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Power grid fails in face of California heat wave
The impact of the heat wave currently grilling California, following on from the energy crisis of 2000-2001 and the collapse of the power grid in the US Northeast in August 2003, demonstrates once again the necessity for the socialization and democratic control of essential services such as electricity supply. As demand for electricity soars across the state, basic infrastructure is already breaking down due to lack of investment, maintenance and development. Entire communities have been deprived of power in the midst of searing temperatures and the situation may get far worse.
Today will be the 20th consecutive day that significant parts of California, including the densely populated Los Angeles Basin, have registered temperatures close to or over 100° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius). Multiplying the heat wave’s impact, the nighttime minimum temperature is 8 to 15 degrees higher than average and unusual humidity is also being experienced. Record temperatures are expected to continue until at least the end of this week.
While the sweltering heat cannot be totally avoided, being able to alleviate its impact is essential for millions of Californians to be able to carry out their day-to-day routines with some degree of normalcy. For hundreds of thousands of area residents—such as the elderly, infants, expecting mothers, the ill and outdoor workers—relief from the heat can be a matter of life or death.
More than 50 deaths across the state have already been attributed to heat-related factors. Among them was the death of an elderly patient at a Stockton nursing home, where the air conditioner broke down during 115° F temperatures (46° C). Los Angeles emergency services reported a spike in calls over the weekend, with 1,500 received on Saturday and 1,200 on Sunday, compared with an average of 1,000.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/cali-j26.shtml
Record heat, violent storms beleaguer US cities
150,000 in St. Louis still without power
By Cezar Komorovsky and Debra Watson
26 July 2006
Record-breaking heat continues in widespread areas of the contiguous United States, which, combined in many cases with official neglect and mismanagement, has produced considerable misery and social disruption. Power outages and lack of air-conditioning have led to deaths in several cities.
Unusually high temperatures in the US have forced thousands without air conditioning to flock to makeshift cooling centers to avoid the soaring temperatures. Twenty-nine deaths have been attributed to the heat wave in recent days. Seven deaths have occurred in Chicago, mostly among the chronically ill and elderly. One elderly man’s death in northern California was attributed to an air conditioning failure in the nursing home where he lived.
Four people died in St. Louis, Missouri after heavy rainstorms last week multiplied the debilitating effects of a heat wave that has gripped the metropolis.
A fifth victim in the St. Louis area, utility worker Robert Tackett, was electrocuted July 25 in a city suburb when he walked into brush where a live wire was hidden. Tackett, 56, a 13-year veteran at AmerenUE, who was working on restoring power to the more than 100,000 people still without electricity in the area, was killed instantly. Also on Tuesday, a contract worker with Kansas City-based Par Electric came into contact with an energized line in north St. Louis County. Hospitalized, he was expected to recover.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/stlo-j26.shtml
While the sweltering heat cannot be totally avoided, being able to alleviate its impact is essential for millions of Californians to be able to carry out their day-to-day routines with some degree of normalcy. For hundreds of thousands of area residents—such as the elderly, infants, expecting mothers, the ill and outdoor workers—relief from the heat can be a matter of life or death.
More than 50 deaths across the state have already been attributed to heat-related factors. Among them was the death of an elderly patient at a Stockton nursing home, where the air conditioner broke down during 115° F temperatures (46° C). Los Angeles emergency services reported a spike in calls over the weekend, with 1,500 received on Saturday and 1,200 on Sunday, compared with an average of 1,000.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/cali-j26.shtml
Record heat, violent storms beleaguer US cities
150,000 in St. Louis still without power
By Cezar Komorovsky and Debra Watson
26 July 2006
Record-breaking heat continues in widespread areas of the contiguous United States, which, combined in many cases with official neglect and mismanagement, has produced considerable misery and social disruption. Power outages and lack of air-conditioning have led to deaths in several cities.
Unusually high temperatures in the US have forced thousands without air conditioning to flock to makeshift cooling centers to avoid the soaring temperatures. Twenty-nine deaths have been attributed to the heat wave in recent days. Seven deaths have occurred in Chicago, mostly among the chronically ill and elderly. One elderly man’s death in northern California was attributed to an air conditioning failure in the nursing home where he lived.
Four people died in St. Louis, Missouri after heavy rainstorms last week multiplied the debilitating effects of a heat wave that has gripped the metropolis.
A fifth victim in the St. Louis area, utility worker Robert Tackett, was electrocuted July 25 in a city suburb when he walked into brush where a live wire was hidden. Tackett, 56, a 13-year veteran at AmerenUE, who was working on restoring power to the more than 100,000 people still without electricity in the area, was killed instantly. Also on Tuesday, a contract worker with Kansas City-based Par Electric came into contact with an energized line in north St. Louis County. Hospitalized, he was expected to recover.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/stlo-j26.shtml
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