Heat wave exposes decrepit infrastructure in US, Canada

[Donnachaidh]

http://wsws.org/articles/2010/jul2010/heat-j08.shtml

A major heat wave in the eastern US and parts of Canada has further exposed the decrepit state of infrastructure in North America and the perilous conditions created by private ownership of utilities.

Seven deaths have been attributed to the heat wave so far, a number likely to rise. In Philadelphia, a 92-year-old woman was found dead in her non-air-conditioned apartment on Tuesday. And in suburban Detroit the body of a 56-year-old homeless woman was discovered near her car.

Temperatures in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Providence, Rhode Island, broke records on Tuesday. Baltimore Washington International Airport topped 105 degrees, and Philadelphia and Washington D.C.’s airports recorded temperatures of 102 and 101 degrees, respectively.

High humidity made the heat more intense. New York’s Central Park—usually one of the cooler spots in the city—recorded a temperature of 103 degrees on Tuesday afternoon. But humidity made it feel like 111 degrees, according to AccuWeather.

Wednesday saw temperatures in the high 90s for most of the region, with some cities once again hitting 100. Forecasts say the heat wave will lessen somewhat over the weekend, but will intensify again next week.


More at the link ---

[Jennicut]

1. Aging electrical grids....

“Privatisation, mergers, costcutting and restructuring have resulted in a lack of investment in new plant and maintenance. As a consequence, the various power grids across the US have become increasingly unstable, particularly at times of high demand such as during heat waves. Any fault in one plant or at one point in the transmission system creates a cascading effect as one station after another shuts down automatically to avoid dangerous overloading.”
Then we have people without power. If my power goes out for a few days, it would ruin my stash of insulin (I am a type 1 diabetic). Makes me nervous. We had bad lightening storms and tornadoes here in CT last week and lots of people lost power. Luckily, I did not.