Amid the horror of last week’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Dangerous heatwave continues It’s engulfing the entire country, sending temperatures and emotions soaring.
President Biden addressed the American people in an Oval Office address on Sunday night. “Turn down the temperature.” So it’s politically significant rhetoric. But the blackouts are also literally creating temperature problems.
This week in Chicago, 300,000 people lose power Tornadoes were to blame. And when Hurricane Beryl hit Texas with torrential rains and strong winds more than a week ago, the storm 2.7 million Power was cut in the Houston area, with some residents Sleeping in the carDue to hurricanes, The biggest blackout in history CenterPoint Energy, a Texas-based power company, is one of the largest in the U.S. Most populous city.
The question is, Will the electricity run out? Will it progress at a faster, more dangerous rate in the coming days and years because of climate change and other factors? And what can be done about it?
a New Research The study, from the Electric Power Research Institute and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, looked at how future hurricanes would affect cities by projecting the number of power outages per capita per decade, spanning the period 2066 to 2100. “Our results indicate a dramatic increase in risk across the U.S. coast, particularly along the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and Puerto Rico,” the researchers report. “This is driven by the increase in tropical storms and major hurricanes projected in the future climate.”
A more cautious prediction, but no less worrying, comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Above average There is an 85 percent chance of hotter-than-average hurricanes occurring in 2024, and turbulence caused by warming ocean temperatures is a concern.
Bad weather can be stressful, America’s already stressed power gridThe grid has been around for decades, at a time when there is a shortage of power lines and a demand for more electricity.
According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: forecast U.S. electricity demand has already started to grow and is expected to grow from 2.6% to 4.7% over the next five years.
another report, The Grid Strategies report bluntly states: “The days of flat electricity demand are over,” and the U.S. is not prepared for increased load.
Climate Central, an independent non-profit organization, reveal Weather variability is the cause of most power outages: “Of all major power outages reported in the United States from 2000 to 2023, 80% (1,755) were due to weather-related events.”
Data Centers and Artificial Intelligence Main stressors In the US power grid, consumption predicted to double By 2030, it will be reduced from 2022 levels to 2030 levels by 2030. Part of that is due to the electricity needed to supply fuel. Large-scale language models It employs what some have speculated is ChatGPT. 25 times the power consumption In an average Google search.
The solution lies in individual action. National PolicyThat’s why we need to keep a close eye on both. Political Conference This summer we will see how the presidential candidates and their respective parties plan to address this issue.
President Biden recognizes the importance of human actions in climate change and is working with other countries to address climate change. Part of the Paris AgreementIn 2015, 196 States Parties signed the treaty.
Trump America Trump, who signed the Paris Agreement while in office, on Monday chose Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his vice president. Said He is “skeptical of the idea that climate change is purely human-driven.”
The science is clear: we, the people, must come together on a common thread and find compromise in a divided America on climate and power. Hurricanes take lives and money. The damage caused by weather and climate disasters in this country from 1980 to last August was: $2.6 trillion. And heat is dangerous. Burn centers across the U.S. are receiving a growing number of patients, many of whom ICU care and surgery, Including skin grafts.
If we can agree that weather and electricity are important, the population of American cities is GrowingAs temperatures rise and power grids fail, we are in control of preventing disaster.
Tara D. Sonenshein is a senior adjunct scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
