EoW January 2008

Transat lant ic Cable

$1.5 trillion and counting

The California fires

Congressional committee: Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are far costlier than most Americans realise

Downed power lines were responsible for some of the worst blazes, but the cost of subterranean lines is steep The wildfires that raged through Southern California last fall claimed their 10 th victim on 13 th November, with reports of the death of a Mexican man who died of burns sustained in an effort to cross the US border illegally. In just four days in late October, the blazes burned 410,000 acres and forced at least a half- million people to flee their homes – the largest evacuation in California history. The economic toll is yet to be fully reckoned; but, calculated on the basis solely of property destroyed, the fires caused at least $1 billion in damage in San Diego County alone. That figure – which is expected to rise – does not include business and commercial losses. In the Los Angeles Times , staff writer Joe Mozingo said that downed power lines were suspected of having caused at least five of the 12 major fires, including the notorious Witch fire that burned nearly 200,000 acres, destroyed 1,041 houses, and killed two people. He framed a pertinent question in stark terms: Should utilities do more to prevent failures, particularly in wild- land areas prone to high wind? And are rate payers willing to pay the bill? (‘Downed Power Lines: a Fiery Culprit Only Money Can Stop,’ 4 th November) The danger inherent in above ground high-voltage lines is obvious. The lines can start fires when they cross, touch tree branches, or hit the ground, causing the electrical current to arc in explosions of sparks. High winds and dry weather heighten the danger. But the subject is apparently not much discussed among people accustomed to ignoring threats to the SoCal lifestyle. Los Angeles County supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told the Times: “The utilities and the public sector need to come to the mountain and realise there is an issue here that needs to be addressed.” California does require utilities to clear brush and meet pole strength standards to help prevent downed power lines. But according to Mr Mozingo regulators say the only sure- fire way to remove the fire threat is to replace overhead lines with underground lines. Both Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric told him this would cost a minimum of $1 million a mile, and much more in remote, rocky areas. Some money is earmarked by regulators for burying lines, but the allotment falls far short of the need. Mr Mozingo noted that Edison alone has more than 70,000 miles of overhead lines in its 50,000m² service area, which covers all or parts of 11 counties in Southern and Central California. Burying those lines would ensure safety from power-line fires stoked by high winds. But even in one of the highest-income areas in the country, it comes down to money – and public will. The concentration of news coverage on the loss of life and private property to the wildfires tended to obscure the danger to the manufacturing sector, which is crucial to the economy of the five counties that make up Southern California. ❈

According to a new study that includes ‘hidden costs’ in its estimate of how much the US is paying to wage war in the Middle East, the total is approximately $1.5 trillion. A 21-page draft report of ‘The Hidden Costs of the Iraq War’ was obtained by the Washington Post on 12 th November, a day in advance of publication. Prepared by the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, it estimates that that the two wars had to that point cost the average US family of four more than $20,000. The report posted a total nearly double the $804 billion the White House has expended or requested to fund the wars through the end of 2008 by including such items as higher oil prices, the expense of treating wounded veterans, and interest payments on the money borrowed to pay for the wars. It declares: “The full economic costs of the war to the American taxpayers and the overall US economy go well beyond even the immense federal budget costs already reported.” Writing in the Post on 13 th November, Josh White noted the assertion in the report that war funding is diverting billions of dollars away from ‘productive investment’ by American businesses in the United States. It also claims that the conflicts are pulling reservists and National Guardsmen away from their jobs, resulting in economic disruptions for US employers that the report estimates at $1 billion to $2 billion. (‘Hidden Costs Double Price of Two Wars, Democrats Say’) The committee which produced the report includes House and Senate members from both parties. But it is chaired by a Democrat and its conclusions are certain to be challenged by the Republican administration of President George W Bush. Some early grumbling struck the familiar note that criticism of Mr Bush’s war policies is the sign of the quisling. A spokesman for Senator Sam Brownback, of Kansas, the committee’s senior Republican senator, told the Post: “It sure seems that the [Democratic] Senate leadership is trying to protect their continual proclamations of defeat instead of working for bipartisan progress.” The committee’s chairman, Sen Charles E Schumer, Democrat of New York, was less interested in attitudes than in the statistics. In a statement on the eve of the report’s publication Mr Schumer said: “What [it] makes crystal clear is that the cost to our country in lives lost and dollars spent is tragically unacceptable.” The Washington Post ’s Josh White provided some com- parisons of the costs of US participation in recent wars. According to Congressional Research Service reports, the Vietnam War cost $600 billion in today’s dollars; the 1991 Persian Gulf War, $80 billion. WorldWar II is estimated to have cost $4.9 trillion in today’s dollars. ❈

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EuroWire – January 2008