Community Chat

[Mindy D]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

 FL is connected to the national power grid that requires winterization for all states, whether they experience frigid temperatures or not.  TX has it's own power grid which does not have the requimrements and regulations that the national grid has.  

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@chrystaltree @Thanks, I didn't know about the winterization requirements for the National power grid. I learn something new everyday.

[SilleeMee]

@millieshops 

I watched that AC interview, too. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. BG is right.

[gertrudecloset]

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@Mindy D wrote:

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@gertrudecloset wrote:

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@Mindy D wrote:

I have no idea where the power grid is winterized. I do know that areas that had warmer winters in the past might need to quickly reevaluate whether winterization should be done in light of climate change and the changing weather we see now days. Floridians would probably laugh if lawmakers tried to winterize locations here, but I'm not laughing. So many unpredictabilities lie ahead that I'd rather be safe than sorry. 

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Of course, this makes sense to most folk.  Unfortunately that's usually not the way things are done.  Seems they prefer to be "reactive" to things that arise, as opposed to being "proactive" when they can be to ensure things to occur.  I see it time and time again.  

I find this to be the case in many situations.  I don't get it.  Why not get in front of a problem instead of waiting for it to happen.  Doesn't that cost more?

I do hope you're right @Mindy D.  They should be getting their act together now.

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@gertrudecloset @I use the same terms when I describe how so many think; reactive versus proactive. Few in power ever try to do things in the event of a worse case scenario when such a scenario is presented to them. It's understandable when costs come into play with planning but it seems to always be a case of too little too late. I think back to Fukushimama Nuclear Plant, designed to withstand almost the highest quake intensity. Even the careful planners were hit with over a 9 in intensity, and they tried to plan, but just not enough. 

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@Mindy D .  Every single time!!!  It seems like policy makers and those in charge always wait for things to hit the fan before they do anything.  I think it's an inherit aspect of public policy.  It's stupid, though.  It's costly and it really kicks the can down the road.  

[gertrudecloset]

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@Mindy D wrote:

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@chessylady wrote:

Texas chose to go it alone and not be part of the national grid.The only city that stayed on the grid was El Paso which was minimally impacted and could get energy from other Western states. There are worse things than regulations. I wonder if Texas will continue their solo path.

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@chessylady @It's not just the connection to the grid. It's the grid's lack of winterization that will probably need changing. 

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Which, if they had addressed in 2011 (according to an article in the NYT) when the first time something like this happened, no one would be going through this now!!

@Mindy D @chessylady 

[skatting44]

Just think , a similiar fridge " little ice age " event happened in 1899 per  Texas records , so  Bill Gates knows everything ...

[gertrudecloset]

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@skatting44 wrote:

Just think , a similiar fridge " little ice age " event happened in 1899 per  Texas records , so  Bill Gates knows everything ...

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I think Bill Gates read something historical and spoke on it.  The Almanac data is available for all to see, not just him.  

[Sooner]

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@Mindy D wrote:

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@SilleeMee wrote:

In 1989 Texas experienced their last cold wave but since then the need to prepare for the next deep freeze was ignored. 

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@SilleeMee @I lived in Texas in the 80's. We had very cold winters when I lived there with tons of snow and ice. At the time, I thought that this weather was normal for Texas.  I thought this way because it was all I saw and because there were so many fireplaces in living spaces. I didn't know any better. There was enough heat indoors but the roads were covered with snow and ice. I kept wondering why they didn't get the roads clear the way the roads were clear when I lived in New York. They put salt on the roads but in Austin and San Antonio where I lived they were not prepared the way places with cold climates are. Texas and other places will have to prepare for more than the impact of climate change on power. I'm in Florida and I've been wondering if it's time to take SCUBA lessons

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@Mindy D Weather (short term) and climate (long term) are different issues.  We have had 10 year drought spells; 10 years when it was wet; years with many tornadoes in the spring and years with hardly any.

Certainly at this point southern cities can't afford to invest in snow ploughs, but have salt and sand trucks to cover bridges and overpasses.

It all boils down to the money.  It's not about planning, it's about the money.

So how much would you like to contribute to prepare for something that may or may not happen?  This recent snow and cold in Oklahoma broke records 100 years old.  And it may not happen for another hundred.  

Weather is a tricky thing.  Money is easy to count. 

[Mindy D]

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@millieshops wrote:

@SilleeMee My sister and BIL had gone to Dallas for a conference from their home in PA and got stuck in their hotel for several days in that storm. Even though they were used to driving in wintry conditions, their rental car and the roads were not up to the challenge.  BIL and I recalled that experience just a few days ago.

Apparently not much has been upgraded since then, and this time conditions are worse.  I have lived through winter weeks without power and the experience was horrid.  Yet I believe I had far easier times than many Texans are having.

Last night I listened to Anderson Cooper talk with Bill Gates about climate change.  So much to think about and so scary I am not surprised we keep shoving the problems to the future, yet I fear that future isn’t as distant as we would like.

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@millieshops @When I lived in Texas during the cold winters of the 80's there were ads upon ads for snow tires and chains. Did these ads and use of snow tires go away? We used our fireplace nightly throughout the winter. There was so much snow on the ground  under bright sunlight that my eyes hurt to look at it and I thought that the phenomena was snow blindness. 

I agree about the climate change issue. We keep shoving the problems to the future, as you say. In other words, putting the issue on the back burner. We just don't want to wake up and face it. It's a scary future we all face. The earth has been under going climate change for millennia. It's going to hit us so hard before you know it. We have got to consistent working on solutions to every aspect of it that we can. 

[Nightowlz]

Even if they winterized in Fl your pipes will freeze. They are not buried in the ground far enough like they are in colder areas.

If there are homes in Fl with plumbing in attics it won't be insulated either.

Last time I was at my sisters in Fl while it was hot I told her something was wrong with her cold water. LOL!!!

I told her I like to wash my face with cold water but hers never got cold enough? She said it's because our pipes are not buried as far down as yours are.

If it gets colder in places that don't get cold what a mess.

Tx knew this weather was coming they could have done something but did not think it could happen.

[Mindy D]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Mindy D wrote:

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@SilleeMee wrote:

In 1989 Texas experienced their last cold wave but since then the need to prepare for the next deep freeze was ignored. 

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@SilleeMee @I lived in Texas in the 80's. We had very cold winters when I lived there with tons of snow and ice. At the time, I thought that this weather was normal for Texas.  I thought this way because it was all I saw and because there were so many fireplaces in living spaces. I didn't know any better. There was enough heat indoors but the roads were covered with snow and ice. I kept wondering why they didn't get the roads clear the way the roads were clear when I lived in New York. They put salt on the roads but in Austin and San Antonio where I lived they were not prepared the way places with cold climates are. Texas and other places will have to prepare for more than the impact of climate change on power. I'm in Florida and I've been wondering if it's time to take SCUBA lessons

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@Mindy D Weather (short term) and climate (long term) are different issues.  We have had 10 year drought spells; 10 years when it was wet; years with many tornadoes in the spring and years with hardly any.

Certainly at this point southern cities can't afford to invest in snow ploughs, but have salt and sand trucks to cover bridges and overpasses.

It all boils down to the money.  It's not about planning, it's about the money.

So how much would you like to contribute to prepare for something that may or may not happen?  This recent snow and cold in Oklahoma broke records 100 years old.  And it may not happen for another hundred.  

Weather is a tricky thing.  Money is easy to count. 

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@Sooner @a your points are well taken and logical but I have some thoughts. @I completely understand the difference between weather and climate. Climate is changing. Weather is being affected by climate change. Even if weather events are widely spaced in time, they are becoming more frequent and they will continue to become more and more frequent over time. Thinking that there's been a hundred years between events won't be a cushion anymore as climate change progresses. Events will just keep piling up. Hundred year heat waves, and longer, more intense heat waves, floods and freezes are already happening more frequently than past durations between these events. Global temperatures are rising each year and are expected to rise from 2.5 to 10 degrees F over the next hundred years  and accelerated polar ice melting is occurring  at an unprecedented rate. Sea levels are expected to rise.

I can't say how much I could contribute to this preparedness effort, but I can say that it is going to be needed. I'm as reluctant to put my money where my mouth is as the next person. I can't even say what's realistic to expect from individuals and governments. We'll either pay now or we will pay later, putting us all in a predicament no one wants to have to pay for. I realize that costs prevent lawmakers from taking action and persons from shouldering these costs but I don't think we can get away with not implementing programs that will help us survive..if our survival will even be possible. I fear the possibility of our extinction if we don't.