Hetebølgen i USA fortsetter og fortsetter. Nå trues Silicon Valley og dermed
deler av internett av strømstans. Samtidig raser voldsomme skogbranner, som
man regner med ikke vil kunne stoppes før snøen kommer(!). Jeg gjentar at
den Frp.'er som for ti år siden spådde at "om ti år snakker ingen om
klimatrusselen" kommer til å ete sine ord i seg.
Karsten Johansen
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_866000/866932.stm
Saturday, 5 August, 2000, 07:34 GMT 08:34 UK
California facing power cuts
Hi-tech California companies are at risk of blackouts A week of high
temperatures has pushed America's most populous state - California - to the
brink of unprecedented blackouts.
Power companies say if the heatwave continues, they will be forced to pull
the plug on certain key areas in order to keep the entire grid system from
failing.
Our California correspondent, David Willis, says this situation could plunge
Silicon Valley, the backbone of the information technology industry, into
darkness - which could affect internet users around the world.
The heatwave has led to record demand for electricity as people turn to fans
and air conditioners as a means of staying cool.
Lack of generation capacity
With reserve capacity at an all-time low, thanks largely to the increased
use of computers and no new power stations due on stream for several years,
the utility companies are hinting that blackouts may prove unavoidable.
President Clinton has ordered federal agencies based in California to cut
their energy consumption in an attempt to ease the crisis.
California's Independent System Operator (ISO), which operates most of the
grid, was forced to buy in supplies from neighbouring grids to help
stabilise the situation.
Some customers, whose contracts allow them to have their service interrupted
in times of shortages, did lose their power.
Soaring demand
Power companies say it is the burgeoning hi-tech industries which are
largely responsible for soaring demand in power consumption.
One microchip manufacturing plant burns as much power as 50,000 homes,
experts say.
Although many new plants are now planned, the prolonged approval and
construction process means most will not come on line before 2002.
But some firms are taking matters into their own hands. Oracle has already
built its own sub-station and several of its rivals, including Microsoft,
are said to be thinking of doing the same.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_868000/868133.stm
Sunday, 6 August, 2000, 15:21 GMT 16:21 UK Weather worsens US fires
Dry, hot weather will not help the fire-fighting effort As President Bill
Clinton prepares to travel to fire-ravaged western states of America this
week, fears are growing that the situation could get even worse.
With fires raging in 11 states, across more than 360,000 hectares (900,000
acres), more hot weather with dry lightning is being forecast.
Mr Clinton is expected to tour the area, and to meet some of the more than
1,500 troops who have been sent in to help exhausted civilian fire crews.
"The president wanted to just let the firefighters know how much the country
appreciates what they are doing," said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart.
Poor forecasts
The fires are already being described as the worst for 50 years, but
officials say this could be only the start.
"August and September are still ahead of us," said Dennis Pendleton, the top
US Forest Service representative at the National Interagency Fire Centre,
where state and federal agencies are co-ordinating the firefighting effort.
He noted that the late summer usually brings the most destructive fires,
adding: "This has the potential to be one of the worst fire seasons on
record."
Forecasters predict continued high temperatures, low humidity, and rainless
thunderstorms - conditions conducive to even more fires.
Dry lightning storms are expected this week in the eastern Sierras of
California, Utah, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
Giant scars
Forecasters say the kind of break in the weather needed to change the west's
tinderbox conditions may not occur until October or November.
According to the National Interagency Fire Centre, eight new fires have
started since Saturday, but seven other large fires have been brought under
control.
Some 70 separate fires are still burning, sending thick clouds of smoke
across swathes of countryside, from the Canadian border down to Mexico.
In Oregon a general emergency has been declared.
The BBC's correspondent David Willis in Portland says that even though the
National Guard has mobilised helicopters to douse flames from the sky, they
are no match for Mother Nature.
Flying over the burning bush, the bright red patches look like giant scars
on the landscape.
Evacuations
In all, more than 62,000 wildfires have been reported across the United
States this year, scorching about 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres).
Urban areas near the fires are beginning to feel the effects: eye-burning
smoke, closed roads, and low visibility that prevents commercial planes from
landing.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes and the fires are
now threatening wildlife and sites of archaeological importance.
In a number of areas the firefighters have been beaten back by the flames,
or withdrawn because the situation has become too dangerous.
Australia, a country used to dealing with brush fires, is also sending in
experts. Firefighters from Canada are already helping, and neighbouring
Mexico could be asked for assistance as well.
Bildegalleri over skogbrannene:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_868000/868492.stm
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