During the power outage following the winter storms of 2021 — known in Texas as Winter Storm Uri — Rita, an Indigenous woman who lives with severe mental illness and congestive heart failure, tried with her then-partner to stay warm in brutal conditions in a tent on the streets of Austin with camp stoves and a propane heater. They survived, but at least six unhoused people did not.
In her new book Disabled Power, University of Texas at El Paso professor Angela Frederick details the challenges that disabled people faced when parts of the state’s power grid failed in February 2021. Frederick’s book outlines the unique challenges that disabled and chronically ill people face when they lose power, including the lack of resources among local governments to assist them during climate disasters.
“Their worlds shrunk in ways specific to disability, and they often negotiated disability-related constraints as they strategized to survive,” Frederick wrote.
I spoke to Frederick about how policy decisions led to horrors ... Read more
