I'm even more hopeful than ever seeing locals showing up to vote for common sense policies and representatives. I've felt a distinct lack of interest in civic responsibility and political activism from most folks in Texas for years, although some groups are definitely making up for the broader public apathy in the way they show up. I'm unfairly comparing Texas to other politically active places like New York is in the way people are civically engaged, but this is good news to me overall. The tide continues to turn...
ninjaphysics
I'd like to think I'm pretty decent at sticking to boycotts, but holy hell, my work platform is Microsoft and their products, and I run gaming servers for my friends online and play through game pass. This is going to be so hard for people to step back and not use their platforms and software if they're in it like me. Not sure how to proceed.
We might not have them as you see them today, but there is building science that is centuries old that works with the environment to have architectural solutions that don't even rely on electricity to retain heat or cool a space. There's also the more modern passive house design. As someone born and raised in a hot climate like you mentioned, had we created a built environment like this instead of crippling ourselves to use fossil fuels and refrigerants with high global warming potential, we wouldn't be where we are today. I agree that a/c changed the world. That change could have been a much more positive one had we taken a more practical approach!
Also, f Paxton, Abbott, Cruz, Roy, and whichever other cretin I didn't call out that deserves it.