I Don’t Want to Glaze Over What Happened in Texas:
The Winter Crisis That Shouldn’t Have Been
Opinion article, Written by the Elf on 2/25/2021, I Don’t Want to Glaze Over What Happened in Texas: Snovid 2021
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What Happened- Could Texas Really Not Handle a Little Snow?:
If you are not aware of the crisis that occurred in a majority of Texas last week we’ll do a quick overview of what we’re referring to locally as Snovid 2021.
-An artic air surge made way for winter storm Uri the week of 2/11/21-2/18/21.
-On Valentines Day the first snowstorm (weather.gov) rolled in and the entire state of Texas was under a freeze warning and a majority of the state received sleet or snow by Monday evening and again on Wednesday.
-Temperatures were well below freezing from Sunday evening to Wednesday.
-The state’s independent power grid began to fail, like it has multiple times before (Texas Tribune Article). The panhandle did not have massive outages because that part of Texas is under another power grid. There are two that separate the United States plus the small independent one that a majority of Texas is on.
-Minutes away from total power failure, rolling blackouts started.
-Over 4 and a half million people were without power.
-Many people also were without water, over ten million were on water boil notice, because of system failures or pipes bursting.
-Historic levels of snow and sleet fell. (Weather.com article) And because Texas does not have the weather infrastructure to deal with ice and snow- with most things being built to let out the heat instead of keeping it in, people were also stuck inside.
So while, yes, the infrastructure is not there to handle all that snow and ice. It was the failure of power and water systems that took us from a historical and damaging storm to full-on crisis.
How did that create a crisis?
-Inaccessible roads led to accidents and had people stuck in their homes, shelters or at jobs.
-A majority while experiencing total power failure or rolling blackouts.
-The loss of heat and calls to limit water usage led to frozen and burst pipes, destroying homes and businesses.
-Many people were unprepared and did not have adequate food or ability to warm their homes without electricity.
-People died trying to keep warm in unsafe ways or trying to get to warming shelters.
-The water systems in some cities failed, leaving some people without electricity, warmth, and water.
-Many people lost an entire week of work, or lost their jobs entirely, leading to even more food insecurity.
-The damage statewide is estimated to above $15 billion dollars.
The Only Thing Fun About Reckoning is the Word Itself:
Texas was not the only place that this historic winter storm hit. Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arkansas also have infrastructure that is mostly designed to keep heat out. These states also experienced the same storm. They also had power outages, but their grids didn’t collapse or start rolling blackouts. In fact, another historic ice storm happened in Oklahoma in October that knocked out power for over 300,000 and caused a lot of damage. (NPR) But the state was more prepared and wasn’t on it’s own independent grid.
As with any disaster and crisis, people are quick to point fingers. Many at the new green deal that HAS NOT EVEN STARTED IN TEXAS. (Texas Tribune) . Saying that wind turbines don’t work in the winter when there are literally wind turbines in Antarctica that work just fine. But there was a stark difference between the keyboard warriors, the politicians desperate not to accept any blame, and the helpers. You know you need new leadership when no one is able to take any responsibility. Like a senator mocks California for losing power on a massive scale and can’t accept any accountability when it happens to his own state. Who regularly rails on the country of Mexico but then escapes to a Mexican resort and then blames it on his kids. (BBC) Who pride themselves on energy providers that sell variable rates and then gouge prices in extreme weather. And as with anything, there were also some amazing examples of leadership- many that praised and helped the emergency crews. (Dallas Morning News, Yahoo News) Like a city council group that evacuated seniors from an impacted nursing home- there are thousands of amazing stories like that which supersede politics- and we’re thankful for them but we still have to reckon with this.
But we’ve had reckonings over winter storms and power failures in our own little grid several times just in the past decade. But money’s managed to sweep it under the rug every time. Unless we have a longer memory this time and actually reckon with WHY we got here and HOW to make sure that it does not happen again. Because the meteorologists have been warning about this and are saying that it won’t be getting better anytime soon.
But there were helpers. Like there always are in a crisis. Neighbors who took each other in. Businesses that opened as warming centers, shelters, who let people leave with free groceries. Wonderful and encouraging stories abound. But that does not take away from the horror of this crisis. People froze and burned to death while others suffered tremendously. This was unacceptable, this was preventable. And as with most anything, the solutions aren’t easy or simple. Which is why we cannot glaze over this. We can’t forget it. We can’t let money sweep it under the rug again and that will only happen if the voices of the constituents are louder and longer. We have to reckon with this.
The Human Toll:
This has been a miserable winter. Our country has lost over 500,000 people to the pandemic. More than died in both World Wars. (NY Times Article) Thousands are still struggling with the virus and long lasting symptoms and effects. Everyone is exhausted mentally and emotionally. Especially healthcare workers… nurses, doctors, ER and nursing home personal. Placing an undue, extra, burden on them right now is deplorable. Yes, many of them would plan to stay at the hospital or nursing home during an ice storm anyways. But an ice storm where no one has access to electricity and in some cases water?! (CBS News Article) And not because a tree fell on a power line, because the state leadership decided multiple times to ignore this issue.
The mental toll is incredible. Nearly a full week later and I still feel like I’m catching up from the exhaustion of a full week of high anxiety. Being in crisis mode for a full week. Will we have power to make dinner? Will the heat come back on? Will the kids sleep through the night at this temperature? Are the pipes going to burst? Do we have enough groceries to make food with no power? How do we keep this room warm? How do I make this a positive experience for kids who are so excited about the snow? How will we make up losing another week of income? If we keep power, can my family and friends get to us without spinning out on the ice? Am I going to have to teach with no electricity? AND SO MUCH MORE.
We will likely never know the full death toll from this storm. Some counties will include only deaths from hypothermia and others will include related accidents. Right now the death toll is listed at 80 people, but I suspect it to be in the hundreds. (Wall Street Journal) People died from ice related accidents, fires and gas poisoning from trying to stay warm, and from not being able to access adequate medical care or equipment.
Is Texas Pride the Answer?
It’s frustrating to me to see so many memes and stories pop up touting Texas pride. Because while there are a ton of great reasons to love our state- the fact that we were just in an incredibly deep crisis when we didn’t need to be is NOT one of them. Yes, there are so many incredible stories or survival and helpers. And that’s wonderful but when the glittery snow and ice melts, what’s left is sludge (and billions of dollars of damage)- and worse still, families that will never be the same. Let’s not let the glitter of pride in how we survived cover the fact that we were in this crisis because our state did not respond and reckon with this inevitability in the first place. We’ve got to muck through the sludge and make sure that this isn’t just left to investigations and ignored suggestions.
This is an opinion piece. I’m not an economist, meteorologist, or lawyer. I’m not going to try to explain ERCOT, or why regulations are apparently just as much to blame. But I am committed to learning more and writing elected officials. Because while we made some awesome memories this week- what happened was not ok. And It wasn’t just because of nature- otherwise the panhandle would have experienced the same thing we did in North Texas. So maybe Texas pride isn’t the answer this time- we need introspection and to understand why our independent grid was the only one to fail.
As this NYT article points out, Texas is growing at an astronomical rate. And there are a lot of reasons to love Texas. But we also have to stop working against our environment. Listening to the people who have raised concerns and written plans in the past and making new legislation now. Can we both adequately invest in new energy resources while also preparing our current system for extreme weather? Many meteorologists and economists, like this one, say that it is possible, but our big energy companies won’t like it.
How to Help Texans in Need:
A majority of Texans are and will continue to be struggling because of this storm for a long time. Increased food insecurity. Burst pipes impacted homes, offices, schools, non-profits (Like Genesis Women’s Shelter) and more. There are still people without power. So many people got sick or were injured. Many lost incomes and jobs. And if you are not worried about any of that, you’re likely worried about your energy or water bill. (Which seems a little ridiculous considering how much power was lost). So check in on the Texans you know.
*If you are a Texas who experienced home or business damage, there is a voluntary survey to fill out for the department of emergency management. Find it here at TDEM.texas.gov/warm. You can apply for FEMA aid here. And USDA assistance for farmers and ranchers here.
*Legacy Collective is a Texas non-profit that will split it’s donations between multiple agencies- you can donate here.
*Donating to any Texas Food pantry/bank would be really helpful. Like Minnie’s Food Pantry in Collin County.
*If you live in or near Texas- checking on your neighbors, supporting small businesses that received damages or lost a week, and donating time at your local food bank are all helpful.
With the weather in Texas being what it is, by the end of the weekend, it was over 70 degrees and all the ice has melted. But the muddy, salty, sludge remains- and we have to make sure that we take care of it. Because muck is just as easy to slip on as ice.
Before you go, check out these other family posts:
-Lessons from Brene Brown’s special- The Call to Courage
-Lessons and a discussion guide to Disney Pixar’s new movie SOUL
-5 Lessons on Communication from Narnia
-15 Action Steps You Can Take After Watching The Social Dilemma
-Walking Your Teens Through the Movie Just Mercy
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