tangled and messy.
Plus you have to be careful with metal ladders.
With this next ice storm coming, overhead cables have had their day.
I still think a neatly dug trench is the best place to put anything American.
It's all about the heat dispersal. And the cities are already so congested underground that adding electric would be suicide.
Read the New Yorker by candlelight when the overheads are down. Pretend its 1650 in some foggy English village, the melody of the millers waterwheel sloshing away nearby. Call in a strapping tart for a bit of diversion.
I cannot stand all this "victimhood" and "sense of entitlement".
Too hot? Too crowded underground? Too expensive? Too much work?
Boo hoo.
Just do it. Man Up America.
"I takes a village" to man up America. The villages are gone. The teeming masses in the city won't take a 3 year tear up of their street - the SUV gets too dusty, and a 30 second wait is cause for a shooting.
When an overhead goes down, its hours to find and fix. When the underground wire melts, its days and weeks.
I would love to man up America. But the closest we have come is the prison gang chainsawing brush along my mountain road.
Chaingangs. Use the VAST prison population and show them how good it is to sweat for a reason other than a hold-up or a shank fight.
I think taxpayers should pay hardworking American workers to do it.
And they can change the sections that run across private property while they are at it....again at taxpayer expense.
Criminals will hardly do a quality job. So don't cheap out.
This would also be a good time to get everyone on the grid and public sewer. No more wells or propane tanks.
I want to see wood cabins fit for habitation. Not just any standard. American Standard.
The English were masters at making the criminals do reasonably good work. Did a pretty good job in Australia.
The gang here cutting wood could just as well follow behind and dig a trench. The ACLU would have a field day.
And the backfillers can be the 18 through 21 year olds in REQUIRED public or military service for 2 years. Now we are starting to build a village with buried utilities.
Last edited by ballvalve; 02-01-2011 at 09:30 AM.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks