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Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

Trying to make sense of a crazy world, with limited success mostly
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Volkonski
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#51

Post by Volkonski »

Samsung’s U.S. Plant Shutdown Feared to Continue until Mid-April

http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/art ... dxno=61405
Samsung Electronics’ foundry in Austin, Texas, still remains suspended after having been shut down by a power outage on the afternoon of Feb. 16. Industry analysts forecast that the shutdown may continue for about two months until mid-April.

Electric power supply was resumed in three days as scheduled, but the restart is reportedly delayed due to water problems. Korean engineers flew to the United States last week to minimize the damage, but there is nothing that they can do about the matter.

The Austin plant posted around 3.9 trillion won in sales in 2020. Assuming that it will generate similar levels of sales in 2021, simple calculations suggest that it will lose 10 billion won in sales if it stops operations for one day.

According to this calculation, it is estimated that a sales loss of more than 100 billion won has occurred due to the recent shutdown. If the shutdown continues until the middle of April, the sales loss could reach hundreds of billions of won.
$1 US ~ 1130 South Korean won.

More than 3,000 people are employed at the Samsung Electronics' Austin plant,
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#52

Post by Volkonski »



Madlin Mekelburg
@madlinbmek
·
6h
The Texas Agriculture & Livestock committee will today hear testimony from invited witnesses about the impact of February's winter weather on the agriculture industry.

Chair
@BurnsForTexas
said the state is facing agricultural losses exceeding $600 million. #txlege
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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tek
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#53

Post by tek »

trying to stuff the toothpaste back in the tube..
(Reuters) - The head of Texas’s power regulator told lawmakers on Thursday that any effort to retroactively reduce the power prices levied during a recent storm would lead to lawsuits that the state could lose.
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-tex ... SL1N2L91QG
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#54

Post by Chilidog »

2022: Texas goes blue.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#55

Post by Gregg »

Chilidog wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 6:39 pm 2022: Texas goes blue.

From the cold.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#56

Post by Jim »

tek wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 5:17 pm
(Reuters) - The head of Texas’s power regulator told lawmakers on Thursday that any effort to retroactively reduce the power prices levied during a recent storm would lead to lawsuits that the state could lose.
Besides, suing twitter is much more important to AGoTX than saving Texas citizens money.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#57

Post by Foggy »

Gregg wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2021 2:21 am
Chilidog wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 6:39 pm 2022: Texas goes blue.
From the cold.
Yeah, turns blue, shivers, and loses a couple of toes from frostbite. :smoking:
Some things are simply too fast, or too relentless to avoid. Like the North Carolina rain.

Or the future.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#58

Post by MN-Skeptic »

I have no idea if this applies to the Texas freeze, but I remember a number of years ago we had an hard freeze in the spring after fruit trees blossomed. That killed the blossoms and, therefore, killed any potential fruit. I remember that the cherry crop in Michigan was devastated. Is this something that could be happening in Texas now?
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#59

Post by W. Kevin Vicklund »

MN-Skeptic wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2021 1:22 pm I have no idea if this applies to the Texas freeze, but I remember a number of years ago we had an hard freeze in the spring after fruit trees blossomed. That killed the blossoms and, therefore, killed any potential fruit. I remember that the cherry crop in Michigan was devastated. Is this something that could be happening in Texas now?
Yes, they lost pretty much all of the rest of this year's citrus crop and all of next year's crop, plus a large portion of the trees themselves were damaged to the point they may die. We're looking at 7 years before the Texas citrus crop is back to full production.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#60

Post by W. Kevin Vicklund »

This source is a bit rosier about next year's crop than the one I saw a couple weeks ago.
According to Murden, approximately 60 percent of the current grapefruit crop remained on the trees, along with 100 percent of the Valencia orange crop.

“Most everyone saw temps of 21 degrees for several hours,” shared Murden. “When temperatures dip below 28 degrees and stay below that mark for five hours or longer, the fruit that is still on branches begins to freeze on the inside.”

Unfortunately, the freeze came at a devastating time. Next year’s crop was already beginning to form on the tree, so there’s no doubt that yields from next season’s crop will also be impacted by the freeze.
https://citrusindustry.net/2021/02/17/t ... n-trouble/
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#61

Post by W. Kevin Vicklund »

This was the first story I saw, focusing on the damage to the trees themselves. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/all-s ... r-BB1e3zD3
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#62

Post by MN-Skeptic »

The other thing that I remembered from the big freeze killing the Michigan cherry crop was that growers (I think it was the growers) bought cherries from other sources to fulfill their contracts. They did not want to lose their purchasers to other growers for fear that the purchasers would not return to them the following year.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#63

Post by Volkonski »

The Texas citrus industry may never recover. TX had 100,000 acres of citrus orchards in the 1940's. Freezes and urbanization had reduced this to 70,000 at the time of the 1983 freeze which left about 22,000 acres. Since 2005 there there have been about 27,000 acres. The entire citrus producing region, almost all of which is in Hidalgo County, was affected by the recent big freeze.

If insurers and the government don't provide substantial long term monetary support these last TX citrus orchards may be lost. :(

Citrus lovers have no fear. TX had been producing only about 3% of the USA's citrus.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#64

Post by Volkonski »

Houston's bat population hit hard by winter storm

https://abc13.com/10412185/?ex_cid=TA_K ... ce=twitter
Thousands of Mexican Free-tail bats died all across Texas during last month's winter storm.

:snippity:

We know the Mexican Free-tail bats are vital for our ecosystem eating many pesky insects and more.

"They provide amazing amount of pest control for our farmers," Jurek said.

Jurek said we will be just fine. Many of the Mexican Free-tail bats are still migrating.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#65

Post by Volkonski »

TPWD: At least 3.8M fish were killed on the Texas coast during the February winter storms
This fish kill consisted of at least 61 species.


https://www.khou.com/article/news/local ... c70338e4cb
If fish do not make it to a refuge in deeper, more temperature stable water during cold weather, they may die when water temperatures reach a certain threshold. After the first fish kill was reported in the Lower Laguna Madre, Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) biologists began the process of assessing kills across multiple bay systems on the coast.

An estimated minimum of 3.8 million fish were killed on the Texas coast during the Feb. 2021 freeze event. This fish kill consisted of at least 61 species. Non-recreational species contributed to 91% of the total mortality in numbers of fish. This includes species like Silver Perch, Hardhead Catfish, Pinfish, Bay Anchovy and Striped Mullet. While not sought after by most anglers, non-game fish are ecologically important, providing food for larger game fish as well as adding to the overall diversity of Texas Bays. Recreationally important game species accounted for the other 9% of the total. Of that 9%, the dominant species included Spotted Seatrout (48%), Black Drum (31%), Sheepshead (8%), Sand Seatrout (7%), Red Drum (3%), Gray Snapper (2%), and Red Snapper (<1%).

Both the Upper and Lower Laguna Madre bay systems were hit particularly hard by this event. The Lower Laguna Madre had the highest mortality of Spotted Seatrout with an estimated 104,000 fish killed. That comprised 65% of the total estimated Spotted Seatrout killed and when combined with the Upper Laguna Madre, it comprised 89% of the total estimated Spotted Seatrout mortality along the Texas coast. Similarly, the Upper Laguna Madre had experienced Black Drum mortality at an estimated 82,600 fish and comprised 78% of the coastwide Black Drum killed.

:snippity:

What can you do to help? As fish stocks recover from this freeze event, anglers are encouraged to practice conservation by choosing to catch and release fish or to harvest only those fish they feel they need to take home to eat. Conserving fish now can only aid in a quicker recovery.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#66

Post by Gregg »

Volkonski wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2021 5:40 pm The Texas citrus industry may never recover. TX had 100,000 acres of citrus orchards in the 1940's. Freezes and urbanization had reduced this to 70,000 at the time of the 1983 freeze which left about 22,000 acres. Since 2005 there there have been about 27,000 acres. The entire citrus producing region, almost all of which is in Hidalgo County, was affected by the recent big freeze.

If insurers and the government don't provide substantial long term monetary support these last TX citrus orchards may be lost. :(

Citrus lovers have no fear. TX had been producing only about 3% of the USA's citrus.
Wouldn't that be socialism?

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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#67

Post by zekeb »

Gregg wrote: Sat Mar 13, 2021 8:44 pm Wouldn't that be socialism?
From a Republican point of view, it all depends on who's getting the money. My money isn't socialism. Your money is.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#68

Post by Frater I*I »

Gregg wrote: Sat Mar 13, 2021 8:44 pm

Wouldn't that be socialism?

:hammerandsickle: :guntootin: :confuzzled:
It's only socialism when the money goes to minorities...when it goes to white folks it's good government... :bored:
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#69

Post by Volkonski »

In the Rio Grande Valley the money is likely going to Mexican Americans. However, Texas Red Grapefruit are so good that I think it would be money well spent. :thumbsup:
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#70

Post by Volkonski »



Cameron Langford
@cam_langford
ERCOT, the embattled Texas grid operator, got a major win Friday as a divided Texas Supreme Court refused to meddle with a ruling holding ERCOT has sovereign immunity against Dallas utility Panda Power's fraud lawsuit.
@CourthouseNews
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#71

Post by Volkonski »

Court issues critical decision over ERCOT's ability to be sued

https://abc13.com/business/court-issues ... /10432522/
The complicated, intricate and unpredictable situation surrounding Texas' power grid somehow, some way just got even more complicated.

In a 5-4 vote, the Texas Supreme Court voted it didn't have jurisdiction to decide whether ERCOT can be sued.

ERCOT, the state's power grid manager, claims it cannot be sued because it has "sovereign immunity," a legal principle that protects some governmental agencies from lawsuits because allowing them would disrupt "key government services" when money is spent on litigation.

In the Court's opinion, issued Friday, Justice Jeffrey Boyd wrote that because of some legal wrangling surrounding the cases in front of the court of appeals, the nine justices don't have the legal authority to make a decision on the case.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#72

Post by Chilidog »

What if the US Congress determines that the refineries and the natural gas production wells are critical national security infrastructure and requires them to have electric supply systems that meet federal requirements?
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#73

Post by zekeb »

Require that refineries and transmission systems meet certain standards or move them to Lucy Anna. That might catch Texas' eye. Let Texas be Texas. Have another big freeze like this past one and see if there's any citizen revolt.
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#74

Post by Volkonski »

Death toll from Texas winter storm now at least 111, officials say

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/te ... m=referral
The frigid weather also was blamed for dozens of more deaths across other Southern states including Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.

The majority of the Texas deaths are associated with hypothermia, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. And the dramatic number of new victims is still a potential undercount, as officials continue investigating deaths that happened around the time the storm knocked out power to more than 4 million customers in Texas.

Many homes went without power or drinkable water for days after subfreezing temperatures, failing power plants and record demand for heat pushed Texas’ electric grid to the breaking point.

Texas officials earlier this month put the initial tally of deaths at 57 but warned it would increase. The toll now officially exceeds that of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which was blamed for 68 deaths in Texas.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: Texas Big Freeze Aftermath

#75

Post by filly »

The "Pro Life" party won't give a flying fuck about 111+ deaths. Hell, we've had 550,000 Americans die from COVID in the last year and they don't care. 40,000+ Americans died from gun violence last year and they don't care.

During the Great Texas Freeze I had one very dark (as in psychological dark) day where I seriously thought my husband and I would freeze to death in our home after surviving a pandemic. It was the depth of despair. We have a well insulated home and we had a tank full of gas in our car which we used as our warming center. The gasoline level became dangerously low. My husband used a whole box of Morton's Kosher salt to clear a pathway to the car so we didn't slip on the ice and break a hip. My cell phone mostly didn't work.

And we were the fortunate ones.

And nothing will be done about this.
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