Extreme Heat, Rising Bills, and the Case for Electrification

A longtime friend texted me this past weekend. “News said there’s a heatwave in Portland. I checked the weather app and it just seems like ‘normal’ Texas temperatures.” He lives on the east coast and has never visited Oregon. This is my second summer in Portland since I moved here from Austin. “So many ppl up here don’t have AC!” I replied. “Like 25% of Oregon vs 2% of Texas.” He sent back a single emoji: 🥵. If there’s no relief, extreme heat can be unbearable—even deadly. And weather disasters like these that were considered ‘once-in-a-century’ are now just a few years (sometimes weeks) apart. To stop climate ...