Frontlines

Fortnightly Magazine - April 15 1995
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The other day I read in the New York Times that evolution is dead. For humans, at least. It seems we don't have enough sabre-toothed tigers around anymore to cull the weak from the strong.

Now that doesn't mean Darwin was wrong. Few dispute his "survival of the fittest." But without the normal complement of predators, we're each as "fit" as the other. The Times article ("Evolution of Humans May at Last Be Faltering," William K. Stevens, March 14, 1995, p. C1) predicts that even mutations may cease as the human race enters a long evolutionary pause. Darwin's law of natural selection still applies, but "selection" has stopped; we've run out of "natural."

The electric utility industry, however, has not yet broken free of Darwin's theory. The predators still prowl. All utilities are not equally fit. Will restructuring continue in gentle evolution, or will the future bring revolution or mutation? Will the landing be "hard" or soft?"

Electric Evolution

These days my in-box is jammed with reports, "white papers," and outlook pieces attempting to shed light on the evolution of the electric industry in the age of restructuring. Three, in particular, have caught my eye. Each offers some words on electric utility evolution.

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