(OtherWords) — “It’s flooding down in Texas,” goes the old song. “All of the telephone lines are down.”
With apologies to Stevie Ray Vaughan, there’s a lot more down in Texas than telephone lines now. Power lines are down, homes are destroyed, and cities sit underwater. Dozens have died.
For me, this is personal. I worried intensely about friends and family in Houston and Corpus Christi.
Thankfully all are safe, but it’s been jarring to see photos of places I know underwater. Every time I check the news I recognize familiar places from the long drive from Houston to Corpus I’ve made numerous times.
There’s another unforgettable sight I often recall from that drive.
In Taft, Texas, as you’re nearing Corpus — a major refinery town — over the horizon comes a huge wind farm. What does this juxtaposition of refineries and wind farms have to do with the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey?