Friday, February 19, 2021

Is Extreme Weather A Security Threat For The U.S.?

Military vehicles from the Texas Military Department of the Texas National Guard, tasked to transport residents to designated warming centers and other required duties, form a convoy in Abilene, Texas, February 16, 2021. Greg Jaklewicz/Reporter-News/USA Today Network via REUTERS 


 * In the past year, the U.S. has witnessed record-breaking wildfires, hurricanes and winter storms 
 * This week, millions of Texans were left without power in freezing temperatures after power plants were knocked offline in icy conditions 
 * Climate scientists believe extreme weather events will become more common and worsen in their intensity 
 * They say governments are currently unprepared to deal with such crises, and need to invest in large-scale storage systems for power 
 * Additionally, they claim officials need to build resilient infrastructure to properly protect citizens and military bases 
 * Experts say failure to do so is a security risk as 'there are enemies out there that will certainly take advantage' of vulnerabilities 

Deadly weather will be hitting the U.S. more often and the country faces security threats if it is not properly prepared for it, climate scientists have declared. 

The experts made the proclamation on Wednesday as Texas and other states battled winter storms that caused historic power outages, leaving millions of residents without heat or hot water in below freezing temperatures. 

'This definitely was an anomaly but one that is likely to occur more frequently as a result of climate change,' Sara Eftekharnejad, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Syracuse University, told the Associated Press. 


WNU Editor: The U.S. is not the only country that experiences extreme weather. From my experience of living in Russia, Ukraine, and now Canada .... extreme weather has always been the norm and not the exception. The key is to make sure your infrastructure is resilient to withstand these weather events. In the case of Texas ... they may have the infrastructure for hot weather, but they certainly do not have the infrastructure for the cold.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes. take an umbrella when you go outside