This is Entergy’s Climate Adaptation page.

No comment.

Two financial deals that kept the National Football League playing in the Superdome, allowing New Orleans to host a 10th Super Bowl, were expensive for taxpayers and enriched Saints owner Tom Benson, said former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.

Taxpayers have spent at least $471 million on the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina, allowing a state reeling from the nation’s most-expensive natural disaster to keep its pro sports teams and rebuild a part of downtown destroyed by the 2005 storm. Benson, meanwhile, is worth $1.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after acquiring the National Basketball Association’s New Orleans Hornets, a 26-story office tower that houses state agencies and a mall next to the stadium.

Subsidies for Saints Owner Open New Orleans to Super Bowl - Bloomberg investigative report.

Finally, America cares about the infrastructure in NOLA.

@davidcorndc (via kateoplis)

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s scathing letter to CEO’s of NY power companies demanding accountability for not being prepared for Hurricane Sandy. The letter was sent to the CEOs of six utilities that service New York City and surrounds: ConEd, O&R, Central Gas, Rochester Gas, National Grid, and LI Power. Have a quick read of the letter above if you can before continuing.

The second paragraph is pure shaming the utilities. Basically, “We all knew about the storm. Everyone else was prepared, why weren’t you?!” Pretty strong language. He concludes the letter by warning that NY State is going to take action against the utility companies.

But, to my mind Cuomo is playing power chess. He was NY’s Attorney General - the state’s top lawyer. You have to know your shit to be NY’s AG. It’s one of the most difficult jobs in the country. And I’m not exaggerating, NY’s AG is perhaps second in difficulty only Eric Holder’s job, the Federal Government’s AG.

However, Cuomo is no longer an attorney. He’s New York’s governor now, which means his powers are very limited in conducting a legal action. He can direct the new AG to investigate, or Cuomo can appoint a special panel to conduct a review for malfeasance, but he cannot directly oversee the legal action. But he didn’t ask his AG to act.

So, it seems to me, Cuomo is circumventing his AG in favor of working the system. He’s directed one of the state’s boards review the utility companies’ certificates. If the panel finds error, they have the power to pull their certificates, which is what the end of the letter eludes to. The key passage:

New Yorkers should not suffer because electric utilities did not reasonably prepare for this eventuality. In the context of the ongoing emergency, such a failure constitutes a breach of the public trust.

Under such circumstances, I would direct the Public Service Commission to commence a proceeding to revoke your Certificates. With respect to the Long Island Power Authority, I will make every change necessary to ensure it lives up to its public responsibility. It goes without saying that such failures would warrant the removal of the management responsible for such colossal misjudgments.

Strong stuff! But I’m not sure what would happen by revoking a power-company’s certificate. I suspect the utility would no longer be able to sell power and fuel to New Yorkers and other communities.

Assuming that is the case, we have to ask, ‘what happens when a utility leaves their market?’ Suppose one of the six power companies loses their right to sell electricity to New Yorkers due to the panel’s findings. That would leave a gap in the market leaving the other utilities to take over (or the creation of a new utility).

Essentially, it would be a transfer of millions of paying customers from one company to another. In other words, free money to the other utility companies! That’s the exact opposite of the letter’s intent!

To be sure, Cuomo’s letter is a real threat. And the CEOs will certainly take action. Perhaps they’ll take out full-page ads in the NYTimes, apologizing and reassuring New Yorkers et al that everything is A-OKAY-TRUST-US. In the background, the utility companies will have to fix and upgrade some infrastructure, and they’ll have to create better action-response plans for storms and other emergency outages.

But will the letter work? It seems to me that while everyone is applauding Cuomo’s very ballsy letter, it’s really just a stunt to get the utilities to step-up their game. He fires off a popular letter, the public falls in love with the idea, and now the ball is in the utility companies’ court. Let’s hope the gambit works.

Via: governor.ny.gov

…it is a failure to keep your part of the bargain – a failure to keep the trust that New Yorkers have placed in you by granting you the privilege to conduct utility business in New York State; in particular, the certificates of public convenience and necessity (“Certificate”) granted by the State under the Public Service Law. New Yorkers should not suffer because electric utilities did not reasonably prepare for this eventuality. In the context of the ongoing emergency, such a failure constitutes a breach of the public trust.

Under such circumstances, I would direct the Public Service Commission to commence a proceeding to revoke your Certificates. With respect to the Long Island Power Authority, I will make every change necessary to ensure it lives up to its public responsibility. It goes without saying that such failures would warrant the removal of the management responsible for such colossal misjudgments.

From the absolutely epic - and real - letter that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sent to the CEOs of utility companies that service NYC and surrounds. Millions of people were without power for days after Hurricane Sandy struck the northeast. The utility companies, many agree, should have been better prepared. Cuomo seems to be taking action against the companies for breach of public trust. Should utilities be responsible and held accountable for their infrastructure’s failures?

Wow. This’ll put a smile on your face.

thecultureofme:

Lights come on in the Lower East Side and everyone erupts with absolute glee.

(via thecultureofme)

Controversy over mapping of an earthquake zone to measure vulnerability of a nuclear power plant: public safety vs. environment. I wonder who’s right? Locals, environmental groups, and a Coastal Commission are opposing a project that will use a type of high-powered sonar under water to help create a map of any potential earthquake zones. The map will give planners and emergency managers (and the state of California) a snap-shot of how vulnerable this power plant is, and what the potential damage could be in case of an earthquake.

Those that oppose the mapping say that the methods used - high powered air-cannons - will harm wildlife.

It’s an interesting question, and one that will come up many times over the next few dozen years or so as states begin to inventory their vulnerabilities to environmental harms.

In my opinion, the opposition must meet a high-burden of proof - both scientifically and in public opinion. Sometimes opposition groups (especially environmental activists) need to weigh their actions vs disenfranchising themselves.

Here, a few groups are arguing against a risk assessment of a nuclear power plant’s vulnerability to earthquakes. The argument, it seems to me, is the short term, unproven potential affects on an unknowable number of marine animals vs. the long-term safety of an energy source that provides electricity to tens of thousands of people (hundreds of thousands if you count temporally). In other words, it’s 12-days of mapping off-shore, underwater vs 23,000 days of safety and clean energy onshore.

This is not a case of “finding a fair balance”. It’s a case of context and short-sightedness not being included in the opposition’s calculations. So, who’s right? What can be done to resolve this situation?

thenuclearblog:

Environmentalists oppose PG&E plans for undersea air blasts

PG&E plans to use underwater ‘air cannons’ emitting 250-decibel blasts every 15 seconds for 12 straight days to map earthquake fault zones near Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.

By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times | September 29, 2012

photo: The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo, Calif. PG&E was ordered by the California Public Utilities Commission to conduct the risk assessment. (Phil Klein, Associated Press / April 26, 2001)

Over objections of Central Coast residents and environmental groups, Pacific Gas & Electric plans to map earthquake fault zones near its Diablo Canyon nuclear plant by blasting high-decibel air cannons under the surface of the ocean.

PG&E’s plan calls for towing a quarter-mile-wide array of underwater “air cannons” that emit 250-decibel blasts into the ocean every 15 seconds for 12 straight days. The sonic reflections would be picked up by underwater receivers and analyzed to provide detailed 3-D images of the geometry, relationships and ground motions of several fault zones near the Diablo facility, which generates enough energy to meet the needs of more than 3 million Northern and Central Californians.

“What we’re after with this survey is the geophysical equivalent of a CT scan — a combination of imagery and information that we could slice and dice and scrutinize in great detail,” said Jearl Strickland, director of nuclear projects for PG&E. “These kinds of surveys are being performed right now around the world with no problems.”

Opponents say the method threatens sea creatures from Central Coast rockfish to whales, and they dispute PG&E’s claims that there are no alternative, less harmful technologies available for the job.

click here to continue reading…

USA TODAY’s study of residential water rates over the past 12 years for large and small water agencies nationwide found that monthly costs doubled for more in 29 localities. The unique look at costs for a diverse mix of water suppliers representing every state and Washington, D.C. found that a resource long taken for granted will continue to become more costly for millions of Americans. Indeed, rates haven’t crested yet because huge costs to upgrade or repair pipes, reservoirs and treatment plants loom nationwide.

In three municipalities — Atlanta, San Francisco and Wilmington, Del. — water costs tripled or more. Monthly costs topped $50 for consumers in Atlanta, Seattle and San Diego who used 1,000 cubic feet of water, a typical residential consumption level in many areas. Officials in the three municipalities and elsewhere, however, say actual consumption is often lower. But conservation efforts counter-intuitively may raise water rates in some localities.

The trend toward higher bills is being driven by:

— The cost of paying off the debt on bonds municipalities issue to fund expensive repairs or upgrades on aging water systems.

— Increases in the cost of electricity, chemicals and fuel used to supply and treat water.

— Compliance with federal government clean-water mandates.

— Rising pension and health care costs for water agency workers.

— Increased security safeguards for water systems since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Via USA TODAY analysis: Nation’s water costs rushing higher

Absolutely brilliant report by USAToday. This is but a teeny glimpse into the future troubles facing cities across America. The public will soon be side-swiped by how terrible cities have been managed. It’s our next financial tsunami, and budget cuts to things like school systems and closing parks are not going to fix much.

Unfunded pensions (click!), deferred maintenance, inefficient management, poorly designed union contracts, lowered tax rates, aging infrastructure, deficient electric grid, water shortages (and leaks), will all be exacerbated by increasingly intense storms. The perfect storm is brewing. Sorry to be so bleak, but your politicians really are lying to you about a looming crisis. When cities advertise that you should shop or move there, or when they advertize new downtown revitalization, they’re really trying to get more money (taxes) to help pay for all the above issues. Climate change is going to put a lot of pressure on cities to perform basic functions unless leaders start being more forthright with these issues.

USA Today’s brilliant interactive map might wake-up the public enough to start at least asking questions about how their city is dealing with budget shortfalls. This map shows various rate increases (aka, poor city planning and management) in dozens of cities across the US. Solid piece on a complex set of issues facing America.

usatoday:

While most Americans worry about gas and heating oil prices, water rates have surged in the past dozen years, according to our analysis of 100 municipalities. Prices at least doubled in more than a quarter of the locations and even tripled in a few.

The top graphic here shows the highest increases in water rates across the country, while the bottom graphic compares water cost increases against other utilities.

Find our how your city stacks up: http://usat.ly/V5XWUN

This sea-turbine is in Maine, and is the first in the U.S. It’s a pilot project run by Maine Electric. Note the workers, bottom left for scale. This beast will provide electricity for only 30 homes, but more are scheduled to be built soon.

poptech:

Electricity flows from ocean turbine to grid for first time in western hemisphere

Tidal power went from theory to reality Thursday when, for the first time in the western hemisphere, electricity flowed from an ocean-based turbine to the electricity grid.

nrdc:

Each major wind farm in America creates 1,000+ jobs and adds millions of dollars to local communities.  Today, wind farms generate about 50,000 megawatts of clean, renewable energy — the equivalent of the energy produced by 12 Hoover Dams.

Read more in two recent NRDC reports:

• At Wind Speed: How the U.S. Wind Industry is Rapidly Growing Our Local Economies

• American Wind Farms: Breaking Down the Benefits from Planning to Production
  

U.S. Regulator Halts Nuclear-Plant Licensing ›

India’s epic power outage July 31 left 670 million people - half the country - with out power (the U.S. has about 310 million people, total). Who or what is to blame? Outdated infrastructure, incompetence, fuel shortage, corruption? India’s Minister of Power blames individual states for taking too much energy from the grid.

Now reading. Just in time as India recovers from a electricity blackout that left 670 million people with out power. The cause was first blamed on a shortage of coal, but now it is clear that incompetence, and perhaps corruption, caused the blackout.

foreignaffairsmagazine:

Power is restored in India after a massive blackout left 670 million people in the dark.

Want to know how something like that could have happened? Our current issue features this essay on India and its “centralized, secretive, and arbitrary political culture” that is holding the country back.

New Delhi has gone out of its way to make life better for big businesses, granting them access to easy credit, dedicated power plants, and protection against currency fluctuations. That is a problem because India’s big-business sectors, such as mining, land development, and infrastructure, are its most corrupt.

The full article is available free to non-subscribers for a limited time only.

Gridlock: Storms, Blackouts Expose Power Problems : NPR ›