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Texas is experiencing one of the worst blackouts in US history. Millions have been without power during an extreme cold weather storm (keep on reading to find out the role climate change played).
Read this thread as we debunk rumors and talk about how we protect communities.
Read this thread as we debunk rumors and talk about how we protect communities.
First things first. The compound crisis of ongoing inequality, COVID, extreme cold and power outages is having an impact. Find a good list of mutual aid opportunities here that you can add to (thanks @EricHolthaus ) https://thephoenix.substack.com/p/tuesday-thread-mutual-aid-for-texas/comments?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNzg1OTgxOCwicG9zdF9pZCI6MzI2MTAyMDksIl8iOiJhY21DSCIsImlhdCI6MTYxMzUwMjY4MywiZXhwIjoxNjEzNTA2MjgzLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMTAyMzk5Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.h0OLgR6XEiq9HwkIBD3mD4gOnKFx5t9MB4lcjqlFMyQ
But how could climate change lead to more cold weather? Climate change is warming the Arctic so much that it is leading to more severe polar vortex storms - like the one that just blasted through Central US. https://heated.world/p/the-climate-is-drunk-again
Some pundits claim that the blackout is b/c Texas wind farms couldn't stand the cold. (Texas has the highest wind generation capacity in US). The truth is all forms of power generation got blasted. https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-real-reason-for-texas-rolling-blackouts-1846279110
Though the majority of outages were from gas-fired plants
Though the majority of outages were from gas-fired plants
But let's go into the specifics of Texas' power grid and why it failed.
https://twitter.com/ctraywick/status/1361715146176024578
Texas has an electrical grid that is mostly separate from the rest of the US - and the reason is to lessen regulations on the fossil fuel industry. https://twitter.com/TexasTribune/status/1361480471461457929
https://twitter.com/ctraywick/status/1361715146176024578
Texas has an electrical grid that is mostly separate from the rest of the US - and the reason is to lessen regulations on the fossil fuel industry. https://twitter.com/TexasTribune/status/1361480471461457929
If we want to have electrical systems that can stand the increased pressures of climate change, then we to release the grip of power the fossil fuel industry has on power. We also need to hastily upgrade our networks. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/climate/texas-power-grid-failures.html
Now is the time to invest in renewable energy and build electrical systems that can meet the needs of ALL communities - not just the wealthy ones https://twitter.com/TerriG_KVUE/status/1361505736749166594
