March Media Brief - Editors Reflection

    This was my second media brief, my first being from almost over a year ago. Courtesy of James, I have come to understand the depths of the Texas blackout and the extent to which it will be a catalyst for the impacts of climate change on the United States. I firmly believe it will be seen as the start of a new era of climate crisis in the United States by the general public. The idea that climate change is hard for humans to grasp due to the far away nature of its effects may soon be a pointless argument if what occurred in Texas is a premonition of what is to come. I believe that STS 'understanding of disasters is a fantastic framework to analyze Texas as well, especially the four steps of disaster I outline in this PECE essay. As for the other articles, they were fascinating reads. I mentioned this in my PECE essay, but it does seem like the Biden administration is both trying to move forward, beyond the energy policy of all previous administrations while also trying to get us back to Obama level regulations. Indeed, this balancing act will lead to interesting outcomes. The water rate increase is something our team has been keeping an eye on for the last few months I hope future media briefs cover some of the new water assistance programs mentioned in this media brief like LIWAP.