Just so long as they shut up and stop complaining when the lights go out, fine

I think that I shall never see, voltage lovely as a tree

The Greenwich Tree Hugger Conservancy Association is out with more advice on how to stop Eversource from trimming trees threatening power lines. It’s understandable a homeowner wouldn’t want his trees cut back in an unsightly manner, and Greenwich has curtailed pruning the trees along our power lines accordingly, enacting rules that are far more restrictive than those in other towns. And why not? We’re a special people in a special place, and we deserve special consideration. It’s unfortunate that windstorms and the crass nature of electrical transmission itself don’t acknowledge our sensitivities, but that’s what generators are for, no?

But the only thing more annoying than losing power for hours or days, repeatedly, is listening to the howls of our elected officials and inconvenienced residents in the aftermath of these frequent blackouts. Howls directed at Eversource (and before that, CL&P — this has been going on for decades) accusing them of incompetence and dereliction of duty, as though our own restrictions on tree trimming and opposition to substations and other infrastructure improvements have no connection with the problem. Cause and effect? But we’re Greenwich!

It’s a trade off: beautifully manicured trees or reliable power, and we’ve come down on the side of the trees. So accept the cost of that bargain, and light a candle or curse the darkness, but don’t pretend it’s someone else’s fault.