Photo Credit: news.sky.com
An historic blizzard that has swept through Texas caused great damage to the lives of thousands of people across the lone star state. The unprecedented storm has yet again raised the question of how bad climate change is affecting the globe. The topic of climate change comes with a tremendous political force. Many Texans lost the security of having a home to take shelter which naturally led them to turn to their government for help. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, faced backlash from thousands of critics as he vacationed in Mexico while the people of his state were suffering. A proud climate change denier, Cruz was south of the border while The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency for the state of Texas.
According to the governor’s office, approximately 1.2 million Texans lost their power during the storm. The infrastructure in Texas is not built to sustain such abnormal winter conditions. The battle between whether or not this is a once in a lifetime storm or a new norm caused by climate change ensued. Texas Governor Greg Abbott made a statement rebuking the existence of solar and wind energy: “It just shows that fossil fuel is necessary for the state of Texas, as well as other states, to make sure that we will be able to heat our homes in the winter time and cool our homes in the summer time.” This statement given became extremely controversial as his naysayers called him “disingenuous” for suggesting renewable energy was to blame although the power grid of the state of Texas heavily relies on natural gas. “It’s an order of magnitude smaller than problems with natural gas, coal and nuclear energy,” said Samuel Newell, of the Brattle Group, an energy consulting company, when referring to the role wind energy played in the state’s failure.
Elected officials like Governor Abbott intentionally deflect responsibility for their mishaps to save their chances at reelection and consequently, the solution to the problem that may help many people becomes lost. Climate change is extremely complex and many scientists are divided on whether recent weather in Texas is a result of it. Although many people view climate change as the globe becoming warmer, there are many variables that can actually make a normally hot region very cold. The arctic air of the north pole is contained by the jet stream, but as the temperature of the north pole rises, it causes the arctic air to break through the jet stream. The warmer air from the north pole escapes south and can cause severe blizzards in even the warmest parts of the U.S. This so-called “warmer air” is only warm by the standards of the north pole. It is still well below freezing and strong enough to do the damage that storm Uri did to Texas.
The variables of climate change may be disputed but to completely deny its existence is harmful to the future of the planet. The lives of millions of people are in jeopardy while politicians move the goal post to deflect responsibility. The role of government is to protect its citizens but how can that be possible if the elected officials refuse to acknowledge an imminent danger to the future of America? The studies of accredited scientists should have priority over the bias of politicians. The political divide of climate change is counterproductive to solving the problem. Blaming renewable energy for the disaster in Texas is not only a half-truth but a blatant disregard for the responsibility humans have to curb the ramifications of climate change.
