That California is all messed up. Always has been, always will be. Whether or not he's right depends on how we meet this challenge. One thing that doesn't make sense is to behave as if these blackouts are a whimsical act of nature, unpredictable as an El Ni o. Traffic signals go black at intersections and Road Warriors miraculously become Miss Manners.
Families reconnect before a blank television.
Dinners are eaten by candlelight. Parents tuck extra blankets around small children at bedtime. Neighbors help neighbors. But these blackouts aren't Mother Nature whipped into a frenzy. Human beings are orchestrating them to avoid a power grid collapse that could spread uncontrollably throughout the West.