September 1, 2011 As I write this, electric power is just now returning in the last remaining North Carolina neighborhoods darkened by Hurricane Irene’s pole-cracking winds last weekend. Chainsaws are still buzzing, landfills are just beginning to be overrun with truckloads of debris, and people flooded out of their homes are returning, exhausted from the ordeal. Hatteras Island, isolated by those infamous breaches of Highway 12, has a long recovery ahead. Across the east, cleanup is in full swing. For many it’s simply another case of “here we go again.” I realize how fortunate I...