Florida cities and towns need to consider putting their power lines underground. The long term investment will pay off, especially considering this is Florida.

Quality of life increases with underground power lines. I don't want to hear about how these power lines cause heating underground that has to be cooled. That is an idiots statement. Underground is hotter than above ground? Really?

When was that electric failure in NYC? It was August 15, 2003. (click here)

August 13, 2008
By JR Minkel

On August 14, 2003, (click here) shortly after 2 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, a high-voltage power line in northern Ohio brushed against some overgrown trees and shut down—a fault, as it's known in the power industry. The line had softened under the heat of the high current coursing through it. Normally, the problem would have tripped an alarm in the control room of FirstEnergy Corporation, an Ohio-based utility company, but the alarm system failed....

That line was above ground. It was exposed to the sun's rays. The lines are black in color and black absorbs heat. There is absolutely no reason to put electric power lines above ground, except it is cheap. 

There needs to be a methodology in examining the reconstruction of Florida. I strongly suggest surveying the land and finding 'high ground' and restore structures there first. Large cities should have priority because they have a higher capacity of providing an economic base to a large number of people. Cites throughout the USA need to consider growing up and not out into the future.

The suburbs are a hideous idea. Resources are better used with higher quality of life for more people in cities. The more people in a square mile, the strong the economy. When people become invested in their local economies, the longevity and stability of these economies become obvious.

I strongly suggest Americans stop living below sea level.

August 29, 2011
Host: Robert Siegel

...KURY: (click here) Certainly the cost is going to depend on the geography and the density of the region. A rule of thumb that we use down here in Florida is roughly a million dollars per mile.

SIEGEL: A million dollars per mile underground. And, say, above ground?

KURY: Well, that would be roughly the incremental cost.

SIEGEL: The incremental cost. I've heard the ratio 10 to 1 tossed around. That it's ten times more expensive to bury power lines than to run them above ground.

KURY: Ten to one is probably not a bad back in the envelope number.

SIEGEL: So it costs a great deal more to bury cables, but then again you don't routinely lose service in snow storms or hurricanes. Don't the costs of maintaining above ground lines start to add up?