4 ms·

I heard a working-class lady on the radio discussing the $150 of groceries in her refrigerator that were going to waste and how that's a lot of money for her fa

I heard a working-class lady on the radio discussing the $150 of groceries in her refrigerator that were going to waste and how that's a lot of money for her family. I'd rather have that $150 than a silly opportunity to blame some old out-of-touch judge.

snagglegaggle 7y ago
There is also a man who was on oxygen who died. He was not able to get to his unpowered backup. The cause of death was listed as heart failure, though it is very likely the heart appeared stressed due to the hypoxia.
- stickfigure 7y ago
  I hate to sound callous - every death is a tragedy to friends and family - but this seems like the least sympathetic victim in the whole affair. If your life depends on oxygen, then it is your responsibility to ensure its continued supply whether or not the wall socket works. The fact that there were generous warnings only compounds the self-neglect. Oxygen-dependent COPD is no joke. PG&E is not your healthcare provider.
  - shortandsweet 7y ago
    Incredibly callous. You should be ashamed. A 2 day notification is nothing especially as the entire state scrambles for backup power. What right does pg and e have to decide who lives and dies?
  - snagglegaggle 7y ago
    Do not overestimate people's ability to stay informed. The elderly and infirm may have issues receiving those alerts. The given times may not actually reflect when the blackout will occur. Most utilities handle this by keeping a list of people with life-critical medical devices. In case of an outage they send emergency services. It appears he did have a backup, but was not able to get to it in time. People get hit criminally and civilly for things far lamer than this. Are some of those wrong? Yes. But interrupting what is supposed to be a continuous service is not acceptable, especially as the lack of maintenance was self-inflicted.
    - amanaplanacanal 7y ago
      I don't know about you, but I have never lived anywhere that there were not occasional power outages. Continuous over Short periods of time, yes. Over long Periods, no.
  - dkersten 7y ago
    Where I live, the power goes out maybe twice a year (typically for between half an hour and maybe five or six hours, depending on the fault). Where my mother lives, in the country, it could go out for two days when it goes. Luckily its not that often, but when it does, there's never an advance warning. If your life depends on continuous power, planning for an occasional no-warning outage seems like the prudent thing to do.
  - ncmncm 7y ago
    > I hate to sound callous... No, you don't. Not everybody can do everything they need to be safe against collapse of society. Many thousands die every year for lack of the dollars safety would cost. Medical costs regularly bankrupt families. A backup generator, vs. food on the table? Clearly, the generator has to wait. It is clear that power was cut over hundreds of square miles that were under no fire threat. People died just to give PGE leverage to force the state to indemnify them against their own negligence. PGE provided a tent at the El Dorado County fairground, with outlets. For 100 people, for the entire county. All were taken by people's medical equipment, and many, many more turned away.
leereeves 7y ago
It sounds like you're saying she shouldn't have bought those groceries, but PG&E only promises 2 days warning, and $150 is maybe a week's groceries for a family. Should people to go to the grocery store every 2 days to avoid food spoiling during blackouts?

snagglegaggle 7y ago

There is also a man who was on oxygen who died. He was not able to get to his unpowered backup. The cause of death was listed as heart failure, though it is very likely the heart appeared stressed due to the hypoxia.

stickfigure 7y ago
I hate to sound callous - every death is a tragedy to friends and family - but this seems like the least sympathetic victim in the whole affair. If your life depends on oxygen, then it is your responsibility to ensure its continued supply whether or not the wall socket works. The fact that there were generous warnings only compounds the self-neglect. Oxygen-dependent COPD is no joke. PG&E is not your healthcare provider.
- shortandsweet 7y ago
  Incredibly callous. You should be ashamed. A 2 day notification is nothing especially as the entire state scrambles for backup power. What right does pg and e have to decide who lives and dies?
- snagglegaggle 7y ago
  Do not overestimate people's ability to stay informed. The elderly and infirm may have issues receiving those alerts. The given times may not actually reflect when the blackout will occur. Most utilities handle this by keeping a list of people with life-critical medical devices. In case of an outage they send emergency services. It appears he did have a backup, but was not able to get to it in time. People get hit criminally and civilly for things far lamer than this. Are some of those wrong? Yes. But interrupting what is supposed to be a continuous service is not acceptable, especially as the lack of maintenance was self-inflicted.
  - amanaplanacanal 7y ago
    I don't know about you, but I have never lived anywhere that there were not occasional power outages. Continuous over Short periods of time, yes. Over long Periods, no.
- dkersten 7y ago
  Where I live, the power goes out maybe twice a year (typically for between half an hour and maybe five or six hours, depending on the fault). Where my mother lives, in the country, it could go out for two days when it goes. Luckily its not that often, but when it does, there's never an advance warning. If your life depends on continuous power, planning for an occasional no-warning outage seems like the prudent thing to do.
- ncmncm 7y ago
  > I hate to sound callous... No, you don't. Not everybody can do everything they need to be safe against collapse of society. Many thousands die every year for lack of the dollars safety would cost. Medical costs regularly bankrupt families. A backup generator, vs. food on the table? Clearly, the generator has to wait. It is clear that power was cut over hundreds of square miles that were under no fire threat. People died just to give PGE leverage to force the state to indemnify them against their own negligence. PGE provided a tent at the El Dorado County fairground, with outlets. For 100 people, for the entire county. All were taken by people's medical equipment, and many, many more turned away.

leereeves 7y ago

It sounds like you're saying she shouldn't have bought those groceries, but PG&E only promises 2 days warning, and $150 is maybe a week's groceries for a family. Should people to go to the grocery store every 2 days to avoid food spoiling during blackouts?