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Even though most urbanites know that full moons affect tides, hurricane Sandy caught a lot of people off guard. There were numerous other factors that made it a "freak" storm, but all of that, in sum, has served as a wake-up call regarding climate change, global warming, or "climate revolt," as Doug George-Kanentiio, an Akwesasne Mohawk, calls the drastically different weather patterns we started experiencing some years ago. On the one hand, I feel for those who lost homes, cars, all of their belongings . . . On the other hand, those who live near or directly facing the ocean or the coast were already taking their chances, pushing their scenic luck. On the one hand, it was an adjustment for this writer to personally go without electricity for 6 days (virtually no computer time researching and writing), though there was hot water, and evening cooking on the gas-stove by match-strike, then candle and flashlight to guide, and good ol' pen and journal. On the other hand, that was nothing compared with friends and fellow citizens who went two weeks without electricity, hot water, stove, heat... those who lost homes, cars, all of their belongings . . . some people lost their lives . . . On the one hand, many prayers went out for those who are still struggling without power, etc. for two weeks or more. On the other hand, many people in the USE (United States Empire) and worldwide live like that regularly... typically minorities which includes the very poor, which includes many of the Native/Indigenous Peoples. Thus, while clamoring for their power back on, it would behoove people to connect some dots and realize that the government and energy-corporation corruption mindset that doesn't give a whit (to say it politely, and more on this later) about cutting grid corners so as to boost some paychecks is akin to the mindset of those responsible for ongoing oppression of African Americans (who have survived enforced relocation and slavery), and of the Native Peoples (who have survived genocide). As Russell Means, an Oglala Lakota who recently passed into spirit form, said a few years ago: "Welcome to the reservation." In the early to mid 1990s I was fortunate to visit Walpi - First Mesa, a Hopi village, where at that time, some, by choice, had no electricity, while others did. It's important to realize that now is not the 19th century and many Natives live on and are used to the grid. While visiting a Shinnecock store a few weeks post-hurricane, a woman living on the reservation told me a similar storyline as other Long Islanders – the challenges of being without power for days. It's also important to realize that some Native/Indigenous Peoples in North, Central, and South America (look up the Kogi), Buddhist hermit Masters of China's Zhongnan mountains (see the film "Amongst White Clouds"), and rebel American off-the-gridders (to name a few) purposely choose to live off-the-grid, for spiritual and/or financial reasons; some do this to maintain a pure connection with The Real Powers That Be. Since finite resources are, you guessed it, finite, each of us could at least consider how to be off-the-grid, even if only in some small fashion -- lighting a candle instead of burning a bulb. On the one hand, it is good that more people are starting to listen to and respect the powers of Wind, Water, and Earth. On the other hand, why are Indigenous Peoples not consulted more for how to deal with "climate revolt"? Why are the Indigenous worldwide, who have an innate Earth-wisdom, not being included more in the emerging scientific discussions of how to build levees, storm surge barriers, floating houses? Shaky but viable foundations Not your everyday street vendors On the other hand, storm-readiness does not read as generously. In his article "In advance of hurricane Sandy, New York warned on vulnerable infrastructure," Dan Brennan quotes the US Global Change Research Program: "The number of [weather-related electric grid] incidents caused by extreme weather has increased tenfold since 1992," though in his words, "...utilities have cut workforces and under-funded investment..." Brennan notes that, "In 2011 [Columbia University scientist Klaus] Jacob and a team of researchers completed the most comprehensive assessment of climate change vulnerabilities in New York City. ClimAID, as it was known, included a case study that modeled the impacts of a storm surge very similar to Sandy."6 From a November 2011 article,"...the 600-page "ClimAID" report, written by scientists from Cornell University, Columbia University, and the City University of New York, says New Yorkers should begin preparing for hotter summers, snowier winters, severe floods, and a range of other effects on the environment, communities, and human health. The report warns that, under global warming conditions, Irene-like storms of the future could put a third of New York City streets under water and flood many of the tunnels leading into Manhattan in less than an hour."7 And back to the other hand: Can anyone hear the sound of one hand clapping? No Man's Land LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) handles power for Long Island, and also the Rockaways and Queens, though they are officially NYC territory... though not under Bloomberg's energy jurisdiction. In this area the situation seems as tangled as a bunch of high voltage wires. From a November 18, 2012 article, "Robert F Kennedy Jr brought supplies and badly-needed attention to a public housing project in the Rockaways, Queens, that still doesn't have power or heat after Hurricane Sandy."10 In his article "Tropical Storm Sandy: Natural or Political Disaster?" James Petras notes: "At least 10 days before the storm hit the Eastern coast, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was informed of its trajectory and likely impact. Yet nothing was done to mobilize temporary housing and gasoline reserves.. Yet millions of dollars flow daily to NATO proxies in Libya, Somalia and Syria." Petras also mentions that "The Stock Market was up and running in two days."11 To explore further what NYC and Long Island have been and are doing regarding preparedness for The Real Powers That Be -- Wind, Water, and Earth -- see "New York Panel on Climate Change," "Climate Change Adaptation Task," and "Stony Brook Storm Surge Research Group."12 That people were being assisted post-storm, yet infrastructure innovations languish reminds of the Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." LIP(A) Service National Grid is a London-headquartered multinational electricity and gas utility company. In the Northeast they services parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.14 According to Newsday, Long Island's primary local news source: "The Long Island Power Authority's agonizingly slow response to Sandy came after warnings as far back as 2006 that the utility was unprepared to handle a major storm, failed to upgrade antiquated technology, neglected vital maintenance and regularly underbudgeted for storm response."15 From a Newsday editorial: "There was no comprehensive disaster plan in place, one that truly provided for coordination with local governments, to most efficiently use the assistance. ... Wasted money, inefficiency, poor communication, poor planning and problems brought on by politics: That's LIPA in a nutshell."16 Credit must be given though to the LIPA workers who helped with repairs for about 900,000 customers. One feel-good TV news story told of residents in Long Island's Nassau County being given pet food, for their pets, of course. On the one hand, "The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city's subway, bus and commuter train services, also received high marks for what was seen as the Herculean feat of emptying flooded tunnels and subway stations and bringing mass transit back on line within a week of the storm." On the other hand, "People were less impressed by the response by utility companies, which include Con Edison and the Long Island Power Authority. More than half of city voters said the companies, which left millions of residents without power for weeks after the storm, had done a "not so good" or "poor" job. "New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, got high marks from 85 percent of voters. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, was rated as having done an "excellent" or "good" job by 75 percent of voters."17 Some may have already known, but in the weeks after the storm, myself and others have learned more than ever before how the system works, or doesn't. Seems that weather, Mother Nature, or however you want to call it serves the truth, in that it blew the cover on the weaknesses of the infrastructure system. As the saying and the losses from the storm show, the truth sometimes hurts. Paradigm shift The biggest infrastructure and system issues are: sustainable energy sources; better mass transit (especially on Long Island), the inhumane expenditures of military, bailouts, and national security state surveillance gadgets. Meanwhile tons of sunlight reaches houses and wind blows freely, but as far as this citizen knows, rebates for going solar still do not make it affordable to the masses and wind turbines do not go over well with local permits. Another form of grid-lock! In his wonderful book No Word for Time: The Way of the Algonquin People, Evan T. Pritchard writes: "Even among hikers and climbers from big cities, you sense a change in consciousness; once they get out on the slopes, they start taking each other seriously. Sincerity becomes sacred again. Put them in a storm together and they become regular Algonquins, using speech to strengthen one another's spirit, praying in humility to the forces of nature, thinking with care about their actions and each other, and walking with purpose." This rang true as, in this writer's neighborhood in the weeks after the storm hit, neighbors introduced themselves to neighbors on the streets, and, while shopping at local stores the popular mantras were, "Got power?" Then later, "Did you get through the storm OK? Infrastructure Long Island energy grid issues are similar to those in an area northeast of Boston, according to a friend of mine, which seems to indicate that the infrastructure structure is not problematic by locale, rather by management, or lack thereof. Many have noted that revamping energy/utilities would both put people to work AND help solve the crises and protect Mother Earth and the her environs. This is the proverbial Prophecy and Prayer "It states that back in the mists of history, human societies divided and took different paths: that of the condor (representing the heart, intuitive and mystical) and that of the eagle (representing the brain, rational and material). In the 1490's, the prophecy said, the two paths would converge and the eagle would drive the condor to the verge of extinction. Then, five hundred years later, in the 1990's a new epoch would begin, one in which the condor and the eagle will have the opportunity to reunite and fly Some of my prayers are for more people from various backgrounds working together; that Nature have as much of a voice as government agencies and utilities companies (see: "Bolivia enacts Law of Mother Earth and GMO ban" ); - that people can do whatever they like to make their lives more self-sufficient, instead of having to jump through bureaucratic regulation hoops that have restricted people to being stuck on the monopolistic utility grid; and that governments/utilities-corporations specifically work to serve the People, or at least the customer. When each hand knows what the other is doing -- whether by flickering candlelight, quivering electric bulb, whirring wind turbines, or noiseless energy-saver -- only then will we hear the sound of one-hand clapping to the sight of two birds flying as one.
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