6 ms·

Sounds like Texas is a bastion of energy.

megaman821 6y ago
Maybe even the energy capital of the world.
Qwertious 6y ago
Yes, but if you think they'd put a price on carbon anytime soon then I have a bridge to sell you. They're a bastion of climate denial, and bringing up their wind power is irrelevant whataboutism.
- cryptoquick 6y ago
  Except, wind lost generation capacity in the cold, just as all other forms of energy generation did. Is it possible that warming temperatures in the oceans weren't considered to be an issue when we first started seeing arctic air being blown further south by the jetstream due to a changing climate from anthropogenic carbon sources? Possibly. There are certainly mitigation mechanisms they could have invested in. If the public heard their taxpayer dollars or utility fees were being wasted on winterizing efforts in notoroiously hot Texas, even if there were responsible decision-makers, their hands were tied at risk of being shamed for wasteful spending in the court of public opinion. It is still a shame that they're left out in the cold, so to speak. Hopefully they can come up with more sensible remedies, if not out of a change of ideology, perhaps a sense of practicality?
  - briffle 6y ago
    >Except, wind lost generation capacity in the cold, just as all other forms of energy generation did. They don't in Iowa, or North Dakota. Or anywhere north, where they spend a few extra dollars to make sure they can handle the cold
    - fastball 6y ago
      Right... because getting cold is normal in those places.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - tsimionescu 6y ago
    > If the public heard their taxpayer dollars or utility fees were being wasted on winterizing efforts in notoroiously hot Texas This is a direct consequence of the climate change denial coming, to a great extent, directly out of those same lawmakers. If the public had instead been informed about the likely extreme weather events that will be brought about by climate change with the same zeal that they are being lied to today, this type of spending could have easily been presented as necessary. Instead of taking this crisis as a time or reckoning, we're of course seeing everyone doubling down on this, insisting that it's proof global warming isn't happening and all the expected bs.
    - barry-cotter 6y ago
      No one gets votes for disaster preparedness. > Myopic Voters and Natural Disaster Policy > Do voters effectively hold elected officials accountable for policy decisions? Using data on natural disasters, government spending, and election returns, we show that voters reward the incumbent presidential party for delivering disaster relief spending, but not for investing in disaster preparedness spending. These inconsistencies distort the incentives of public officials, leading the government to underinvest in disaster preparedness, thereby causing substantial public welfare losses. We estimate that $1 spent on preparedness is worth about $15 in terms of the future damage it mitigates. By estimating both the determinants of policy decisions and the consequences of those policies, we provide more complete evidence about citizen competence and government accountability. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/myopic-voters-and-natural-disaster-policy/039708A3223EC114365ADF56F1D26423 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-s...
      - tsimionescu 6y ago
        Well, your source doesn't necessarily contradict my claim. If there had been similarly competent propaganda on the risks of more and more extreme cold events due to global warming, to the same extent as climate change denial propaganda, perhaps the trend in this study might change.
rualca 6y ago
> Sounds like Texas is a bastion of energy. Sounds to me they are the bastion of the energy industry. Which are historically the main opponents of any concern regarding climate change.
- fastball 6y ago
  Only because all the original climate change activists were stridently anti-growth / borderline misanthropes. And obviously the energy industry is firmly in the "growth" camp.
- undefined1 6y ago
  an opponent wouldn't be the top wind producer in the country and second in solar.

Maybe even the energy capital of the world.

Yes, but if you think they'd put a price on carbon anytime soon then I have a bridge to sell you. They're a bastion of climate denial, and bringing up their wind power is irrelevant whataboutism.

cryptoquick 6y ago
Except, wind lost generation capacity in the cold, just as all other forms of energy generation did. Is it possible that warming temperatures in the oceans weren't considered to be an issue when we first started seeing arctic air being blown further south by the jetstream due to a changing climate from anthropogenic carbon sources? Possibly. There are certainly mitigation mechanisms they could have invested in. If the public heard their taxpayer dollars or utility fees were being wasted on winterizing efforts in notoroiously hot Texas, even if there were responsible decision-makers, their hands were tied at risk of being shamed for wasteful spending in the court of public opinion. It is still a shame that they're left out in the cold, so to speak. Hopefully they can come up with more sensible remedies, if not out of a change of ideology, perhaps a sense of practicality?
- briffle 6y ago
  >Except, wind lost generation capacity in the cold, just as all other forms of energy generation did. They don't in Iowa, or North Dakota. Or anywhere north, where they spend a few extra dollars to make sure they can handle the cold
  - fastball 6y ago
    Right... because getting cold is normal in those places.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- tsimionescu 6y ago
  > If the public heard their taxpayer dollars or utility fees were being wasted on winterizing efforts in notoroiously hot Texas This is a direct consequence of the climate change denial coming, to a great extent, directly out of those same lawmakers. If the public had instead been informed about the likely extreme weather events that will be brought about by climate change with the same zeal that they are being lied to today, this type of spending could have easily been presented as necessary. Instead of taking this crisis as a time or reckoning, we're of course seeing everyone doubling down on this, insisting that it's proof global warming isn't happening and all the expected bs.
  - barry-cotter 6y ago
    No one gets votes for disaster preparedness. > Myopic Voters and Natural Disaster Policy > Do voters effectively hold elected officials accountable for policy decisions? Using data on natural disasters, government spending, and election returns, we show that voters reward the incumbent presidential party for delivering disaster relief spending, but not for investing in disaster preparedness spending. These inconsistencies distort the incentives of public officials, leading the government to underinvest in disaster preparedness, thereby causing substantial public welfare losses. We estimate that $1 spent on preparedness is worth about $15 in terms of the future damage it mitigates. By estimating both the determinants of policy decisions and the consequences of those policies, we provide more complete evidence about citizen competence and government accountability. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/myopic-voters-and-natural-disaster-policy/039708A3223EC114365ADF56F1D26423 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-s...
    - tsimionescu 6y ago
      Well, your source doesn't necessarily contradict my claim. If there had been similarly competent propaganda on the risks of more and more extreme cold events due to global warming, to the same extent as climate change denial propaganda, perhaps the trend in this study might change.

rualca 6y ago

> Sounds like Texas is a bastion of energy. Sounds to me they are the bastion of the energy industry. Which are historically the main opponents of any concern regarding climate change.

fastball 6y ago
Only because all the original climate change activists were stridently anti-growth / borderline misanthropes. And obviously the energy industry is firmly in the "growth" camp.
undefined1 6y ago
an opponent wouldn't be the top wind producer in the country and second in solar.