Planet Week: Texas freezes over
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Last week, researchers linked air pollution to infertility. An undercover investigation found grocery stores are leaking super pollutants. And amid a government crackdown in India, a climate activist was jailed for allegedly distributing a protesting toolkit.
In case you missed it, here’s what else happened around the Planet:
Sunday, February 14
Texas freezes over
Last week, a record cold front and series of winter storms swept through Texas, leaving at least 30 Texans dead, nearly 5 million without power, and over 14 million with water shortages. A week later, millions are still dealing with the fallout.
How the hell could this happen? Let’s break it down:
- For one, the winter storms were wild. As temperatures dropped into the negative, much of Texas was 40–50 degrees Fahrenheit colder than average February temperatures. Over the week, over 6,600 cold weather records were tied or broken.
- Though some falsely claimed wind power was to blame for the outages, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power make up 80% of Texas’s power supply. So while some wind turbines did freeze, the much larger problem was frozen natural gas pipelines, as well as iced gas and coal generators.
- Unfit infrastructure is also why millions are now facing a water shortage. Burst pipes, pump failures, and power outages at treatment plants are behind the unfolding crisis, writes The Texas Tribune.
- Texas is also the only state to operate its own power grid, making it more susceptible when a crisis strikes. Just as the supply of electricity was falling, the demand for electricity spiked, forcing operators to conduct rolling blackouts, explains Vox.
Now onto the larger picture: Though the science is unclear, global warming could very well be behind sweeping cold fronts. Climate change is heating the Arctic and disrupting the jet stream, a thin band of strong wind that circles the north pole. Changes in temperatures are shifting this jet stream south, unleashing frigid cold air across lower latitudes. Reuters explains this phenomenon, also known as a polar vortex.
In Planet Days last week, we explored how politicizing disasters, like those in Texas, is hurting our ability to take climate action.
Tuesday, February 16
IBM announces new climate goal
Last week, IBM pledged to eliminate greenhouse gases from its operations by 2030, joining a slew of other corporations with similar commitments. Unlike other computing giants, though, IBM is focusing solely on ways to prevent emissions, rather than capture CO2 once it’s in the atmosphere.
To achieve this goal, IBM is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 65% by 2025 and operate on 90% clean energy by 2030. IBM also plans to apply its expertise in cloud computing and artificial intelligence to solve climate change problems.
There is a caveat: The commitment does little to address the emissions of IBM’s actual products, which accounts for most of IBM’s carbon footprint. The Verge has more.
Bill Gates’s approach to climate change
Bill Gates offered pointers for solving climate change in his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, out on Tuesday. The book shows that Gates has a deep understanding of the climate crisis and can communicate this understanding in an accessible, engaging way, writes The Guardian. But the book is not without its faults.
According to Gates, one of the best ways for the U.S. to fight climate change isn’t by directly cutting emissions — it’s by reducing the cost of climate-friendly technologies. There is some merit to his argument, as The Atlantic points out, but Gates also fails to acknowledge the increase in cheap energy alternatives and the slow pace of implementation.
Wednesday, February 17
Climate denier dies
Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, 70, died on Wednesday, leaving behind a legacy of lies, hate, and climate denial. But it’s the last point that may be most consequential.
For three decades, Limbaugh spoke directly to 15 million listeners, pedaling misinformation, politicizing science, and shaping the Republican Party into what it is today: skeptical, if not downright dismissive, of climate change.
“Climate change denial is one of the greatest and most terrible gifts Limbaugh gave to conservatism,” John K. Wilson, author of The Most Dangerous Man in America: Rush Limbaugh’s Assault on Reason, told HEATED. “It will continue for years and decades to come.”
Ford goes all-in on electric vehicles in Europe
The momentum keeps building for electric vehicles (EVs). On Wednesday, Ford Motor Company announced that all its passenger cars in Europe will be electric by 2030. The company is spearheading this effort with a $1 billion new EV facility in Cologne, which will roll out all-electric cars by 2023.
Before we get too excited, Ford only makes up about 5% of the European car market, and the car company still plans to make gas-powered commercial vehicles there for the foreseeable future, reports The New York Times.
Still, the move comes days after Jaguar announced it’s going all-electric by 2025 and weeks after General Motors announced plans to be carbon neutral by 2040, marking a steady, if not inevitable, global shift to EVs.
Thursday, February 18
How to make peace with nature
A new United Nations report leaves no debate: We must transform our relationship with nature to tackle converging environmental crises.
The 168-page document recaps the latest science, including the landmark 2019 report that concluded that one million animal and plant species now face extinction because of humans. This biodiversity loss, paired with the climate crisis and pollution, are already killing millions of people each year, so there’s little time to waste.
“Humanity is waging war on nature,” U.N. chief Antonio Guterres wrote in the report. “[M]aking peace with nature, securing its health and building on the critical and undervalued benefits that it provides are key to a prosperous and sustainable future for all.” CNN has more.
Friday, February 19
America is back
It’s official: The U.S. is back in the Paris Agreement, the international pact to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“We can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change,” President Joe Biden said Friday. “This is a global existential crisis, and all of us will suffer if we fail.”
Since the Paris Agreement is non-binding, the move is largely symbolic — the real test comes with correcting Trump’s rampant environmental deregulations while simultaneously delivering ambitious, long-term climate action. Still, the move shows the new administration’s willingness to work with other countries to solve the climate crisis, reports The Associated Press.
Bonus
Save the turtles
The unprecedented cold in Texas didn’t just affect millions of people: It stunned sea turtles, too. Volunteers have rescued about 4,900 turtles, which are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather, from freezing waters around the state, bringing them to safety until temperatures return to normal.
“We have people who have not had power or water in their own homes in three to four days working 15 to 18 hours a day to save turtles,” Wendy Knight, executive director of Sea Turtle, Inc., told National Geographic. “The gas stations are now out of gas, and the grocery stores are out of water, and people are still showing up. That says something about the caliber of a community.”
Have a great week.
— Brandon and Sam
