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by ahmeneeroe-v2 492 days ago
I am 90% in agreement with you. I do think that you should consider how rural/suburban areas have all of the generation and transmission which the cities rely on for their power.

It's not exactly fair to treat those rural residents as burdens to the urban areas when they provide the means for the urban areas to exist.

3 comments

> It's not exactly fair to treat those rural residents as burdens to the urban areas when they provide the means for the urban areas to exist.

There's a difference between people that are in farming/ranching and industry vs. people that are rural to afford a more lavish home in the woods or on the hills.

Even still, a system that doesn't appropriately price and apportion risk will always be under pressure.

>a system that doesn't appropriately price and apportion risk will always be under pressure

Very well stated, I am stealing this. Also in agreement with rural resource types vs rich rural.

Again I think it is more complex than just apportioning power costs. CA effectively has a state policy of not maintaining its forest/rural land (ditto feds and their land). My parents live adjacent to national forest and have fire evacuations nearly every year.

There is nothing that the rural residents in their area can do to mitigate risk, even at their own cost. So we're asking them to bear the cost of the state/fed policy decisions. This is exactly the problem you describe of inappropriate price/risk apportionment.

The forests are supposed to burn.

They mitigate by building fireproof homes and leaving when the fire comes. Or just not living there.

Yes, small frequent burns which are allowed to consume the dry biomass. This does not describe the current fire management process in the western US
> they provide the means for the urban areas to exist

Unless you’re referring to farmers I don’t understand this point. As of right now it is the other way around.

No. Build the generation for urban areas within those same urban areas.
How about:

- we get rid of nimby enabling laws

- don’t subsidize rural customers

- automate farming