Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Monday, May 08, 2006
Long Hot Summer
In Iraq.
The insurgent tactic of sabotaging electrical supplies is beginning to bite as temperatures climb here. Last week, two power stations which supply Baghdad were both down, one with technical problems and the other because surrounding power lines were blown up. The capital had less than three hours of power a day.

A small minority of Baghdad's 6 million people has generators but they are normally used only to keep refrigerators and TV sets running in homes that can afford them. They're also noisy. And they need constant topping up so they smell of fuel. It's uncomfortable to depend on them.

In a couple of homes I've visited over the past few days I've noticed how everyone seems to take the power outages for granted. People cook with gas here, but they eat by candlelight. It's still only late spring, but already the houses are very hot during the day. In another month temperatures will top a hundred degrees and eventually go over 120 during August and early September. People are already sleeping on rooftops, braving bugs and sometimes even falling bullets in an effort to stay cool.
There are stories everyday about the tragedy that is Iraq. I don't know about the rest of you, but I get tragedy fatigue afterawhile. Yet, I feel some sort of obligation to look.
Written at 9:32 AM by Greyhair.
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