Charlie explains that in 2004, Florida was hit by three major hurricanes: Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma. A big problem was that people trying to escape the storms couldn't find a functioning gas station: Electricity would go out in an area, leaving the stations without the power necessary to pump their gas.
State legislators came up with a terrific solution to the problem: They passed a law that all stations had to have infrastructure in place that would allow them to run off an outside power source (a generator). In addition, all stations along designated evacuation routes were required to install the infrastructure retroactively if necessary (pre-2006).
Great idea, guys! Well done!
Just one small problem.
They left one tiny loophole in the law: Stations built after 2006, and stations along evacuation routes, were required to have the infrastructure -- but they weren't required to have the generator.
Duh!Charlie says:
You have to be kidding me. You require the switches and the wiring, but you don’t require the gas stations to buy the generators that are the whole point of this exercise anyway? This is exactly like requiring factories to have sprinkler systems but not requiring those systems to be hooked up to any water supply. To borrow a phrase from Thursday’s blog—this is your democracy, America. Cherish it.
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