The Current for Feb. 18, 2021
Today on The Current:
Millions of Texans have been suffering in the cold and dark this week after a winter storm walloped the state with snow and cold, and overwhelmed the state's energy grid. Matt Galloway speaks with Biko Gray, whose power went out in Houston on Sunday night, and Emily Grubert, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Georgia Tech who says the disaster shows how governments and individuals need to prepare for more extreme weather. Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, weighs in on the role of climate change.
Then, our series Canada's Road Ahead takes us to Stanstead, Que., where the U.S.-Canada border — closed tight during this pandemic — is separating friends and families. We speak with Chris Planetta, a member of the Borderline Players theatre company and the Border Curling Club, about what the border closure has been like for his community. And we hear from Donna Rolfe, assistant director at the Manoir Stanstead retirement home, where staff were so determined to keep people safe from COVID-19 that they moved in with residents for weeks at a time — twice in the past year.
And as NASA's Perseverance rover attempts to land on Mars on Thursday, Brock University earth sciences professor Mariek Schmidt will be watching closely. She's part of the scientific team hoping the rover will help in the search for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.
Plus, Canadians have repeatedly been told to stay home during the COVID-19 crisis. But what if you have no home to go to? In Kitchener, Ont., people have come up with a solution for those facing homelessness: a community of tiny houses. The CBC's Paula Duhatschek brings us that story.