Some Thoughts From A Survivor Of The
Texas Winter Storm Crisis
Hot Air,
by
Karen Townsend
Original Article
Posted By: Dreadnought,
2/20/2021 7:05:10 PM
The temperatures in Texas are on the rise and that’s an excellent thing. It’s been a very tough week in the Lone Star State, harrowing, really, and the fall-out from the winter storm isn’t over. It’s really only just beginning. There is plenty of blame to go around and lots of finger-pointing, as always happens in a crisis situation. Was the power outage caused by the state’s renewable energy sources? The traditional energy sources of natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy? It’s all of those sources. Everything failed at the same time. The very rare extreme winter storm caught Texas unable to keep up with energy demands.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
web 2/20/2021 7:57:54 PM (No. 703282)
About 12 years ago we froze in the dark here in Southern New Mexico, without electricity as the temperatures dropped to record lows. El Paso Electric hadn't done anything to protect their transformers and they froze. Isn't anyone employed by these companies to think about such things and plan for them? Apparently not, as these weather events always seem to catch them by surprise, and then we end up paying for it.
13 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
seamusm 2/20/2021 8:27:17 PM (No. 703293)
This winter storm was not a surprise though power outages were. But why wasn't every homeowner called by their insurance agent to advise on prevention of frozen pipe catastrophe.
7 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 2/20/2021 8:33:54 PM (No. 703298)
Terrible experience. Most of us are probably unprepared for an extraordinary event. Portable generator sales will probably be through the roof.
7 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 2/20/2021 8:48:13 PM (No. 703309)
We were very, very fortunate to not lose electricity once during the storm, but I know plenty who did for days. We DID experience that situation for 3 days during a brutal winter storm once in Oklahoma, and it wasn't pleasant. We had nat-gas but no way to run the electric blower motor on the heater. We put blankets all over the place, even around the fish tanks. Somehow, we all survived the temperatures in the teens.
Biden deserves ALL the blame for this, not Cruz.
16 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
HisHandmaiden 2/20/2021 10:48:41 PM (No. 703355)
FTA: ‘The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) operates the electric grid and manages the deregulated market for 75 percent of the state. CEO Bill Magness and others are under fire, as many lawmakers are asking for their resignations.’
Read elsewhere where top two here didn’t even live in Texas...
Additional Truth from a former farm girl:
-when expecting freezing weather, let water drip/run minimally in kitchen sink spigot ‘til freeze is over;
-have alternate heat source, preferably wood or kerosene stove [with air outlet nearby] to keep one room warm;
-have alternate water 2-week [min] supply, even from bathtub;
-keep kerosene lamps handy to walk upstairs or to barn at 3 am;
-and add extra hour to milk [84] cows by hand early each morning, 4 am and night, 4pm. Cold weather will keep the milk ‘til co-op picks it up in a few days, as [MIT grad engineer dad was well prepared with larger milk tank than usual.]
Enjoy your family, help a neighbor, count your Blessings, this too will pass!
KAG
23 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
OK state mom 2/20/2021 11:11:28 PM (No. 703360)
#2 You are funny! Here in Oklahoma every meteorologist was on FB telling us to be ready and be prepared. One specifically get where we planned to be by Saturday night and plan to stay there until Tuesday/Wednesday.
These were record busting temps in Oklahoma and Texas. While hurricane hardy the Texas Gulf Coast does not have the housing codes to prepare them for the weather they received.
My daughter and family made it 48 hours or so with two very young children before bailing out to a friend's house. They had a gasoline powered generator to keep their well house and one room warm. My son in law is from Wichita Falls and knows to prepare for bad weather. This is an upscale neighborhood and each house has their own water well. Some people were using their vehicles as generators to keep their well house warm. Now one of their neighbors ran up $1800 in electricity charges just for Sunday. I've told her they need a propane "bomb" in their backyard for their next event.
8 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
SALady 2/21/2021 12:11:51 AM (No. 703392)
We live in Austin. Over 40 hours without electricity, followed within hours of the electricity coming back on, of going on 80+ hours with no water (and no real idea when it will be back on).
But it has definitely been far more of an inconvenience than anything worse. We have gas, so we were able to run the gas logs in the fireplace to keep warm, and to use the stovetop to cook with. We were able to get several containers of clean water for drinking and cooking before it shut off. And our HOA (who I have cussed at many times, but who really came through this time) unlocked the community pool so that we could get water from it to flush our toilets. We were able to get groceries today to replace the perishables that were running low.
I honestly believe that Texans are a stout hardy group of people. We know this extreme winter weather only happens a couple of times a century. Normally, we have wonderful winters, with little ice and snow (other than maybe in the panhandle). Most winters, it seldom gets below 32, and it really only gets down to 32 a handful of times. Mild winters are our tradeoff for 6 months or more of summer months with many days of 100+ degrees. I happily take that trade-off!!!
15 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
JimBob 2/21/2021 3:29:52 AM (No. 703439)
I read the article at 'Hot Air', and then started reading the comments.
It made me realize (for the 147th time) how decent the L-Dotters are, with their courteous and helpful comments.
The comment section at 'Hot Air' quickly degenerated to a handful of people having a 'urinating contest' with a lot of vicious name-calling.
Again, my appreciation of "all Y-all" L-Dotters for keeping a respectful atmosphere.
(For what it's worth, I'm near Bay Saint Louis on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.... it got colder than usual here, but the water service (in my community it is dependent on electrical power) and the electric power continued to function properly from beginning to end of the storm. If anyone from Coast Electric Power Association is reading this.....THANKS!)
13 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
ronbet 2/21/2021 8:27:16 AM (No. 703529)
Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. In area after area – crime, education, housing, race relations – the situation has gotten worse after the bright new theories were put into operation. The amazing thing is that this history of failure and disaster has neither discouraged the social engineers nor discredited them.
6 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
figowitz 2/21/2021 8:36:54 AM (No. 703535)
Texas sits on an ocean of God-given natural gas. By trying to cater to the wild-eyed green weenies & building those hideous giant fans & inefficient solar farms, we froze. In the dark. For days & days & days. BURN NATURAL GAS!!!
7 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Chuzzles 2/21/2021 11:43:07 AM (No. 703809)
This mess is on two governors who allowed democrats to push this green garbage and run amok over commonsense. Abbott needs to kick some political fanny now if he wants to save his political future. Because this mess is not going to be swept under the rug, not in a state which lives by the motto of 'remember the Alamo'.
5 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
GO3 2/21/2021 12:13:10 PM (No. 703833)
Agree wholeheartedly with #11.
There have been a few L-dotters who have commented on the fact the houses here are not built to handle the cold, or that houses are not built to code. They are right in some cases. Let me elaborate. And sorry, I'm just being honest.
First, some homes, particularly in the southern portion of the state are what I call "Houses by Pedro." A builder will hire illegals as a day job and will cut corners while providing no support to the workers. This is even true in middle to upper middle class neighborhoods. They'll bootleg electricity from the house next door while people are away at work, and get water from their outside spigots. The builder will grease the skids with the inspector, and viola. a new home at a cut rate price. All while the Anglos tsk, tsk illegals, but not realizing what going on to get their best value for the dollar. Pier and beam foundations may save some money, but have to be the worst in handling cold weather and have a habit of listing over time. But hey! Don't you love my McMansion?
Second, and hidden from the libs in the big cities, are the rural poor. In some areas, there are still itinerant labor camps; I mean real grapes of wrath stuff. Dilapidated and half burned out trailers and houses with holes in them like a block of Swiss cheese. They have a hard time at 40 degrees much less 5 degrees. Some of the small towns nearby have main streets that make towns in Bosnia look good in comparison. They have collapsed and burned out buildings and the stereotypical rusted, old school bus sitting in the yard. Drug use is high and some might not even realize they're freezing to death.
I'm not trying to get a sympathy vote for this mess, but just realize Texas is not some conservative utopia where the majority are tough, freedom loving people. Like Trump did with the swamp, maybe this disaster will lift the lid on Texas myths and legends crap.
0 people like this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "Dreadnought"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)