As Texas faces another winter storm, can it prevent a ‘failure on all fronts’?

While this week’s experience will probably not rival the 2021 winter storm that ​left much of Texas in darkness and was responsible for several hundred deaths, it is a test for the state’s capacity to handle the challenges of more severe weather as a result of the ongoing global climate crisis.

Governor Greg Abbott has already caught flak for backtracking on the promise he made just two months ago that power outages would not occur this winter.

This week, as power began to fail in some Texas homes, it prompted condemnation from prominent local politicians that not enough had been done over the last year to protect Texans’ access to power.

Former presidential candidate Julián Castro told the Guardian: “Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans sold our state’s power grid to the highest bidder, and as a result, five million families lost power and hundreds lost their lives. Rather than working to fix the grid, they let energy lobbyists write their own laws and collected millions in political donations in return. We need new leadership that will work to modernize our grid and prioritize sustainability, not more corrupt politicians who line their pockets with money from special interests.”

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