As soon as we get through the tunnel:
"Report cites costs, risks of Big Dig leaks; Chief engineer’s account warns of safety and structural issues - and of the millions in needed repairs ahead" July 24, 2011|By Sean P. Murphy and Scott Allen, Globe Staff
Constant water leaks into the Big Dig tunnels are causing safety problems and tens of millions of dollars in damage, including corroded electrical systems and flooded air vents, and have even begun to damage the enormous steel girders that support the Tip O’Neill Tunnel, according to an internal report by the Big Dig’s chief engineer obtained by the Globe.
After taxpayers paid over $15 billion for that pos, and will be paying billions more in interest for years to come. And you wonder why the T system in Boston sucks?
But the April report, intended to brief a new top deputy to Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan, was extensively rewritten at transportation headquarters, where staff reduced the seven-page report by two-thirds. The shortened report covered most of Helmut Ernst’s major points, but left out much of the detail on the present and future cost of repairs and omitted some specific warnings by Ernst about the potential threat of the ongoing leaks to the safety and long-term structural integrity of the tunnels.
Yeah, but because Massachusetts is liberal(?) and Democratic you can trust 'em.
By the time new highway administrator Frank DePaola briefed the transportation board of directors on the issue this month, he likened the major leaks to the water from “three garden hoses’’ and stressed that “the tunnels are safe.’’
Can states just not help but lie or what?
Ernst’s report does not say the tunnels are unsafe, but voices more alarm at the potential risks of the leaks. The report was written after a corroded 110-pound light fixture crashed Feb. 8 in the O’Neill Tunnel, revealing widespread corrosion in lights throughout the 7.5-mile Big Dig tunnel system. Ernst’s report makes it clear that the fallen light is part of a much larger problem: the salty ground water that seeps in through cracks and other openings in the tunnels.
“Tunnel leaks are a more vexing problem as they are widespread throughout the tunnel and are the cause of safety concerns and [have] a damaging effect on the tunnel structure and equipment,’’ wrote Ernst.
Ernst listed more than $150 million in immediate leak repair and prevention projects and stressed that potentially more-costly leak repairs lie ahead, including extensive excavation to repair major cracks in one tunnel. He has previously said that replacing and rewiring corroded tunnel lights could cost $200 million....
Un-flipping-real.
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Related: State fires Big Dig’s chief engineer
They fired the guy that blew the whistle?
Also see: Leaving the Light on For You
That might be more difficult, dear readers:
"GOP can’t prevent efficient new light bulb standards
WASHINGTON - House Republicans failed to stop the enactment of new energy-saving standards for light bulbs they portrayed as another example of big government interfering in people’s lives.
It's the truth.
Now they are telling you what lights you have to have in your home. Not even Hitler went that far, and when you start adding up the millions (and counting) of Muslims AmeriKa has murdered.... (shudder).
The GOP bill to overturn the standards set to go into effect next year fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. The vote was 233 to 193.
For many Republicans, those newfangled curly fluorescent light bulbs were the last straw, pushed by an overreaching government.
Hey, they are only helping to screwing the light bulb in for you. Now bend over and spread 'em.
Their legislation would have kept the marketplace clear for cheap, energy-wasting bulbs that have changed little since Thomas Edison invented them in 1879.
The standards in question do not specifically ban the old bulbs but require a higher level of efficiency than the classics can produce, essentially nudging them off store shelves over the next few years.
The standards have not been particularly contentious before now. They were crafted in 2007 with Republican participation and signed into law by President George W. Bush. People seem to like the new choices and the energy savings, polling finds.
The new bulbs suggest to some conservatives that big government is running amok.
“Now the government wants to tell consumers what type of light bulb they use to read, cook, … or light their garage,’’ said Representative Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican.
The White House says the standards drive innovation, create jobs, and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
The second they cite that greenhouse gas argument they lose me. We are TIRED of the LIES being U$ED to PU$H an AGENDA!
Incandescent bulbs are not disappearing. Today’s energy-savings choices include incandescent lighting that is more efficient, and more expensive to purchase, than the old standbys....
WTF? You guys think we are made of money out here?
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Globe was burning a bright front-page bulb today:
"Dim view of lighting law; Consumers hoarding old-fashioned bulbs ahead of federal phaseout" by Beth Teitell, Globe Staff / August 4, 2011
After years of looming as a distant threat, the federally mandated phaseout of some incandescent bulbs is about to become very real.
Many Americans have no idea that most traditional light bulbs are about to disappear, to be replaced by energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights, light-emitting diodes, and halogen incandescents....
Many Americans have no idea about a lot of things; however, this may light things up for them in a way no bank fraud ever could.
Beyond issues of politics, appearance, and light quality, what some people most dread is that the new bulbs require a bit of attention. A country that couldn’t be bothered to learn the metric system is now being forced to think about a product that, up until now, has been the same since Thomas Edison got his patent in 1879....
I don't know about you, but I feel insulted by that subtle slander from the supremacist and elitist mouthpiece.
As for the appearance of some of the bulbs, particularly the curly CFLs, let’s not go there. “They’re coyote ugly,’’ Margaret Pelton, 48, of South Boston, put it as she faced down a wall of spiral CFLs at The Home Depot in Dorchester.
Pelton also has a noncosmetic complaint: “Who are they to make me buy these bulbs?’’ she asked, griping about price and the difficulty of properly disposing of mercury-containing CFLs....
Oh, they DIDN'T TELL YOU the things are considered HAZARDOUS WASTE and you need to go through about 8 steps to get rid of them?
Yeah, the threat is global warming that doesn't exist; just ignore the radiation, oil spills, and cancer-causing pollutants coursing through our environment poisoning the land, air, and water.
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Lights out for tonight, readers.
