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Bud Kennedy: In a state that once sang 'Freeze a Yankee,' the myth of an invincible Texas crumbles
Forty years ago, Texans felt so indestructible that we sang along when a Dallas radio station played “Freeze a Yankee”: Cut off the gas, turn off the oil And let ‘em all freeze and boil After the most costly storm in state history destroyed homes, businesses, cities and lives, songwriter Bob Arnold of Dallas said last week was “just completely embarrassing” for Texas. “Now the Yankees are not freezing — we are,” he said. Texas’ pinchpenny failure to prepare for decennial winter storms, along with state bureaucrats’ grossly lazy oversight of energy companies, put another giant dent in the myth ...
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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Anger over huge power bills in 'preventable' Texas weather crisis
Houston (AFP) - Millions of Texans were still without safe water on Sunday as officials fielded angry complaints over shockingly large power bills spawned by a cold weather crisis that Houston's mayor said was ultimately preventable. The frigid air mass that paralyzed parts of the southern and central United States early in the week claimed more than 70 lives, left millions temporarily without power and froze water lines. "All of what happened this week was foreseeable and preventable," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS's "Face the Nation," saying it had long been clear that the independ...
AFP
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Texas restores power but still struggling with water
Houston (AFP) - Texas authorities have restored power statewide bringing relief after days of unprecedentedly frigid temperatures, but millions were still struggling Saturday without safe, drinkable water. "Due to lack of power, frozen pipes, high use at certain times, we've seen the number of systems go up that are reporting (water) issues," Toby Baker, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told reporters during a televised briefing. Water problems, he said, were impacting about 14.3 million residents out of a total population of around 29 million, as officials d...
AFP
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Texans queue for water as US counts cost of deadly winter storm
Houston (AFP) - Frustrated Texans queued for hours for safe drinking water Friday, after an unprecedented and deadly "polar plunge" burst pipes and left millions in the US state shivering without power or clean water for days. The extreme winter weather system wreaked havoc across much of the southern and central United States this week, reportedly killing at least 40 people and igniting anger in Texas as authorities scrambled to turn the lights back on. Houston resident Percy McGee rated his frustration level at "number 10" as he waited his turn at the city's Delmar Stadium, now a mass bottl...
AFP
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Behind the power crisis in petroleum center Texas
New York (AFP) - Some 2.7 million households in Texas were still without power as of Wednesday morning in the wake of extremely cold weather buffeting the region. But while the unusual Arctic air mass has lashed numerous states with snow and sleet with more on the way Thursday, Texas, the heart of the country's oil industry, has seen the worst of the power outages. Why is Texas suffering an electricity crisis?The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates much of the state's power grid, underestimated the surge in demand caused by the unusually cold weather and used planned ...
AFP
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Texas made few power reforms despite warnings. 'An incredibly dangerous situation'
FORT WORTH, Texas — Over a couple frigid days in February, as demand for power soared, generators across Texas tripped up and failed to operate in wintry conditions. Long outages ensued across the state, and millions of Texans were left without power. Even more wondered how something like this could happen here. "You would have never thought you would see the day in the energy capital of the world," said one oil company CEO. Plenty of sentences like those have been written in the last 48 hours, but everything described above is actually from 2011. Yes, Texas has been here before. Although temp...
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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GM's bet on carbon neutrality rides green wave in Washington
WASHINGTON — General Motors Co.'s plan to become carbon-neutral by 2040 and drop gas and diesel engines in all new light-duty vehicles by 2035 reflects a newly Democratic-controlled capital pivoting to an aggressive climate agenda. The automaker's leadership was emboldened by changes in Washington, where President Joe Biden is touting a similar pledge — net-zero emissions nationwide by 2050 — as he promised significant help to businesses and consumers to advance the technology needed to get there. Achieving the automaker's goal will span several administrations, Dane Parker, GM's sustainabilit...
The Detroit News
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In sweeping executive orders, Biden brings climate to the forefront of U.S. policy
A new U.S. administration is in office, and on Wednesday it made clear that addressing climate change will be at the top of its list of priorities. In an expansive series of executive orders, President Joe Biden committed to a slew of climate actions, including a halt on any new contracts for fossil fuel extraction on public land, the establishment of a new National Climate Task Force, and a plan to set aside 30 percent of America’s lands and oceans for conservation. Cumulatively, the orders represent a sharp break from the policies of former president Donald Trump, who famously pulled the U.S...
Mongabay
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Biden to scrap Keystone XL pipeline permit: Canadian media
Montreal (AFP) - President-elect Joe Biden plans to scrap the permit for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the US, two Canadian broadcasters said Sunday. CBC and CTV cited sources and notes from Biden's transition team that indicate he will rescind the permit via executive order following his inauguration on Wednesday. The $8 billion pipeline extension would transport about 500,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada's tar sands in Alberta to refineries in coastal Texas. Owned by TC Energy and the government of Alberta, the extension was blocked in 2008 by then-presi...
AFP
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US leases long-sought Alaska oil rights in Trump's final days
New York (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's administration auctioned off 11 oil leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, in a last-ditch move to expand drilling in the areas coveted by some petroleum producers before he leaves office. Major oil companies however sat out bidding for tracts in the environmentally sensitive area, and nine of the leases went to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency, while two went to small companies. The sale raised $14 million. The White House announced the plan to go ahead with the sale in mid-November just we...
AFP
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