On October 9th, 2019, amidst a threat of destructive high winds and potential wildfires in California, the utility provider Pacific Gas and Electricity made a historic decision to turn off the power grid. In a difficult decision about public safety, PG&E, chose to error on the side of safety and using its monitoring equipment and weather services, choose to turn off its power-gird in various parts of California for over 2 days, and are expected to do so again this weekend as similar high wind conditions are expected. These decisions are forcing businesses to close or accept cash only transactions (with no working ATMs to banks) and many that have stayed open have been forced to throw away any perishable goods. Over 20 years ago the Engineering Grand Challenges identified the need for better, safer infrastructure, so who's right? Businesses and individuals demanding their power not be turned of, or a public service provider making a decision to avoid causing a dangerous forest fire to start. For more information: PBS NewsHour has a more comprehensive story Comments are closed.
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Mr. WelkerTechnology Teacher at Southeast Raleigh High School. Archives
October 2019
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