My parents, who live in Austin, Texas, got power back late last night after going without electricity and heat for 48 hours. Power had been highly intermittent for days before the system crashed on Monday. My parents, who are in their eighties, have no alternative source of heat in their house and could not get their car out of the driveway because of the ice and snow. And even if they could leave home, where would they go? — Austin only has one major warming center, way downtown. To make matters worse, last night they were warned that their water…
Why Electric Vehicles Will Not Save the Planet
The streets of Jackson Heights, epicenter of the pandemic in the country’s worst-hit city, were eerily empty last spring. People ambled along roads once ruled by aggressive automobiles, their freedom in the streets interrupted only by the sound of sirens, tokens of otherwise invisible sickness and death. New York City was turned into a ghost town as people locked down, businesses were shuttered, and the rich cut-and-ran to their country homes. It was a terrifying time, and not only because of the mass death that stalked the city: long breadlines began forming in outer boroughs like Queens and the Bronx…
Ashley Dawson
Ashley Dawson, Professor of Postcolonial Studies at the City University of New York, writes about environmental issues and climate justice.
