John,
A few months ago, my family in San Antonio spent days huddled in the freezing cold without power, heat, or running water. We rationed food. My parents couldn’t charge their medical devices.
We were hungry, thirsty, cold, and hurting. But we wouldn’t have had to endure this if it weren’t for profit-driven energy companies and the elected officials who enable them. Even after what happened this winter, my governor still hasn’t done anything to stop this kind of disaster from happening again.
So I can’t say I was surprised when ERCOT — the grid operator responsible for our power outages — released a list of requests for us this week to make sure the grid doesn’t crash again in the summer heat. Don’t use your oven. Unplug all your appliances. Turn the thermostat up.
We can’t keep living like this. Individual Texans can’t be the ones responsible for keeping the grid running while our elected officials sit idly by, deregulating everything in sight. And Biden and Democrats in Congress have to start treating climate change like the emergency that it is.
No one should have to suffer through what I did this winter. So I’m heading to Washington, D.C. on June 28 for a mass mobilization to push Biden to pass the first part of the Green New Deal. Will you join me?
ERCOT still hasn't taken responsibility for the hundreds of lives that were lost on their watch this winter. And if they couldn’t handle a winter storm, how can we ever expect that Texans will make it through the summer without another grid failure that costs lives?
We know what our elected officials must do. We need a Green New Deal and a Civilian Climate Corps to meet this crisis head-on. Instead, the government is cozying up to polluters and corporate interests — including the very fossil fuel companies who are perfectly happy leaving families like mine vulnerable to ever-worsening natural disasters.
Our movement is strong because it’s powered by people who are willing to step up to the plate and do the hard work to win a Green New Deal. On June 28, we need you with us when we bring our demands for good jobs and a livable future right to Biden’s doorstep. Are you in?
See you there,
Paris, Sunrise