Uh, Mr. Inspector General?

So, obviously, with the power out in the sweltering Gulf Coast, it was important to have ice for refrigeration. So you'd want a whole lot of ice. Which may where this all got started:

PORTLAND, ME -- The government originally ordered the ice for hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

They ordered 169.4 million pounds of ice. Now, thousands of pounds of that is sitting in Portland.

Some of the drivers who are now waiting to unload their trucks have been on the road for the relief efforts since the day before the storm hit.

They're in Maine because FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, realized they had too much ice on their hands in the gulf and decided to store it in case of another disaster.

The agency admits that the ice is worth millions of dollars, and the truckers are getting paid by the day to haul it around even though it hasn't been delivered anywhere useful.

However, a spokesperson for FEMA says the ice is in Portland so it will be readily available in case of another hurricane - like Rita.

The agency says making more ice takes time -- and it would rather have too much ice available for disasters than not enough.

So, has anyone at FEMA got a map? I have to think that, even if you buy this whole "we're storing it for future needs" thing, that there are better locations than Portland, Maine, way up there in the corner of the country. How long will it take a truck to get from Portland to Galveston, for instance?

Unless they're giving a lot more credence to global warming than they've let on, the odds of needing ice in close proximity to Portland are pretty low. Are there no refrigerated warehouses near Chicago? St. Louis? Or, if we're worried about hurricane season, Dallas or Atlanta?

Thousands of pounds of ice, on trucks sent to Portland, Maine. Huh.