Widespread power outages eliminated air conditioning. They also caused food to spoil in homes, supermarkets and warehouses, aggravating chronic nutrition challenges in the Houston region.
The Biden Administration wants to boost offshore wind. But other forces, including cost, political opposition and disinformation, have slowed adoption. Texas officials once welcomed offshore wind but are now resistant.
TCN’s very first article asked if then-recent Hurricane Ike’s devastation might prompt Texans to take climate change more seriously. Bob Henson retrospectively considers that question with an eye on changes in science and policy.
One recent study found climate change is boosting both the frequency and intensity of straight-line wind storms. Another concluded such storms may not grow more intense with global warming, but could affect larger areas.
The conservative states’ request highlights their opposition to the Biden Administration’s signature environmental justice policies. The dispute stems from a Louisiana judge’s ruling that race-based considerations exceed EPA authority.
Just as U.S. warming intensified in the 1990s, major wildfires in the Great Plains – largely suppressed by local volunteers – embarked on a devastating comeback. Nowhere has the impact been more dramatic than in Texas.
The U.K.-based Carbon Brief calculated that rolling back Biden administration policies would negate – twice over – all emission savings worldwide from deploying wind, solar and other clean technologies in the past five years.
In his first month in office, Republican Jeff Landry surrounded himself with former fossil fuel executives and targeted the state’s climate change task force. He succeeded Democrat John Bel Edwards, who served two terms as governor.
High-temperature records were smashed on land and sea. But don’t expect the fossil-fueled trend to reverse. “2023 will end up being one of the coldest years of this century,” Texas A&M climate scientist Andrew Dessler said.
Some areas of the state are starting the year with low water reserves, and forecasters don’t expect substantial relief from the weather. Instead, they increasingly foresee another scorching summer.
Many studies show a clear decrease in the number of extreme cold events with global warming. But whether warming may also support their intensity is an open question. Some research suggests it does.
Last year was packed with bizarre weather events – some the unmistakable signs of climate change, others reflecting the fluctuations of extreme weather – which seized people’s attention.
After debating for days, countries agreed at COP28 to “transition away” from oil and gas. The agreement was described as “historic,” “strong,” “monumental,” and “an unmistakable signal” that the fossil fuel era is ending.
The National Climate Assessment sees sea level rise of 11 inches by 2050 and says the transition to wind and solar energy must go two to 10 times faster to meet U.S. goals for reducing greenhouse gases.
As climate change fuels higher temperatures, deaths on the job have increased. But few regulations anywhere address the issue. Texas lawmakers this year banned city ordinances requiring water breaks for construction workers.