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Angry Rant Against Duke Energy [1]

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Date: 2022-12-29

"I am the Lorax, who speaks for the trees, which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please." From "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss

After a week of sub-freezing temperatures here in South Carolina, the week of a snowless winter has passed and, although it is still late December, the heralding of Spring is accentuated with swarms of flying insects and the temperature outdoors rising to 60 degrees. So, I decided to go for my daily walk with the same sweater I wore in the house at where I keep the thermostat at 67° during the day, and 62° at night. I can afford to keep my home at a balmy 72° night and day. I don’t lower my thermostat in the winter to save money; I do it to save the planet.

Of course, I expect no matter how much catastrophic climate change destroys the environment, some humans and some other species will manage to survive. I just don’t like the idea that more people will die from global warming than from all the wars in human history. I might not be around to see that happen, but that gives me no solace since my children and grandchildren will have to live through it, if they are even able to survive.

The words “global warming” were jettisoned for “climate change” by those forces who wanted to do nothing to prevent such climactic catastrophes since it cut into their short-term profits. “Climate change” sounds more benign and less threatening. Yet, it is difficult to appreciate that the recent blizzard in Buffalo that killed thirty-seven people there, died from “global warming.” Yet although scientists don’t agree precisely how global warming and climate change produce a polar vortex that forces arctic air far south, they seem united that a warming planet is contributing to climactic climate conditions, including the Buffalo blizzard.

So, it was more pleasant to walk through my neighborhood than it was one week ago when the temperature was 20°.

As I got home, I reached for the key to my front door. Since I knew I would be walking, I took the house key off the interlocking key rings containing a handful of heavy keys. Only I took the wrong key. To prevent such careless mishaps, I keep a spare key in my wallet. Only I didn’t take my wallet. For last next line of defense against getting locked out of my own home, I had hidden a spare key somewhere in my back yard. It was hidden where it was impossible to see, but easy to find IF I remembered to put it back the last time I got locked out of the house.

It was there! I could easily get back into my house. But as I looked around my backyard, the spare house key clasped in my fist, I grew angrier and angrier.

Several trees and shrubbery were cut down and hacked to the ground with chainsaws, butchering my back yard. I had not called anyone to do so. I didn’t ask anyone to do so. I didn’t want anyone to do so. I had enough foliage to provide privacy, both for myself, and my neighbors behind me who had a swimming pool. All gone. Why?

I have lived in my home on this property for over twenty years, only to discover that on paper I might own the property, but in actuality it is owned by Duke Energy, the power company. If they come onto my property it isn’t trespassing. No one came to my door asking my permission. They simply opened the back gate (ignoring the Beware of the Dog sign) and cut away. I had no say in the process. I didn’t even know they were there as I was in Georgia visiting family at the time.

Conservatives cry out that government erodes personal freedom. Although many conservatives actually are working to erode personal freedom, such as trying to ban abortions for women, they hold fast to the principle that every man’s home is their castle, and they have the right to own a gun, (or several dozen including automatic weapons) to defend their property. But does our property not also include the lot we have a house on? Apparently the all-powerful omnipotent power company believes every bush, shrub, and tree on my property belongs to them, and if they want to destroy them, that is just too bad for me if I mind.

Of course, they did send a letter. Did it start out saying, “You don’t own your trees; we do. We are going to come and chop them down whether you like it or not.” Oh, no. Instead they started out saying, “Duke Energy is committed to providing you with safe, reliable electric service…”

It is bad enough to rape someone. Don’t justify it by saying you are doing them a favor. They had their reasons for cutting down my trees. They said what their reasons were in their letter. The point is, they didn’t care if I agreed with their reasons or not.

They wanted to cut my trees and shrubbery because, in their own words, they want to “keep the lines that deliver electricity to your home free from trees and underbrush.” This might sound reasonable—unless you think about it. It is one thing if I want them to do this, and an entirely another thing if they do it regardless of whether I want them to or not. They insist they know what I want, but insinuate I am incapable of knowing what I want. This attitude is appropriate for the care of young children. Parents know best; “No, dear, you can’t stick a fork into the electric socket.” Yet this attitude is wholly inappropriate in any business relationship between adults. “Your hair is too long, we have to give you a haircut whether you want us to or not. It’s for your own good.” Forcing an adult citizen to do something they don’t want to do, for their own good, is nothing less that tyranny. Our founding fathers worried about the tyranny of big government. Today we need to worry about the tyranny of big monopolistic powerful corporations, who don’t even need to worry about losing customers.

Now many of you might not mind this at all, and disagreeing, make the cogent argument that by pruning my trees, they don’t have to worry about ice or snow storms interrupting my power service. Why should they have to go to all the trouble and expense of repairing power lines, when the problem could be prevented by killing the trees? For that I have three answers.

The first has already been addressed. It should be obvious, in spite of their flowery letter, that the power company is doing this for the power company, and not for me. If it were for me, it would be my choice.

The second reason is that each individual can only do so much to fight the impending threat of climate change. This is why I lower my thermostat in winter and raise it much higher in summer. This is why I plan to make sure my next car is electric. (The last car I bought was a Prius hybrid.) This is why I invested and put solar panels on my roof—but refused to cut down large trees that shaded portions of my roof. As I told the solar company salesman, I am not just doing this just to save money; I am doing this to help save the planet. Trees take carbon out of the air and put it into the ground. Indeed, many companies, wanting to look environmentally friendly, advertise if you buy their product, they will plant a tree. It is easier to avoid cutting down the trees you already own, unless there is a compelling reason to do so. There is little if anything I can do about the destruction of the Amazon rain-forest. I thought I could at least have more trees and foliage in my own back yard where I wanted trees.

But doesn’t the power company has a compelling reason to do so? NO! All the power company has to do is put the power lines underground. If they were to do this, they would never have to worry about inclement weather knocking out power. They do this in rich neighborhoods where wealthy homeowners have enough political clout to make sure ugly power lines don’t mar the beauty of their pristine neighborhood lest inflated home values go down. Only I don’t live in a rich neighborhood.

The bitter truth is the power company would prefer people freeze to death rather than go to the initial expense of putting power-lines underground. Over ten years ago an ice-storm swept through northern South Carolina leaving many without power in freezing temperatures for days. The power company knew then they had an insurmountable problem and had to bring in workers from other power companies around the Southeast. Yet Duke Energy eschewed long-term solutions, and instead invested in giving hefty campaign contributions to anyone in North or South Carolina government who might curtail how they want to do business. And, thankfully for the environment, trees grow back. But this only means that Duke Energy is only providing a temporary solution, that may save money in the short run, but will cost far more money in the long run.

At times like this I wish that the electric company was owned by the government. But isn’t that socialism? But what we have here in South Carolina isn’t free-enterprise; it isn’t even capitalism, it is capitalism run amok—to the extent where the power company owns the government, and the paying customer has no say whatsoever.

Allow me to close my rant with a quote from John Boyle from the Asheville Citizen Times who summed up this issue succinctly:

“Generally speaking, it's hard to stop a man with a chain saw from doing what he wants to do.”

[END]
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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/29/2144438/--Angry-Rant-Against-Duke-Energy

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