Today, nearing the end of February 2021, we walked around Austin, Texas in a balmy 83 degrees. We were wearing shorts and carrying water bottles for the heat- such a difference from the freezing cold weather of just one week before. Last week, we experienced the full impact of the past 20 years of Texas energy deregulation during the time of climate change. We experienced what happens when huge winter storms hit most of the state at one time, and continue for several days. As storms go, this one wasn’t terrible compared to winter storms we experienced while living in upstate New York. The temperatures went well below freezing, but not below 0 deg. F, like our northern neighbors. We had a lot of snow but it was measured in inches not feet. So why were we so affected, when half of Texas probably came from a northern state and knows all about snow? And what did we learn from this great Snowmageddon event of 2021?
1.) Climate Change Can Cause Weird Weather in Either Direction: Snow or Heat
We’ve seen this snow climate change effect when living in the Northeast, where the Great Lakes aren’t freezing for as long or as completely as they used to, and higher precipitation in the air causes deep snow falls in New York and surrounding states. Generally, Texas has seen intense hurricanes and storms carrying huge amounts of water (such as Hurricane Hugo) hitting the coast, but not long and severe snowstorms hitting the entire state for a week. Our powerplants, houses, roads, and general infrastructure are all planned for extreme heat waves, but the changing weather patterns and extreme storm of 2021 showed a weakness that needs to be acknowledged and planned into our long term climate strategy.
2.) Blame the Greenies:
Texas energy deregulation has apparently meant power plants of all types aren’t required by the state to be weatherized for extreme cold because extreme winter storms are so infrequent. The last one happened in 2011. During the winter storm of 2021, natural gas lines froze, wind turbines had ice build up, coal plants had to be shut down. All of these issues have existing engineering weatherization solutions that were not implemented in Texas. Instead of talking about solutions that could create good infrastructure jobs, or even analyzing the decisions power producers made, what did our government officials do? They blamed the smallest energy producers, namely wind and Solar! Watch out for that Green New Deal (FYI- the Green New Deal was never implemented in Texas, or elsewhere)! Does this solve anything? No! Does it help some public officials and powerful corporate leaders avoid jail for their abdication of planning and leadership leading to the deaths of many? Stay tuned!
3.) Extreme Weather can Severely and Quickly Damage Infrastructure:
Losing electricity sucks, but losing water also is *chefs kiss*! We don’t have basements in the deep south. The frost line is generally around the surface of the ground, and pipes are buried inches to a foot deep. So the quickly dropping snowmageddon temperatures froze and burst pipes all over town. Losing power from the missing power plant weatherizations wasn’t great, but failed water pipes all over town is much worse, and takes even longer to recover.
Snowmageddon 2021 caused immediate impacts on a state that doesn’t have salt or sanding trucks in most cities to keep the roads drivable. The extended snowfall brought down tree branches, and killed a lot of local plants and trees, further impacting powerlines: Many local areas need power lines repaired before electricity can be returned. We tend to prepare for the heat, but the unexpected extreme cold has warned our state to prepare better.
4.) When the Going Gets Tough, Go to Cancun:
I’ve always wondered why so many of our nation’s rich and powerful leaders embrace climate change denialism. We all live on the same planet, and are affected by the same extreme weather and rising seas. I used to think the very rich just plan to climb a mountain and leave the rest of us in the rising seawaters below. Now I see that perhaps the mountain wasn’t in the plan, it was a trip to Cancun with family and friends. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was caught leaving the state at the first sign of repercussions from political leadership decisions. Where were the rest of the Texas Leadership team, besides going on Fox Entertainment, blaming Wind Turbines? Who knows, but they probably had heat and water.
5.) Neighbors Help Neighbors, on a Micro-Community Level
We’ve been very active in our local Buy Nothing Community for the last few years. It’s neighborhood based, and doesn’t allow money or trades, only freely given or asked-for items. I was surprised at how active this community became in a neighborhood with no power to charge mobile phones for several days. After the storm began, some young neighbors acknowledged their lack of preparations for an extended power outage and asked for dry goods to feed young children, and neighbors jumped in quickly. Others asked for access to water after their pipes burst. Several neighbors were visiting houses across our zip code and shutting off water supply lines at the street for other neighbors with burst pipes that didn’t have the tools or knowledge to turn off themselves. Our Buy Nothing Network also includes members in local homeless encampments, and there were supply runs for them before the storm began and before the encampment members were put in local hotels through Austin non-profit initiatives. In such a confusing storm that wasn’t predicted to be so severe or long, hyper-local communities were jumping in to help. There is always good in the middle of the chaos. Ideally we don’t need to deal with this infrastructure chaos frequently, and if we do, we should all know and help our own neighbors.