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Note: this isn't a power grid issue. Texas is famously not connected to the national grid [1]. This is an issue of downed power lines. An obvious question is:

by jmyeet 2y ago

Note: this isn't a power grid issue. Texas is famously not connected to the national grid [1]. This is an issue of downed power lines. An obvious question is: why doesn't Houston have underground power? It turns out that Houston really shouldn't exist. It's built on a swamp. It's also hot so heat dissipation is an issue. So it's expensive [2]. Houston is also famous for its lack of zoning [3]. Combine this with a lot of really old neighbourhoods that don't, for example, have sufficient setbacks to bury cabling and you have a hot mess. It's also worth pointing out that Houston is one of the worst urban sprawls on the planet. It's almost as large as LA with slightly more than half the population. It's accurate to describe Houston as a low-lying car-dependent hellscape built on a swarmp with no urban planning in a hurricane zone. [1]: https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2021-07-22/texas-electric-grid-february-blackouts-the-disconnect https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2021-07-22/texas-elec... [2]: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/05/24/burying-power-lines-are-costly-difficult-process-in-houston-heres-why/ https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/05/24/burying-... [3]: https://therealdeal.com/texas/2023/03/16/dont-say-the-z-word/ https://therealdeal.com/texas/2023/03/16/dont-say-the-z-word...

AlexandrB 2y ago
> It's almost as large as LA with slightly more than half the population. Geez. I thought LA was quite bad already.
- jmyeet 2y ago
  Here are some comparisons I like to use that really put things in perspective, particlarly for Europeans: 1. The Greater Houston Metro Area is larger than Wales; 2. Greater Houston has fewer people than London but is almost twenty times the area; 3. IIRC if liad out the Greater Houston area over England it would stretch from London to Birmingham; 4. Greater Houston is, in fact, larger than several states including New Jersey; 5. Greater Houston is more than half the size of Switzerland.
mock-possum 2y ago
One of humanity’s greatest accomplishments is putting huge cities in spots where we really have no business living - I mean just look at Vegas. The world itself is actively discouraging us from setting up shop there, but humans are like naaaahhhhh just slap some concrete over it, it’ll be fine. Nobody really likes to think about the consequences of building in spaces where it’s not well-suited to human habitation at that scale - or about who too-commonly pays the price.

by jmyeet 2y ago

AlexandrB 2y ago

> It's almost as large as LA with slightly more than half the population. Geez. I thought LA was quite bad already.

jmyeet 2y ago
Here are some comparisons I like to use that really put things in perspective, particlarly for Europeans: 1. The Greater Houston Metro Area is larger than Wales; 2. Greater Houston has fewer people than London but is almost twenty times the area; 3. IIRC if liad out the Greater Houston area over England it would stretch from London to Birmingham; 4. Greater Houston is, in fact, larger than several states including New Jersey; 5. Greater Houston is more than half the size of Switzerland.

mock-possum 2y ago

One of humanity’s greatest accomplishments is putting huge cities in spots where we really have no business living - I mean just look at Vegas. The world itself is actively discouraging us from setting up shop there, but humans are like naaaahhhhh just slap some concrete over it, it’ll be fine. Nobody really likes to think about the consequences of building in spaces where it’s not well-suited to human habitation at that scale - or about who too-commonly pays the price.