Part III: Blame Government, Not Climate Change, for Hawaii Fires
Investigative reporter Lee Fang expertly details some of the shenanigans behind incompetence and malfeasance by the Hawaii Electric Company, with a big assist from government.
The third and, I wish, the last part of a series on the stupidity of the Climate Cult. Sadly, the cult is powerful, and more posts in this series are certain.
You can find parts I and II here.
Partisans who are incapable or uninterested in learning (see: definition of stupid) quickly blamed the tragic Maui fires on “climate change.” Investigative reporter Lee Fang exposes the truth in this marvelous post, but here are the politics you should be aware of.
Hawaii, including Maui, was home to massive and irrigated sugar and pineapple farms for decades. As those industries left (in the case of sugar, thanks in small part to the federal government’s sugar program, which also shuttered Caribbean sugar producers and gave Floridian producers protection and market advantages), invasive and other grasses took over.
The Hawaii state government, it’s agents in Maui, and especially the power companies whose lines rested above those tinderbox grasses did little to mitigage them. Worse, government officials diverted the attention of the Hawaii Electric Company from maintaining and improving its grid to that great god in the sky, renewable energy (with a big assist to federal incentives, which have plagued other states). High winds, which are not rare in Hawaii, blew over one of the power lines, which triggered at least one if not more of the fires.
You don’t have to take my word for it. The Wall Street Journal editorial writers agree.
Since electric monopolies have deep pockets, of course trial lawyers and their fellow travelers are zeroing in on another payday. But government malfeasance, again, is likely to escape accountability. Follow the money, keep your eye on the ball, and remember: Government screws up everything it touches. Especially when it ventures outside its enumerated responsibilities.
Even then. Afghanistan, anyone? Please tell me you haven’t forgotten.