On top of the lives lost due to hypothermia and the inability to power life-sustaining medical devices, the Texas grid failure also resulted in the highest rates of carbon monoxide poisoning in recent U.S. history. According to the article, Texas's lax regulations on CO detection in homes combined with a lack of public awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide led many to unwittingly poison themselves and their families while trying to stay warm. The article recounts some of these tragic stories of loss and confusion amidst one of the worst environmental disasters in Texas history.
The article also presents a critical take on the cultural and structural conditions that enabled these poisonings to take place. According to the article, Texas's widely-held ethic of personal responsibility is partly behind the long frustrated attempts to pass state-wide building codes that would require carbon monoxide detectors. Instead, a complex patchwork of regulations exists (ranging from requiring detectors in all buildings, to only new buildings, to buildings with attached garages and/or gas fired appliances, to no buildings), making it hard to know or keep track of which buildings and homes have been protected and which haven't.
The article also foregrounds how Black and Hispanic residents were poisoned at rates significantly disproportionate to their population share. This was due in part to the fact that black and brown communities were four times as likely to experience blackouts. But also, once faced with a blackout, they had less information and resources at their disposal. Many did not have nearby relatives to stay with, or did not have a vehicle that was in good enough condition to risk breaking down or crashing on the icy roads. As a result, some looked to their cars and their charcoal grills for warmth, without knowing or realizing the risks that these pose in an enclosed space. And yet, even after this unprecedented event, Texas lawmakers and public officials have done little to develop new building code policies or campaigns to protect and inform Texans of carbon monoxide.
Source
Trevizo, Perla, Ren Larson, Lexi Churchill, Mike Hixenbaugh, and Suzy Khimm. 2021. “Texas Enabled the Worst Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Catastrophe in Recent U.S. History.” Texas Tribune, April 29, 2021.
Cite as
Perla Trevizo, Ren Larson, Lexi Churchill, Mike Hixenbaugh and Suzy Khimm, "Texas enabled the worst carbon monoxide poisoning catastrophe in recent U.S. history", contributed by James Adams, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 3 May 2021, accessed 2 May 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/texas-enabled-worst-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-catastrophe-recent-us-history
Critical Commentary
On top of the lives lost due to hypothermia and the inability to power life-sustaining medical devices, the Texas grid failure also resulted in the highest rates of carbon monoxide poisoning in recent U.S. history. According to the article, Texas's lax regulations on CO detection in homes combined with a lack of public awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide led many to unwittingly poison themselves and their families while trying to stay warm. The article recounts some of these tragic stories of loss and confusion amidst one of the worst environmental disasters in Texas history.
The article also presents a critical take on the cultural and structural conditions that enabled these poisonings to take place. According to the article, Texas's widely-held ethic of personal responsibility is partly behind the long frustrated attempts to pass state-wide building codes that would require carbon monoxide detectors. Instead, a complex patchwork of regulations exists (ranging from requiring detectors in all buildings, to only new buildings, to buildings with attached garages and/or gas fired appliances, to no buildings), making it hard to know or keep track of which buildings and homes have been protected and which haven't.
The article also foregrounds how Black and Hispanic residents were poisoned at rates significantly disproportionate to their population share. This was due in part to the fact that black and brown communities were four times as likely to experience blackouts. But also, once faced with a blackout, they had less information and resources at their disposal. Many did not have nearby relatives to stay with, or did not have a vehicle that was in good enough condition to risk breaking down or crashing on the icy roads. As a result, some looked to their cars and their charcoal grills for warmth, without knowing or realizing the risks that these pose in an enclosed space. And yet, even after this unprecedented event, Texas lawmakers and public officials have done little to develop new building code policies or campaigns to protect and inform Texans of carbon monoxide.