Letter: Manhattan’s power lines are buried, California’s should be

Re: “PG&E begins Northern California power outages — and more could be coming this weekend” (Mercurynews.com, Oct. 23):

Have you ever walked around Manhattan and noticed that something was missing? You don’t see power lines anywhere. Surely the Big Apple’s skyline must be illuminated by kerosene lamps. In fact, its power lines were buried after a storm — in 1888.

California’s infrastructure has been crumbling for decades. We are gradually approaching Third-World status where the only thing reliable about the infrastructure is that it sucks. This isn’t an insurmountable problem. In Manhattan, the power lines are buried. Would burying our power lines really be an unattainable goal? I say we shoot for the stars, and if we’re feeling lucky we could throw in a few nuclear reactors (remember that no one died at Three Mile Island). Imagine, if you will, a California that is as innovative in the realm of atoms as it is in the realm of bits.

We need to rout the environmental lobby and demand better infrastructure.

Lucas TrigeroSan Jose

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