Climate Denial and Corruption are the Problem

I've lived in and/or traveled to Southeast Texas for 40+ years. My dad's office was in that azteck looking building directly above he body sledder in your photo. All of this was predictable.

Roughly every 10 years Houston has a hard freeze, and every 5 a cold snap. This freeze is just longer and harder than the average. If you cut costs on winterizing your infrastructure, it will freeze when it gets cold. It is not rocket science. Aside: I wonder ironically if the rocket scientists' pipes froze at the Johnson Space center just south of Houston. Big business bought off Texas politicians to allow deregulation. This is one predictable result of "small government."

My immediate family all live in or around Houston. They have had (IIRC) three separate "500 year floods" in the last 10 years. Denying that the climate is changing won't keep your house from flooding or your pipes from freezing. Again, Texas politicians have been bought by big business to stick their heads in the Galveston sand. Unfortunately for them (and us), the seas will rise and drown them whether they see it coming or not.