Things No One is Talking About
Were you listening?
When I look at the national and regional news, one would begin to think PG&E was out to torture Californians, but were you listening?
When local and regional news organizations announced a Red Flag warning for Oct. 9 to 11?
When PG&E included notices in your bill on shut-off preparedness for many months?
When county agencies held wildfire preparedness meetings over the course of six to eight months?
When PG&E mailed each customer information on how to get text alerts on possible power shut-offs?
When scientists convened and suggested we let fires burn to reduce fuels and reevaluate forestry practices?
When firefighters and urban planners began to talk about the Wildland Urban Interface as indefensible in an era of climate change?
When Scripps Institution scientists reported to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy in 2007 that the early effects of climate change could be acutely felt in the Sierra Nevada and included radically increased fire danger?
My point here is that this is a complex problem that will not go away with vilifying a single entity.
Let’s do the things we can do and look to policy makers and government representatives for better building processes in Wildland Urban Interfaces, improve responsive forestry practices and be more alert to our surroundings, which includes recognizing increased fire danger in unstable climate conditions.
The wind in Paradise in October 2018 wasn’t forecast to be catastrophic, but it was.
Even when right in front of us, we still refuse to see. Greta Thunberg is right in my view: “You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before … And those answers don’t exist anymore. Because you did not act in time.”
~ Pamela Biery, Truckee resident, via letter
In response to Facebook Cops
A Fine Line
Well, there’s plenty of legitimate “cyber crimes” that occur.
However, the waters are still murky when it comes to local law enforcement wading into it.
There are still certain controversial tactics that get dicey when it comes to entrapment as well. It also becomes more Big-Brotherish. Further challenges to it turn into issues with state lines.
If the criminal element is going in between California and Nevada, then it technically may be considered a federal deal as well versus local authorities. I suppose it depends on the severity of the crimes and how it translates in dollars.
~ Kat Rudd, San Francisco resident, via Facebook
