February's Deep Freeze: Cascading Disasters in an Era of Climate Disruption

Major winter storm across Texas and the Gulf States had and continues to have devastating human and economic impacts.  The storm resulted in a horrific series of cascading events that began with cold temperatures but quickly expanded to involve electricity supply, water supply, water damage, and other impacts, with stark differences among communities and locations.

The webinar featured a panel of experts that addressed the causes and consequences of the cascade of failures; the relevance for infrastructure and disaster risk reduction in the future; implications for the future of renewable electricity, and lessons about interactions with inequality and racism.  You can view the webinar recording here and read a summary of the event and related Q&A. 

Check back soon to see answers from the audience questions.  In the mean time, here's a recent op-ed written by one of the panelists, Sarah Fletcher, "As the Texas power crisis shows, our infrastructure is vulnerable to extreme weather."

Speakers 

Sarah Fletcher, Lee and Kitty Price Center Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment 

Catherine Coleman Flowers, Founder, The Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice 

Arun Majumdar, Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor, Stanford University 

Michael Wara, Director, Climate and Energy Policy Program, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment 

Moderated by Chris Field, Perry L. McCarty Director, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

If you would like to connect with Woods or our experts, please contact Christine Black at christineblack@stanford.edu.

Supporting Document(s): 

Deep Freeze Q&A