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Crisis in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is still a mess. 60% of the island is out of power and there is zero land line telephone service. I'd estimate that only about 70% of the traffic lights in the island are working 6 months after the storm and it is less than 50% on the north coast, and I don't remember seeing one functioning traffic light in San Juan, though my time there was limited to driving to airport. There are power lines strewn about the roads and power line poles littering the sides of the roads all over the place; there is debris everywhere in places like Mayaguez on the West coast and Arecibo on the north coast. Several people I met and asked how they were doing responded with "I'm ok, I've got power and water now so I can't complain." Pretty sure our entire hotel was run on generators. I spent most of my time in the Southwest which was the least affected but also the sparsest human population density (aside from the central mountains). The good news is that every where I went there were power trucks on the roads working to restore normalcy. In my few conversations with the locals I gleaned that most people blame the Governor and not the feds for mishandling the recovery, but the reality is that there is no money to manage the recovery.

Probably less interesting to most folks, but, ecologically (which was why I was down there), There are a few sad stories. The eastern population of the Puerto Rican Parrot, a highly endangered and reintroduced population is nearly completely wiped out, they found many of the radio tracked individuals dead and have only located a few individuals since the storm; there is a second population in the West so the species is ok for now. The other sad news I heard was that the bat populations suffer near total collapse following the storm. Coastal fresh water wetlands, where most aerial insects breed were inundated with salt water during the storm surge so insect populations disappeared for about a month and fruit bearing trees that support fruit eating bat populations were also badly affected. We went to one cave that last year supported an estimated 300,000 bats and on the night we were there we counted a few hundred.
 
Puerto Rico is still a mess. 60% of the island is out of power and there is zero land line telephone service. I'd estimate that only about 70% of the traffic lights in the island are working 6 months after the storm and it is less than 50% on the north coast, and I don't remember seeing one functioning traffic light in San Juan, though my time there was limited to driving to airport. There are power lines strewn about the roads and power line poles littering the sides of the roads all over the place; there is debris everywhere in places like Mayaguez on the West coast and Arecibo on the north coast. Several people I met and asked how they were doing responded with "I'm ok, I've got power and water now so I can't complain." Pretty sure our entire hotel was run on generators. I spent most of my time in the Southwest which was the least affected but also the sparsest human population density (aside from the central mountains). The good news is that every where I went there were power trucks on the roads working to restore normalcy. In my few conversations with the locals I gleaned that most people blame the Governor and not the feds for mishandling the recovery, but the reality is that there is no money to manage the recovery.

Probably less interesting to most folks, but, ecologically (which was why I was down there), There are a few sad stories. The eastern population of the Puerto Rican Parrot, a highly endangered and reintroduced population is nearly completely wiped out, they found many of the radio tracked individuals dead and have only located a few individuals since the storm; there is a second population in the West so the species is ok for now. The other sad news I heard was that the bat populations suffer near total collapse following the storm. Coastal fresh water wetlands, where most aerial insects breed were inundated with salt water during the storm surge so insect populations disappeared for about a month and fruit bearing trees that support fruit eating bat populations were also badly affected. We went to one cave that last year supported an estimated 300,000 bats and on the night we were there we counted a few hundred.

A couple excellent examples of the how the lack of resiliency caused by population declines and habitat loss will continue to be magnified as we get stronger and more frequent weather events.
 
Thanks for the report, birdman. It's amazing how our federal government could essentially bail on Americans like this.
 
So now doubt there was federal mishandling in PR, but apparently (as birdman indicates with the frustration with the governor) there are a lot of local issues as well.

My organization (our CEO in particular) has been very involved in a lot of work happening around rebuilding the electrical grid. And it sounds like there are a lot of effed up issues with the way the government works down there. Essentially every time a new governor is voted in (and they basically all end up servicing one year terms), there is a wholesale change in leadership across the island - which has historically included the electricity company. So every four years strategic planning changes and initiatives get thrown out. So the electric company was already in bad shape and the storms just compounded everything. They are planning to privatize to provide some stability, but there are just all sorts of other bureaucratic issues, not to mention debt, etc.
 
Thanks for the report, birdman. It's amazing how our federal government could essentially bail on Americans like this.

Dude, they're medium to darker skinned, mostly speak Spanish and don't vote. They already passed a tax cut bill that helped the rich and lower income folks that only claim the standard deduction but screwed over people who own expensive real estate, iow, people from CA and the Northeast. So it's not the 1st time Trump has raised his middle finger to a segment of American society that hasn't done anything to help him.
 
So now doubt there was federal mishandling in PR, but apparently (as birdman indicates with the frustration with the governor) there are a lot of local issues as well.

My organization (our CEO in particular) has been very involved in a lot of work happening around rebuilding the electrical grid. And it sounds like there are a lot of effed up issues with the way the government works down there. Essentially every time a new governor is voted in (and they basically all end up servicing one year terms), there is a wholesale change in leadership across the island - which has historically included the electricity company. So every four years strategic planning changes and initiatives get thrown out. So the electric company was already in bad shape and the storms just compounded everything. They are planning to privatize to provide some stability, but there are just all sorts of other bureaucratic issues, not to mention debt, etc.

The one thing the Feds could have done was release a lot of disaster relief money quickly and set up some sort of temporary debt relief situation, like set up a two year plan where Washington covers their debt payments but PR pays Washington back in the long run.
The local government is so burdened with debt their hands are completely tied.
 
Doing what can be done. You have a Mayor more interested in political stunts and union truckers failing to mobilize from day one. Not quite the same community stories shining through as we saw elsewhere. Puerto Rican governance bears the blame for goods going undistributed
 
Just as amazing to see the Bullshit sites Snopes (coked up ceo with his Vegas prostitute wife) and the equally corrupt “politifact” call the walkout of Puerto Rican truck drivers..

This ^ unadulterated horsey shit is pedaled as “fact checking” all while YouTube has multiple videos of the strike taking place directly on the heels of the hurricane.

https://cdllife.com/2017/puerto-ric...drivers-to-deliver-hurricane-relief-supplies/
 
^

“Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló says that he’s begging anyone who can legally drive a commercial truck or bus to come forward to help to distribute the supplies. He said, “If you are a bus driver and have equipment, just come to where the diesel is being dispensed, come where the food is being dispensed in the ports. We are making every effort to make sure everybody knows this.”
 
Incredible video of Union boss who claims the truckers are not on strike but rather are not complying with the Puerto Rican government and FEMA’s coordinated plans. He says they are not striking but negotiating. Nice to watch the Puerto Rican news reporters and anchors take him to task

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FK6ht8Vs5pM
 
A group of young missionaries in Puerto Rico —

..on their travels across the island helping different communities they hear the truth of massive and long time corruption of the Puerto Rican Government. Toward the end they talk to a group of Puerto Rican ex US Military guys who are distributing supplies for FEMA. It is revealed that Mayors across Puerto Rico have been co-opting supplies and stockpiling goods in their own homes.

^ I assume to provide for themselves and sell/fleece the citizenry

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RgeBvsb_zJM
 
Just as amazing to see the Bullshit sites Snopes (coked up ceo with his Vegas prostitute wife) and the equally corrupt “politifact” call the walkout of Puerto Rican truck drivers..

This ^ unadulterated horsey shit is pedaled as “fact checking” all while YouTube has multiple videos of the strike taking place directly on the heels of the hurricane.

https://cdllife.com/2017/puerto-ric...drivers-to-deliver-hurricane-relief-supplies/

Not surprising that you wouldn't like a fact checking site that calls all of your conspiracy theory bullshit for what it is.
 

Whenever Trump supporters bring up talking points such as "what harmful things has Trump really done as president?" or "liberals have grossly exaggerated the damage Trump has done, or could do, as president", people should mention what happened in Puerto Rico, and the Trump Administration's handling of the crisis after the hurricane. That alone should be enough to shut them up (it won't, of course, as many Trumpites may not be aware that Puerto Rico is a part of the US, and even if they do, the fact that the residents are Hispanic and speak Spanish will be enough to dismiss Trump's actions/inaction there).
 
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So I am sitting here at a clinic in the South East part of PR. Fucking disaster out here many still with no power and clean up hasn’t even started. I am not sure what the plans are here but this is going to take a generation to fix...very sad.
 
Even if Trump and his base of idiots and starfuckers don't care about PR because of their brown-ness, shouldn't they care about it from a national security standpoint?
 
Even if Trump and his base of idiots and starfuckers don't care about PR because of their brown-ness, shouldn't they care about it from a national security standpoint?

Yes. Big concern. Neglected PR (and to some extent US VI) is the perfect environment to foment radicalism. These are US citizens that our country has turned its back on; only a matter of time before the anger and despair is felt in CONUS (so completely predictable).
 
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