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Houston actually has relatively low population density compared to other metro areas with only 3,842 people per square mile, and across the MSA (Houston is extr

Houston actually has relatively low population density compared to other metro areas with only 3,842 people per square mile, and across the MSA (Houston is extremely spread out), that number is much lower. (Compare to, for example, Union City, NJ, with 54,138 persons/sq mile.) There are some 7.5 million people spread out across more than 10,000 square miles across the greater Houston area. Also, the water table is very high, and hurricanes completely flood entire areas, so transformers etc are often completely underwater. It's just not feasible to bury sensitive equipment when the entire area is under six or ten feet of water.

toomuchtodo 2y ago
TLDR Texas is hosed as climate change accelerates and there is no will to pay to build resilient infra. Godspeed y’all.
- silverquiet 2y ago
  I don't think it's really possible to predict what will become of Texas. One could imagine such a big, resource-rich state finding ways to work collectively for the better of all, though obviously that's naive to the point of nearly being a joke. Still there is a lot going for it in some sense. Politicians may not care about the people, but their beloved businesses also need infrastructure, so at least there's that. I've lived in Texas my entire life and there are aspects of it that I love, but I do have vague plans to move north once my remaining ties to the state dissolve.
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    Would you bet your financial success or life outcome on Texas making rational policy leading to potentially more favorable outcomes for its citizens (based on all available evidence)?
- alexk307 2y ago
  Did you read OP's post?
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    Yes. I am also familiar with the technical challenges and cost of improving last mile electrical distribution to withstand hurricane force conditions where burial is not an option (whether because of a high water table or potential surge conditions, where equipment is suspended at a height above ground level on permanent scaffolding or pedestals). It is expensive, not impossible. It is a choice, and there is a cost. It’s cold, hard economics. The politics are whether to spend or not spend, and the outcome of that decision.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - toomuchtodo 2y ago
      Citations: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/07/12/texas-power-grid-houston-energy-hurricane/ https://www.marketplace.org/2024/07/12/texas-power-grid-hous... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544220300062 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036054422... https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/centerpoint-s-2-billion-resiliency-plan-means-19564891.php https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/texas/ar... https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1558514 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1558514 https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/060624_GDO_LBNL_Duke_Energy_Florida_Undergrounding.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/060624_GD... https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/why-cant-texas-bury-electrical-lines/ https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/why-cant-texas-bu...
      - toomuchtodo 2y ago
        Additional citation: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-15/climate-change-leaves-world-s-electricity-networks-unable-to-cope https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-15/climate-c... | https://archive.today/m8xjc https://archive.today/m8xjc
downrightmike 2y ago
And the flood zone maps are out of date and were not really accurate to begin with and they are purposely not updated.

toomuchtodo 2y ago

TLDR Texas is hosed as climate change accelerates and there is no will to pay to build resilient infra. Godspeed y’all.

silverquiet 2y ago
I don't think it's really possible to predict what will become of Texas. One could imagine such a big, resource-rich state finding ways to work collectively for the better of all, though obviously that's naive to the point of nearly being a joke. Still there is a lot going for it in some sense. Politicians may not care about the people, but their beloved businesses also need infrastructure, so at least there's that. I've lived in Texas my entire life and there are aspects of it that I love, but I do have vague plans to move north once my remaining ties to the state dissolve.
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  Would you bet your financial success or life outcome on Texas making rational policy leading to potentially more favorable outcomes for its citizens (based on all available evidence)?
alexk307 2y ago
Did you read OP's post?
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  Yes. I am also familiar with the technical challenges and cost of improving last mile electrical distribution to withstand hurricane force conditions where burial is not an option (whether because of a high water table or potential surge conditions, where equipment is suspended at a height above ground level on permanent scaffolding or pedestals). It is expensive, not impossible. It is a choice, and there is a cost. It’s cold, hard economics. The politics are whether to spend or not spend, and the outcome of that decision.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    Citations: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/07/12/texas-power-grid-houston-energy-hurricane/ https://www.marketplace.org/2024/07/12/texas-power-grid-hous... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544220300062 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036054422... https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/centerpoint-s-2-billion-resiliency-plan-means-19564891.php https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/texas/ar... https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1558514 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1558514 https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/060624_GDO_LBNL_Duke_Energy_Florida_Undergrounding.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/060624_GD... https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/why-cant-texas-bury-electrical-lines/ https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/why-cant-texas-bu...
    - toomuchtodo 2y ago
      Additional citation: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-15/climate-change-leaves-world-s-electricity-networks-unable-to-cope https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-15/climate-c... | https://archive.today/m8xjc https://archive.today/m8xjc

downrightmike 2y ago

And the flood zone maps are out of date and were not really accurate to begin with and they are purposely not updated.