Letters: Darkness and ire after Irene

In this modern world, electricity is no longer just a convenience ["Feeling powerless," News, Aug. 31]. Yet towns and other local governments insist on planting trees directly under the power lines (it's their right of way).

Then along comes a storm, and the wind knocks down the trees, taking the power lines down with them. Whole neighborhoods suffer without power because of one felled tree.

It's time to stop this ridiculous practice. Planting trees anywhere near power lines is about as smart as putting screen doors on a submarine.

Eric Grasman, Massapequa
 

Taking into consideration Long Island's unique location, our vulnerability to nature's wrath is unmistakable. As countless residents across both Nassau and Suffolk counties lost power following the storm, a sense of despair and frustration has taken root.

Utility companies need to consider an infrastructure change that includes placing power lines underground. Until this happens, the loss of power will continue each time a significant weather event takes aim at us.

Jason E. Hill, Ridge
 

The Long Island Power Authority's performance following Irene has been horrific. Everyone understands the challenges of repairing the electric grid following any weather event, and LIPA's news conferences do little to inform.

In my town, at one point, any layman could see that nearly all of the residents have no power, but LIPA's website showed only six outages for Fort Salonga. Even more troubling is that more than 48 hours after the storm, the status continued to be "assessing situation." We've not seen a single LIPA vehicle in this area.

Richard Wisniewski, Fort Salonga
 

Regarding the letter "Storm disaster was mostly avoided" [Aug. 30], which argued for passing legislation in New York to make insurance companies offer "buybacks" of hurricane deductibles, as is done in other coastal states: Our State Legislature must go further. Catastrophic climate change, which is now accelerating faster than even many climate scientists predicted, will cause more intense and frequent weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, hailstorms, droughts, heat waves and rising seas. In recognition of this unpleasant fact, two solid establishment institutions, Lloyd's of London and the Pentagon, have planned for the future.

In a report subtitled "Climate Change: Adapt or Bust," Lloyd's, the pre-eminent insurer, warned, "The insurance industry must do more now to understand and actively manage climate change risk." The company is aware of the trillions of dollars (or pounds sterling) that will be lost as a result of this century's global warming.

The Pentagon, in February 2010, issued a report stating that crafting a strategic approach to climate and energy is a priority. Climate change is a national security issue because catastrophic changes due to global warming will cause floods, droughts, famines, social unrest, and tens of millions of climate refugees in the next 20 years. The Pentagon takes this so seriously that it considers climate change in its plans.

So U.S. insurance companies must begin to change their own perspectives and policies as a result of the rapidly changing, dangerous effects of global warming on all regions of the United States. Reality is changing, and insurance companies must adapt.

Ed Ciaccio, Douglaston
 

Not that I am surprised, but my wife was right again. On Sunday, she predicted that by Tuesday, Newsday would be reporting on LIPA's lackluster response to the hurricane. Admittedly, hers was not a Nostradamus-level prognostication. Did anyone see that familiar logo motoring around the Island on Sunday or Monday? I didn't.

Josh H. Kardisch, East Meadow
 

Are they kidding? We all knew for days that a hurricane was headed this way. Literally thousands of customers are without power -- still!

And the nerve of LIPA not to answer the phone! But, guess what, when they want money from me, they sure let me know.

Today, I was advised that because there is such a small percentage of homes without power in my area, we would be left for last. That's nice; I'll remember to pay them last. If LIPA had competition we wouldn't be at their mercy.

Carolyn Puskuldjian Farrell, Bayville
 

My brother is a member of the Farmingville Fire Department. He always regales me with stories of how awful people are despite his saving them, but this sent me over the edge.

My brother and a couple other guys from the fire department decided to help out the town by clearing the roads of fallen trees. They started around 2 a.m., and continued for 14 hours. He encountered nasty and ungrateful people. People were nasty when, after making the roads safer and passable, the men didn't haul the debris away with them.

The fire department isn't a cleanup crew; it's an emergency service.

Ashley Sullivan, Farmingville
 

As usual many people are complaining about how long it is taking LIPA to remove trees after the storm. Let's not forget that there are thousands of trees that came down and many are tangled up with people's houses, cars, telephone poles and electrical wires, creating very hazardous working conditions. Removing a tree under ideal conditions is time- and labor-intensive to start with.

These guys are human like the rest of us and this is very taxing work physically. One slip, and they can easily lose a limb and even die on the job. Let's cut them some slack and appreciate them for all the hard work they are doing on our behalf.

Many homeowners have not sunk a nickel into maintaining the health of their trees by properly pruning them over the years or removing sick trees.

Timothy Consiglio, Hauppauge
 

Leave the utility workers alone. Stop annoying them. They have a dangerous job to do and they don't need you in their work area distracting them. They have been working long hours, and you're not helping.

If you don't like the speed at which things are being done, call the chairman's office, or the Public Service Commission. The guys in the trucks are doing what they can.

Jon Deitch, Huntington
 

In reference to the article "LI's short fuse" [News, Aug. 31], LIPA officials predict that 90 percent of homes will have power by the weekend, with the remaining lingering into the weekend and possibly next week.

Let's shut off the power to those LIPA officials' houses for seven days, and see how they like it.

Dan Oill, Amityville
 

On Monday, I called to get an update on restoration status in my neighborhood. The LIPA representative stated that crews had been dispatched. When I repeatedly challenged that, the rep finally admitted that no crews had been sent.

On Tuesday evening, I contacted LIPA again to report that no one had even surveyed the damage in my neighborhood. The person on the phone insisted they had, until I had them read the damage reports. They were the exact reports that I had phoned in Sunday morning.

It is way past time for LIPA to be replaced!

James Pearsall, Mastic Beach