Millions of Texans remain without power from a superstorm that already has killed at least 20 people, at least partly because windmills from which nearly one-quarter of the state’s energy is generated froze
The storm pushed frigid air over a state unaccustomed to such temperatures, and a second surge is expected this week.
But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., said the solution to the problem is simple: More windmills.
The infrastructure failures in Texas are quite literally what happens when you *don’t* pursue a Green New Deal.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 17, 2021
“The infrastructure failures in Texas are quite literally what happens when you *don’t* pursue a Green New Deal,” she wrote on Twitter.
Fox News reported she charged that “the lack of investment in the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, political leaders who do not believe in climate change and the abandonment of low-income, minority and indigenous communities are to blame for the dire situation.”
“Weak on sweeping next-gen public infrastructure investments, little focus on equity so communities are left behind, climate deniers in leadership so they don’t long prep for disaster,” she wrote. “We need to help people *now.* Long-term we must realize these are the consequences of inaction.”
She proposed her Green New Deal two years ago along with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson said the “green energy” components of the Texas power grid, the frozen windmills, bore much of the blame for the loss of power in 4 million homes.
“Who saw that coming in Texas?” Carlson said. “If there’s one thing you would think Texas would be able to do, it’s keep the lights on. Most electricity comes from natural gas and Texas produces more of that than any place on the continent. There are huge natural gas deposits all over the state. Running out of energy in Texas is like starving to death at the grocery store: You can only do it on purpose, and Texas did.”
More than 3 million people remained without power in the state on Wednesday, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said “long-term solutions” are needed to fix the problem.
“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Abbott said. “Far too many Texans are without power and heat for their homes as our state faces freezing temperatures and severe winter weather. This is unacceptable.”
ERCOT officials said they have no idea when power will be restored.
Natural gas and coal operations also were having difficulties.
The Associated Press reported the next surge of the cold weather was forecast to engulf parts of Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi before moving northeast on Thursday.
National Weather Service spokesman Bob Oravec said, “There’s really no letup to some of the misery people are feeling across that area.”
As the polar vortex descended onto southern states, one Houston family succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning from car exhaust in the garage.
Many of the power outages in other states were because of rolling blackouts utilities were using to ease the strain on their systems.
Officials in a number of Texas cities reported their water systems were disrupted, and residents in Houston were told to boil their water – if they had power to do that – because of power shortages within the water delivery system.
Authorities reported a fire that killed three young children and their grandmother in the Houston area likely spread from the fireplace they were using to keep warm.
“No matter which way you cut it, this is a massive failure for a grid and a state that holds up energy and electricity as a shining example,” Varun Rai, of the Energy Institute in Austin, told USA Today.
DailyMail.com reported that besides the frozen wind towers, plants that used natural gas to produce electricity were compromised because their infrastructure was not designed to withstand severe winter temperatures.
Within a week, temperatures could be back in the 60s.
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