Our power grid failed. There are eight transmission lines carrying electricity into town; Ida knocked all of them out of commission. Hurricanes cause blackouts, of course, and I was prepared for an extended outage. However, when Ida knocked a rusty old transmission tower into the Mississippi River, it was widely interpreted as evidence of systemic neglect. Entergy, the “regulated” for-profit utility in charge of the city’s power, was unable to produce even an estimated timeline for restoration of power for several days. (It so happens that I’m running for New Orleans City Council At-Large, on a climate-focused campaign that singles out one top priority: to “hold Entergy accountable.” You’ll find my policy priorities on my website.)