The Mess in Puerto Rico. No power on the whole island for 4-6 mos.

Trump:

I see on the TV right now that Trump will go to PR on Tuesday (I assume that means a week from today) and talking about how we're doing a great job sending food, water, and supplies. No commitments I've seen to anything beyond immediate needs.

I agree about the logistical problems. Utilities routinely contract with other utilities for manpower to recover from disasters. They drive their trucks in from all over the country. But, you can't drive to Puerto Rico. You'd have to load equipment on barges or planes to send effective help. That is a logistical problem. But the solution to the logistical problem is political. If the Feds said this had to happen, they could ferry the people and equipment over. I sense the Administration does not have the inclination to do so, however. For Puerto Rico's sake, I hope the Red Cross has their **** together.

I agree that this is an opportunity (such as it is) to accelerate a switch to distributed renewable generation. Energy companies have been seeing the island nations as the low hanging fruit for transformation anyway. They have expensive, dirty generation because they are mostly shipping in diesel for inefficient old plants. Solar is already today at a competitive price advantage compared to their existing costs. Distributed generation is also more resilient because you have a multitude of tiny generators instead of just a couple big ones. And households and businesses that have the gen will get power at least when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing regardless of what happens to the grid. Solar panels and wind turbines are still subject to damage in hurricanes, but there are some things you can do to protect them, and in any case it's easier to replace a solar panel than a substation. The problem is that it takes a lot of capital to transform. But, at this point it may take a lot of capital to repair the existing infrastructure.

 

Ron Paul voted against disaster relief for Hurricane Ike.

He was Galveston's US rep

 

They should just all move from Puerto Rico. Wall Street will be left holding the bag.

 

I know i defend Trump a lot but the Puerto Rico debt situation is a problem that's been in the news recently.

Not saying he should have mentioned it but it is a big problem

 

Kudos to Mark Cuban...

 

And has yet to say anything about PR and what there going through what a potus 45 is.

 

For Puerto Rico's electrical problem, is it just a power line problem or are their power plants damaged & out of commission as well?

 

They do have a problem. And the Feds shouldn't bail out PR any more than they should bail out Illinois. But, you have to wonder what motivated him to say that at that moment. To be charitable, it might be that PR's debt is actually going to have implications for how the feds can offer help that I don't really understand. For example, maybe he learned in a briefing that putting the Army Corps of Engineers on fixing the transmission opens questions for bonds PREPA has issued, or something like that. What it sounds like though is that he is sowing the seeds for an argument later that the federal government shouldn't put Puerto Rico back on its feet -- that in some way or other, they don't deserve it. Just because what he said was totally true doesn't make it not ominous that he said it when he said it.

I don't have specific knowledge, but my guess is that the plants can probably be put into working order comparatively quickly and it'd be the transmission lines (and substations, etc) that are the bottleneck.

 

Granted ive done this only once but in getting the line ready, l learned all the debris has to be cleared off the lines. That includes branches that may not have broken.

The surge when flipping lights could cause fires.

 

Now it is just a matter of time before the leftist numbskulls on television try to blame Trump for the storm hitting Puerto Rico.

 

At first I was like what? But then I was

 

I'm actually a bit pleased with Trump today. I was starting to get a sinking feeling after 5 days of radio silence and then a comment about PR debt. I'm still a bit worried, but it looks like the White House has decided at least that putting on the appearance of helping PR is the right political move. We'll see how deep that commitment goes, but I breathe easier about the basic life-saving stuff of bringing food, water, and medicine in abundance. They'll probably get major roads cleared and fix the airports and ports. After that, who knows.

 

All I've seen is him patting himself on the back for the great job he's doing, how everyone is doing a great job. Of course the people in Puerto Rico are without power, water, and medicine so once again Trump is Bullshitter in Chief, only this time with people's lives on the line.

 

I don't disagree. But, he's shifted from the position that he'd rather talk about football players and PR is the agent of its own destruction because of its debt. By talking so much about it today, he's put himself on the hook for avoiding a major humanitarian catastrophe. Now, if Trumpers start reading about an escalating disaster in PR, they'll say 'I thought Trump was going to take care of this.' That's why I'm happy about it; he's acknowledged it is something that should be addressed.

 

Doing a great job Brownie.

 

This is a couple of days old, but this is for the glynch, sitting in his living room:

Military conducting multiple operations to help Hurricane Maria-struck Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

WASHINGTON – The Defense Department has dispatched about 2,600 troops to aid Hurricane Maria victims in the U.S. Virgin Islands and in Puerto Rico, where access to power and communications remained severely limited five days after the Category 4 storm struck the U.S. territory.


The military has focused primarily on conducting search and rescue operations, delivering life-sustaining supplies and providing generators and fuel to power critical infrastructure such as water treatment facilities and hospitals, Army Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday.


Military units were also conducting route and airfield clearance in Puerto Rico, Manning said. Marines and sailors from the USS Kearsarge, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship now in the Caribbean Sea, were deployed Sunday on the island for the mission. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico National Guard members were conducting similar clearance operations while also helping evacuate victims and installing temporary communications infrastructure.


Helicopter-borne troops from the Kearsarge have conducted eight medical evacuation missions this week and delivered about 22,200 pounds of supplies and cargo to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Manning said. The Kearsarge was initially deployed to respond to Hurricane Harvey when the storm struck the Texas coast in late August. The ship has since been used to respond to Hurricane Irma and Maria.


The Pentagon on Monday also deployed eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from Fort Campbell in Kentucky to San Juan to help officials in Puerto Rico distribute goods across the island, Manning said. Officials have estimated it will be months before power is restored to some parts of the island that is home to 3.4 million people.


Army Corps of Engineers personnel on Monday were helping inspect the Guajataca Dam, a critical levee in Puerto Rico’s northwest corner that is in danger of breaking, Manning said. Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló on Friday ordered 70,000 inhabitants near the dam to evacuate.


The military has pledged to provide as much help as the federal government asks of it in response to Maria and the two earlier storms that ravaged parts of Texas, Louisiana, Florida and the Caribbean.


Thousands of U.S. troops remain committed to operations in Texas and Florida in response to Harvey and Irma, but the relief efforts have not stretched the Pentagon too thin, Manning said Monday.


“We have the capability to do exactly what we’re doing, and we’re going to do all we can for the people of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in the wake of these disastrous storms,” he said. “This is a long-term effort. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and [the Defense Department] will continue to support them as long as support is needed.”

https://www.stripes.com/news/milita...rto-rico-virgin-islands-1.489496#.WctCaMZryUk