Actually, Jeff, there was a rather large group of concerned people back then. But, being concerned, and having the power (play on words) to do anything about it, are two entirely different things.
There has been a Federal push (not nearly strong enough, IMO) ever since then to coordinate efforts to update the grid. It got renewed interest after 9/11. But, the whole process breaks down when politicians get involved.
Betcha there will be renewed interest after this episode, too. I bet there will be a bunch of chatter about this in local, state and Federal meetings. Then, somewhere along the line, the public will demand that the problem be fixed. Then, the public will cry out about excessive taxation. Then, the problem will be put on the back burner, behind other far more important issues like whether to issue grants to study the sex lives of the monarch butterfly, or the migration habits of Canadian geese.
All of these are important issues in the delicate ecological balance of our "power to the people" infrastructure.
Regards,
TED |
