The Climate Crisis Is Here—And Texas Needs To Step Up

The Rising Cost of Climate Denial: Texas’ role in the global climate crisis.

One of the most pressing issues facing humanity today is the climate emergency. Our planet is undergoing unprecedented changes, with rising temperatures, melting ice caps, and increasing frequency of severe weather events. This isn’t a distant, abstract problem—it’s happening now, affecting lives, ecosystems, and economies across the globe. Scientists have long warned of the escalating dangers of climate change, but as extreme weather becomes more frequent and destructive, it is clear that the consequences are already upon us.

If you haven’t seen the news regarding Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact, the BBC is calling it “biblical devastation,” Axios is calling it “catastrophic,” and according to USA Today, “it was a staggering blow.” But these outlets aren’t referring to the Florida Coast, which was also hit hard. They’re referring to the Appalachia Mountains region of North Carolina.

That’s the area in the yellow circle.

As of this afternoon, over 1,000 people are still missing in North Carolina, where entire towns have been washed away. Tens of thousands of people are trapped as flood waters and landslides have also destroyed roads and bridges—many without power, cell service, and access to grocery stores.

Climate-denying Republicans will say, “There have always been hurricanes and natural disasters. This is nothing new.”

While rare, the Appalachian Mountains have been hit with hurricane remnants in the past. Four have occurred in the past thirty years, but only two in the 50 years before, proving that this occurrence has increased.

The climate crisis is making the weather more extreme.

Warmer ocean waters allow storms to absorb more energy, leading to higher wind speeds. Warmer air can hold more moisture, leading to more intense rainfall. Rising sea levels, caused by melting glaciers and ice sheets and warmer water taking up more space, make storm surges more damaging and allow them to penetrate farther inland.

In a warmer atmosphere, hurricanes can move slower and intensify more rapidly, which makes them last longer and more dangerous.

This is Planet Earth’s new normal. Get used to it. Even with radical intervention, healing the Earth will take a long time. Without radical intervention, we’re facing a dystopian future—one from which we may never be able to return.

Here are the facts:

• A multi-country study stated climate change is responsible for 400,000 additional deaths each year and will contribute to 700,000 annual deaths by 2030. Source.

• Between 2008 and 2022, there were an average of 22.5 million displacements due to weather-related disasters each year. In 2022, there were nearly 32 million displacements caused by weather-related hazards, a 41% increase from 2008. Source.

• The direct damage costs to health (excluding costs in health-determining sectors such as agriculture, water, and sanitation) are estimated to be between US$2–4 billion per year by 2030. Source.

Further reading:

• NASA: There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause.

Ending the reliance on fossil fuels.

The single most important thing we can do to combat climate change is to drastically reduce our consumption of fossil fuels.

Here is where Texas comes in.

Texas is the leading producer of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States and has the highest coal, petroleum, and natural gas emissions.

Why? We’re a fossil fuel-rich state, but also because the fossil fuel industry has owned many of the politicians in Texas ever since the Lucas gusher at Spindletop. The fossil fuel industry’s tight grip on politics is what’s contributed to climate denialism, but also because of the fossil fuel industry’s marketing over the last several decades, trying to convince the American people that climate change wasn’t real.

As we recently saw with Hurricane Beryl, Texas isn’t immune, and our state isn’t even equipped to handle a Category 1 hurricane when power was out for a week and 22 people died.

Houston will be among the first major American cities to be lost to climate change. (It may be second, after Miami.)

Source: Newsweek

In coming years, we’ll also likely see an increase in temperatures and more days over 100°. Our water supplies, agriculture, and wildlife are all at risk.

Yet, Republicans still talk about their love of fossil fuels.

Our Republican comptroller writes articles talking about how good fossil fuels are for our economy. Our Land Commissioner sues the EPA over clean energy rules. And one of our Railroad Commissioners is a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist who has said, on video, that climate change isn’t real.

Here is Commissioner Wayne Christian, the person responsible for regulating the fossil fuel industry in Texas, denying the climate crisis is real:

In December 2022, Republican Senators held an emergency hearing in East Texas to try to save a coal plant. Republicans killed every bill related to green energy and climate mitigation in the Texas Legislature last session.

Texas is at the heart of the climate crisis, and it’s high time we lead the charge in the fight against it.

As the largest energy producer in the country, Texas has an unprecedented opportunity—and a responsibility—to steer the nation toward a more sustainable future. Instead of doubling down on fossil fuels, Texas should be a leader in clean energy innovation, capitalizing on its vast wind and solar potential. We have the resources, the technology, and the workforce to become a renewable energy powerhouse, creating green jobs that can revitalize our economy while protecting the environment.

But this transition won’t happen as long as climate-denying Republicans remain in office. These politicians continue to profit from the fossil fuel industry while ignoring the growing evidence of the climate emergency unfolding all around us. Their refusal to act is putting all of us—Texans and people around the world—at risk.

Voting out climate-denying politicians is more important than ever. By voting for candidates who support clean energy and climate action, we can turn the tide. We can build a future where Texas leads in renewable energy, where our coastlines and communities are better prepared for extreme weather, and where we no longer have to fear the devastating effects of climate inaction.

This fight isn’t just for environmentalists. It’s for farmers whose crops are failing due to drought, for families whose homes are destroyed by hurricanes, and for all Texans who want a livable future. The stakes are too high to stay on the sidelines.

• October 7: Last day to register to vote.

• October 21: First day to early vote.

• October 25: Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot.

• November 1: Last day to early vote.

• November 5: Election day!

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