"Texas On My Mind" Doesn't Really Have the Same Ring to It
But neither does Bluorgia, so let's just get into this wintery mess
Friends, I’ll be honest: I have always sucked at science.
I can’t do basic math, I bribed my biology teacher with Munchkins for his four-year-old son to get extra study help, and my high school chemistry teacher quit halfway through our first term so my class only ever learned how to balance element equations.
Needless to say, while I may not be the best nor brightest scientific mind in the bunch, I’ve been trying my best to follow what’s unfolding with the U.S.’s current weather patterns. But because there are no equations to balance in the conversations surrounding climate change and global warming, I also spoke with Vanessa Ishimwe, a first-year law student with Bachelors in Environmental Science and political science and a climate policy background, to help understand the actual science behind everything that’s unfolding to give the news a little more context. (She’s also a Leo sun which, as an Aquarius, makes me intrinsically trust her.)
Without further ado, let’s break down the news of what’s happening with the weather across the country, in what ways this is the continuation of a much bigger global trend, and why people are once again talking about the Green New Deal.
Let’s start with what’s going on in Texas
A massive winter storm tore through America last week, hitting Texas exceptionally hard. Well over 2 million were without power for most of the week and as of Thursday, 14 million in the state faced water disruptions (meaning they didn’t have access to clean drinking water or any water at all). Food was also largely inaccessible, and the lack of electricity made it impossible for some to survive in the cold described by the Washington Post as “frigid Arctic temperatures.”
As of yesterday, 58 people have died across the South as a result of the tragic weather pattern with 32 of them coming from Texas. Many have noted on Twitter, TikTok, and in certain media outlets that disabled individuals (particularly those relying on ventilators and oxygen tanks) and unhoused individuals are two of the hardest-hit groups.
What’s happening in Texas and across the South overall is horrifying, but among the scariest occurrences is the repetition of the phrase “a once-in-a-generation event.” There are two reasons why this statement gives me the heebies on an existential level:
My first heebie jeebie is how similar this statement sounds to what we heard during the California wildfires at the start of last year and at the end of the 2020 hurricane season. The LA Times released a comprehensive look at decades of wildfire data last September titled, “The worst fire season ever. Again.” which immediately asserts their argument that “the last 10 years have shattered records. 2020 tops them all.”
By comparing the data regarding acres burned, property damaged, and effects on air quality from the fires of this past decade with those that occurred between 2000-2010, the Times made it abundantly clear that although we continue to assert that each passing year has the “record-breaking” worst fires, the record continues to be broken the next year.
My second hebbie is that, with the presence of this first jeebie and all the evidence available to support it, the descriptor of once-in-a-lifetime is going to be proven untrue sometime in this generation.
While I said I wasn’t great at science, I will give myself some credit here because when I asked Vanessa to explain climate change and how it accounts for both rampant wildfires and freezing temperatures, she confirmed that this second fear is actually pretty spot-on: “Don’t believe the people who call these unusual weather events once-in-a-lifetime experiences, though: as the planet warms, severe weather that used to be rare will become our new normal.“
But how did we get to a point where cruel and unusual weather patterns became the norm?
As someone whose science knowledge begins and ends with Punnett Squares, I asked Vanessa to help make environmental science understandable to someone like myself. Being the absolute queen that she is, she did just that:
“Over the past hundred years or so, humans have dramatically increased the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in our atmosphere by burning more and more fossil fuels.
As you can tell by their name, GHGs like carbon dioxide cause global warming by trapping solar heat in our atmosphere just like the glass walls of a greenhouse trap warm air inside.
But it’s not just global warming.
Rising temperatures across the planet cause all kinds of extreme weather events, from droughts to hurricanes, to become more intense and more frequent. Thus, the record-breaking dry, hot conditions in California last year contributed to the biggest wildfire season ever.
It’s counterintuitive, but rising temperatures also exacerbate extreme winter weather. That’s because warming temperatures increase all kinds of precipitation, leading to heavier rainfalls in the spring and heavier snowfalls in the winter.
Rapidly warming air also disrupts the polar vortex over the Arctic, causing Arctic blasts of cold air to be displaced far south, a phenomenon which brought unusually freezing temperatures to Texas this month.”
So that doesn’t sound great.
But if the problem of climate change is man-made, wouldn’t that theoretically mean that the best solution to fix it would be human-led as well? If we caused all this, shouldn’t we be able to stop and maybe even reverse the damage we’ve already done to the climate?
“We can address the climate crisis in two major ways.
For one, we need to fight climate change by aggressively reducing GHG emissions. This will require everything from ramping up nuclear power plants to rethinking animal agriculture. But it’s equally important that we adapt to our new normal, that we acknowledge that the climate has already changed and prepare our communities to become more resilient, taking steps like building better infrastructure and developing better emergency response plans.
Even though we are already living in a changed climate, we can slow down and theoretically even reverse climate change through carbon removal, a variety of different strategies for removing carbon dioxide (the main GHG) directly from the atmosphere.
While we probably can’t actually reverse all the damage we’ve done, I’m (cautiously) optimistic about the potential of carbon removal, which, combined with massive reductions to GHG emissions, can still help us limit the effects of climate change in a meaningful way.”
When it comes to climate change legislation, the first two pieces that immediately come to my mind and probably to yours are the Paris Agreement and the Green New Deal, both of which seem to be in everyone’s mouths lately. So I asked Vanessa about both.
The Paris Agreement is a United Nations treaty focused on negating climate change around the world. It requires the 196 countries that agreed to it to undergo an “economic and social transformation, based on the best available science.” Essentially, the participating countries have to make concrete plans and changes to reduce the amount of GHGs their populations each produce.
I wanted to know if Vanessa believes rejoining the Paris Agreement would offer any actual change or if it was just a nice diplomatic act (as well as a very obvious middle finger from Biden to Trump).
“America’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement weakened the entire process, and rejoining is more than just a nice gesture in my opinion; it encourages nations and businesses to invest in green energy and technology because it shows that the world’s wealthiest nation is back on board with purchasing those things.
In rejoining, the U.S. has promised to make increasingly ambitious climate goals and share data about how we’re doing in order to facilitate global cooperation to fight climate change.”
Government Fun Fact:
According to the Library of Congress, “Domestically, treaties to which the United States is a party are equivalent in status to Federal legislation, forming part of what the Constitution calls ‘the supreme Law of the Land.’”
Now that the U.S. has rejoined the Paris Agreement, not only does it look good for America to back on board with fighting climate change as Vanessa stated, it literally requires our country to get involved with taking concrete action steps to make a change.
This past week, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in the news for raising $5 million for relief funds in Texas. In response to what the nation was seeing in Texas in particular, AOC tweeted:
Although the Green New Deal failed to move from the House to the Senate for a vote in 2019, it still feels like we talk about it in our regular partisan discourse no fewer than four times a month. In all honesty, I’ve always felt like I never understood what the Green New Deal actually proposed because of the hot partisan takes on it, which is not great!
Vanessa explained the gist of what the original Green New Deal offered was “a whole suite of policies and projects to reduce GHG emissions while advancing social justice.” At its core, the Green New Deal aimed to create “a massive program of investments in clean-energy jobs and infrastructure, meant to transform not just the energy sector, but the entire economy. It is meant both to decarbonize the economy and to make it fairer and more just.”
This week has proven that just as I have long misunderstood what the resolution contained, so to do those who continue to oppose it. The continuing demonization of a piece of legislation that is no longer up for debate can only serve to hinder efforts made to prevent weather emergencies like the one in Texas from happening again soon.
Yet, there is some hope: despite its Senate failure, Vanessa said that “some of the Green New Deal’s best ideas are already being implemented: President Biden recently signed an Executive Order to create a Civilian Climate Corps, a government program that will create high-paying green jobs.” President Biden has promised to continue to fight against climate change in a number of other ways similar to the measures proposed in the Green New Deal. Three cheers to maybe having a planet to live on through our adulthood!
What are some next steps we can all take to help the environment?
One way to be a more environmentally conscious citizen is to not fly to Cancún in the middle of a weather emergency. But Vanessa also offered some great advice for what to do once you’ve been shamed out of your family vacation to Mexico:
“Think of fighting climate change as a group effort. Beyond staying politically engaged, which is a given, try asking your employer, your church, your homeowner’s association, or any other institutions you may be part of to prioritize sustainability. If you’re going to try Meatless Mondays or learn how to compost, try to involve your roommates or family.
And please don’t buy into bullshit sustainable marketing. Before spending extra money buying from ‘sustainable brands,’ consider not buying anything at all or buying secondhand. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Seriously!”
In addition to this advice, I asked Vanessa if she had any book recommendations for anyone who wants to continue learning about the current climate crisis:
“If you’re feeling overwhelmed about the climate crisis and would rather feel empowered, I’d read Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change by George Marshall. If you want specific, science-driven advice on how to live more sustainably, try Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living by the Union for Concerned Scientists.”
I’m still trying to learn more about the science behind climate change —such as why it’s essential to limit the planet’s overall warming to 1.5°C— and I hope you all will, too. But I also hope that this helped lay the groundwork for what the hell is going on and what we can do about it.
A HUGE thank you to Vanessa Ishimwe for her insight, explanations, and for generally just being the best! And also another big thank you to Ted Cruz for offering quality entertainment this week. I do sincerely hope he and Heidi figure who are the two moles in their group chat.
Here are some mutual aid groups, efforts, and other resources to continue helping those in Texas:
