When we talk about the impacts of climate change, extreme heat may be silent, but it can be incredibly deadly. In fact, according to data tracked by the National Weather Service, heat kills more than twice as many people each year on average in the US as hurricanes and tornadoes combined.

Now, it is standard in Phoenix for every truck, every ambulance to carry body bags and body bags and bags full of ice in order to cool people down as fast as possible. That used to just happen at the.

Hotel in the Phoenix area. There have been 27 confirmed heat related deaths this year, but it's suspected to be the cause of nearly 400 more.

The wrong kind of record. The hottest day on earth ever. It breaks the previous record held for a whopping one day.

And so as heat records continue to fall around the world, access to air conditioning is more important than ever. But what happens when the power grid it's connected to is unreliable or non existent? My guest today is CNN senior national correspondent Ed Lavendera. We're going to talk about why electricity headaches just seem bigger in Texas and go inside the mission to light up Navajo Nation. From CNN, this is one thing. I'm David Rind. So, Ed, you're based in Texas and it seems like on a pretty regular basis we hear about huge electricity issues in the state after a major weather event. And I guess I've been wondering, like, why that is.

Ed.

Yeah, there's definitely a feeling here in Texas about any time there's a hurricane, a winter storm going to have extended periods of temperatures over well over 100 degrees. You know, there's this kind of sense that has kind of existed over the state since the 2021 deep freeze that. Oh, my goodness, here we go again. Deadly hurricane barrel making landfall along the Gulf coast, battering Texas with hurricane force winds whipping up to 94 mph. You know, just a few weeks ago we had hurricane barrel that came up through the Texas Gulf coast and we had, I believe it was more than 2 million customers. And remember, these power companies talk about customers, which are homes, businesses, not individual people, but different customers.

It could be a bunch of people in a home.

Right, right. So that 2 million number is probably much higher in terms of people that are, that are affected. Right. But, you know, that was devastating to.

See the centerpoint trucks riding through here and then your life still not on. That's the frustrating part.

What are they doing with our money? I just don't understand. And I get really frustrated.

Do you feel like the city and center point energy did enough to prepare for the storm?

No, they did not. No, they did not.

And it took well over a week, almost two weeks, to get the vast majority of those people back online. And the frustration with the power grid and the power company and state officials has really been palpable.

Right. And like you said, this kind of keeps happening when these weather events pop up. And obviously, climate change is just going to keep bringing these extreme events along. So, like, what's the fix?

Well, depending on who you talk to, you know. So here in the state of Texas, which likes to bill itself as the energy capital not only of the country, but one of the energy capitals of the world, but this is also a state that has been built, and its financial success and its financial security has largely been built on the back of the fossil fuel industry. But what is interesting is that quietly, or maybe not so quietly, renewable energies have had a profound effect on the state's power grid and being able to withstand so many of the extreme weather events that we've experienced so recently. Solar and wind have, according to energy experts, kind of supplied on different times, you know, 30% to 40% of the energy demands that are coming out of this state. But one of the other things that is the problem, it's like you have a energy generation issue, but you also have a delivery problem, right? Like, you can generate a bunch of electricity, but if the infrastructure that then connects that power to people's homes and businesses, uh, isn't able to withstand these extreme weather events, that's also part of the problem.

You know, in Houston after Hurricane barrel, this is a very wooded area in southeast Texas. So there was extensive, extensive damage to the power line system all throughout the state. In many places that you go, you know, power lines are still above ground. And in these extreme weather events, those power poles crack and they splinter and they fall apart. Trees fall on them. And that is really tedious, kind of back breaking work and slow work to repair.

Well, I guess then, you know, if you have all these old, outdated wooden power poles and it's still above ground, why not bury the lines? Is that something that's been talked about?

It gets talked about quite a bit. It's just an incredibly costly process to put all of those power lines in so many places below ground. And that's the struggle that you are without electricity, you really don't have a water system either. So many of these families have to drive miles and miles to find water and bring it back, because there's not an electrical system that can run a water pump for them.For example, we have this for the charging.Oh, you just do it through the car.We put this on the cigarette lighter. We plug it in right here like this, our phones like that, and we let it sit for, like, an hour or 2 hours until it fully charges.So, you know, it's not just the heat that they're dealing with. It's just literally the everyday parts of life. Refrigeration to keep food sanitary. You know, all of these things are just like things that the vast majority of the country takes for granted.Well, I guess the obvious question, and I don't want to sound insensitive here, ed, is why don't these people just move somewhere else where they can have this electricity easier, rather than waiting for this group to come and do all this hard work of putting in these lines.Right. And it's an understandable question. I think, in our experience and speaking with many of these families, there's a deep connection to this land and where they're from.I don't want to be anywhere else. I got used to being here. It's quiet. I and my grandparents were from here. They left this land for us. And I like living here, and I want to raise my grandkids here and my kids.If you don't get electricity soon, would you?I'm going to stay here, keep fighting through it. Yeah. They will want to give me electricity. They can't give me electricity, but I'm going to stay here.We also have to take into account that the levels of poverty here are extremely. And it's not as easy for these families to say, we're just going to get up and go live somewhere else. So, will, you're less than 24 hours away from getting electricity at your house.Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yep.Exciting.Yep, it sure is. I mean, to have electricity finally, you know, at one time, hopefully tired.Tired of dealing with the. We met a man named William who we had interviewed him the night before. The power would be turned on at his home, and we were sitting there as the sun was setting, and he kind of described how just on the edges of his property, his family lived.We've always been survived without electricity. My grandma, my grandparents always. Never had electricity, never had running water.He actually lived in. In Arizona for a while, had an apartment with electricity and air conditioning and refrigeration. And he wanted to move back to Navajo nation. He worked at a car shop in a nearby town, but he wanted to be closer back to his family. He wanted to be closer back to this land that had so much deep meaning to him personally. Did you ever get frustrated? Did you ever think, man, yeah, this is a hard way to live?Yeah, of course. You know, there's this frustration by thinking that I could be kicking back on the sofa with watching tv or what, whatever, you know, but I usually like to keep busy, so. So it kind of doesn't bother me too much, you know, because I'm always busy. Right. Yeah.But it's be nice to be able to run a little air conditioning.Definitely, yes. Definitely. Yeah.Moment of truth. Are you ready?All right. Yeah, we ready? Ready.But we were there the next morning when the power utility came and essentially flipped the switch.There we go. All right. Yeah, that's pretty good. Thank you.In fact, he had to, just moments before all of that happened, he had to race into town to buy a light bulb because he had forgotten to never.Light bulb.He didn't have a light bulb. He had forgotten to buy a light bulb. Like, he'd never needed one in this house.How does that feel? Great. Great. I like it. Wow, that's neat. I mean, I've seen electricity before, but I'm not in my own property.He was really, really stoic the night before. Like he did. He kind of played it off like it wasn't that big of a deal. But the moment he switched that, he flipped that switch and the light came on, his face lit up. You can go buy an air conditioning unit.I need to. I need to, yes, I do. And a refrigerator and everything else, you know, so probably a 70 foot or 70 inch tv or whatever, but you.Can run whatever you want. His demeanor completely changed, and I think he was kind of caught off guard by just how, how amazing that moment was for him. You keep staring at that light bulb.Yeah. Waiting for it to go off. Yeah. Thank you guys. Appreciate it.Stay cool this summer.All right.So far, this effort to light up Navajo Nation has helped about 850 families. I believe the number was, and what is really staggering, if you kind of work the math out in the pace that they're working out, the organizers of this effort tell us that it will still take another three decades to get power to every household that they're trying to, that they're trying to service. Three decades. It was staggering. And when you think of that in terms of the race against climate change and extreme heat, that's not a really good statistic.No. It's just another example of how often marginalized and groups with the least resources can be left behind as the world adapts to climate change. Great reporting, ed. Thank you for sharing it with us. I appreciate it.Oh, thanks so much for sharing the story.One thing is a production of CNN audio. This episode was produced by Paulo Ortiz and me, David Rind. Our senior producer is Fez Dumiel. Our supervising producer is Greg Peppers. Matt Dempsey is our production manager, Dan Dzula is our technical director, and Steve Laktai is the executive producer of CNN Audio. We get support from Hailey Thomas, Alex Manseri, Robert Mathers, John Dianora, Laney Steinhardt, Jamis Andres, Nicole Pessaroo, and Lisa Namurow. Special thanks to Ashley Killo, Wendy Brundage, and Katie Hinman. Well be back on Wednesday. In the meantime, if you like the show, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcast. Tell a friend, tell a family member, tell a stranger, I dont care. Talk to you later.

you are without electricity, you really don't have a water system either. So many of these families have to drive miles and miles to find water and bring it back, because there's not an electrical system that can run a water pump for them.

For example, we have this for the charging.

Oh, you just do it through the car.

We put this on the cigarette lighter. We plug it in right here like this, our phones like that, and we let it sit for, like, an hour or 2 hours until it fully charges.

So, you know, it's not just the heat that they're dealing with. It's just literally the everyday parts of life. Refrigeration to keep food sanitary. You know, all of these things are just like things that the vast majority of the country takes for granted.

Well, I guess the obvious question, and I don't want to sound insensitive here, ed, is why don't these people just move somewhere else where they can have this electricity easier, rather than waiting for this group to come and do all this hard work of putting in these lines.

Right. And it's an understandable question. I think, in our experience and speaking with many of these families, there's a deep connection to this land and where they're from.

I don't want to be anywhere else. I got used to being here. It's quiet. I and my grandparents were from here. They left this land for us. And I like living here, and I want to raise my grandkids here and my kids.

If you don't get electricity soon, would you?

I'm going to stay here, keep fighting through it. Yeah. They will want to give me electricity. They can't give me electricity, but I'm going to stay here.

We also have to take into account that the levels of poverty here are extremely. And it's not as easy for these families to say, we're just going to get up and go live somewhere else. So, will, you're less than 24 hours away from getting electricity at your house.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yep.

Exciting.

Yep, it sure is. I mean, to have electricity finally, you know, at one time, hopefully tired.

Tired of dealing with the. We met a man named William who we had interviewed him the night before. The power would be turned on at his home, and we were sitting there as the sun was setting, and he kind of described how just on the edges of his property, his family lived.

We've always been survived without electricity. My grandma, my grandparents always. Never had electricity, never had running water.

He actually lived in. In Arizona for a while, had an apartment with electricity and air conditioning and refrigeration. And he wanted to move back to Navajo nation. He worked at a car shop in a nearby town, but he wanted to be closer back to his family. He wanted to be closer back to this land that had so much deep meaning to him personally. Did you ever get frustrated? Did you ever think, man, yeah, this is a hard way to live?

Yeah, of course. You know, there's this frustration by thinking that I could be kicking back on the sofa with watching tv or what, whatever, you know, but I usually like to keep busy, so. So it kind of doesn't bother me too much, you know, because I'm always busy. Right. Yeah.

But it's be nice to be able to run a little air conditioning.

Definitely, yes. Definitely. Yeah.

Moment of truth. Are you ready?

All right. Yeah, we ready? Ready.

But we were there the next morning when the power utility came and essentially flipped the switch.

There we go. All right. Yeah, that's pretty good. Thank you.

In fact, he had to, just moments before all of that happened, he had to race into town to buy a light bulb because he had forgotten to never.

Light bulb.

He didn't have a light bulb. He had forgotten to buy a light bulb. Like, he'd never needed one in this house.

How does that feel? Great. Great. I like it. Wow, that's neat. I mean, I've seen electricity before, but I'm not in my own property.

He was really, really stoic the night before. Like he did. He kind of played it off like it wasn't that big of a deal. But the moment he switched that, he flipped that switch and the light came on, his face lit up. You can go buy an air conditioning unit.

I need to. I need to, yes, I do. And a refrigerator and everything else, you know, so probably a 70 foot or 70 inch tv or whatever, but you.

Can run whatever you want. His demeanor completely changed, and I think he was kind of caught off guard by just how, how amazing that moment was for him. You keep staring at that light bulb.

Yeah. Waiting for it to go off. Yeah. Thank you guys. Appreciate it.

Stay cool this summer.

All right.

So far, this effort to light up Navajo Nation has helped about 850 families. I believe the number was, and what is really staggering, if you kind of work the math out in the pace that they're working out, the organizers of this effort tell us that it will still take another three decades to get power to every household that they're trying to, that they're trying to service. Three decades. It was staggering. And when you think of that in terms of the race against climate change and extreme heat, that's not a really good statistic.

No. It's just another example of how often marginalized and groups with the least resources can be left behind as the world adapts to climate change. Great reporting, ed. Thank you for sharing it with us. I appreciate it.

Oh, thanks so much for sharing the story.

One thing is a production of CNN audio. This episode was produced by Paulo Ortiz and me, David Rind. Our senior producer is Fez Dumiel. Our supervising producer is Greg Peppers. Matt Dempsey is our production manager, Dan Dzula is our technical director, and Steve Laktai is the executive producer of CNN Audio. We get support from Hailey Thomas, Alex Manseri, Robert Mathers, John Dianora, Laney Steinhardt, Jamis Andres, Nicole Pessaroo, and Lisa Namurow. Special thanks to Ashley Killo, Wendy Brundage, and Katie Hinman. Well be back on Wednesday. In the meantime, if you like the show, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcast. Tell a friend, tell a family member, tell a stranger, I dont care. Talk to you later.