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Bear dies after getting trapped in a hot car while searching for food in Tennessee

♪ SOLEDAD: AMERICA’S POWER GRID IS FACING A STRESS TEST. EXTREME HEAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY IS PUTTING A STRAIN ON THE ELECTRICAL GRIDS THAT POWER OUR LIVES. IN MAY, THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCED $2.5 BILLION TO MODERNIZE AND EXPAND THE ELECTRICAL GRID. BUT THAT’S NOT A QUICK FIX. WITHOUT ADDITIONAL CAPACITY, SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS ARE POSSIBLE, CREATING POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING SITUATIONS. JIM ROBB IS THE CEO OF NORTH AMERICAN ELECTRIC RELIABILITY CORPORATION, WHICH MONITORS RISKS TO THE GRID. THANK YOU FOR TALKING WITH ME. YOU HAVE SAID THE SYSTEM IS VULNERABLE, THAT IN FACT, IT’S DANGEROUSLY STRESSED FOR LAYPEOPLE. WHAT EXACTLY DOES THAT MEAN AND HOW DO WE GET HERE? >> THERE ARE REALLY THREE THINGS THAT ARE AFFECTING THE OUTLOOK FOR RELIABILITY THIS SUMMER. AND THE FIRST AND FOREMOST IS A WEATHER FORECAST THAT’S REALLY PROBLEMATIC FOR THE ELECTRIC GRID. IT SHOWS ELEVATED TEMPERATURES ACROSS MOST OF THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE CONTINENT. AND IF YOU COUPLE THAT WITH A VERY DRY OUTLOOK, MEANING CONTINUED DROUGHT CONDITIONS FOR THE FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE CONTINENT, THAT’S JUST A RECIPE TO DISTRESS ANY ELECTRIC SYSTEM. AND OURS HAS GOTTEN MORE COMPLICATED BECAUSE THE GRID ITSELF IS GOING THROUGH A MASSIVE TRANSFORMATION, MOVING TOWARD LOW CARBON RESOURCES LIKE WIND ANDARARAR AND WE’RE RETIRING SOME OF THE TRADITIONAL GENERATION THAT WE’VE GROWN USED TO AND AND STUDIED AND UNDERSTAND SO MUCH FOR OVER THE YEARS. SOELDAD: IS IT GETTING WORSE? >> WE’VE BEEN SEEING A PROGRESSION OF RISKIER OUTLOOKS FOR THE ELECTRIC GRID FOR THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS. AND PART OF THAT IS DEFINITELY THE WEATHER. THE OTHER ISSUE THAT’S GOING ON IS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE GRID ITSELF, WE’RE HAVING WHAT WE WOULD CALL A DISORDERLY RETIREMENT OF OLDER GENERATION, WHICH IS HAPPENING TOO QUICKLY. SOLEDAD: HOW HARD IS IT TO MAKE THAT TRANSITION FROM FOSSIL FUELS TO DEPENDENCY ON SOME OTHER KIND OF CLEAN ENERGY? >> UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S VERY, VERY COMPLICATED. THE ELECTRIC GRID IN NORTH AMERICA IS THE LARGEST, MOST COMPLICATED MACHINE EVER BUILT. WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO KNOW IS THAT WHEN WE FLIP THE LIGHT SWITCH, THAT THE LIGHTS COME ON, THERE’S REALLY A MIRACLE OF ELECTRICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING BEHIND THAT. AND THE ISSUE WE RUN INTO WITH THE TRANSITION OF THE GRID, PARTICULARLY TOWARDS SOLAR RESOURCES, IS THAT SOLAR RESOURCES DON’T CREATE NATURALLY CREATE ALTERNATING CURRENT OR AC CURRENT. SO IT HAS TO GO THROUGH A TRANSFORMATION DEVICE CALLED AN INVERTER THAT THAT SYNCS IT TO THE REST OF THE SYSTEM. AND WE NEED WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE INVERTERS WORK IN A WAY THAT PROMOTE RELIABILITY, SO I WOULD SAY THAT IT’S DIFFERENT. IT’S NOT BETTER OR WORSE. SOLEDAD: SO TICK OFF FOR ME THE BIGGEST SOURCES INVOLVED IN POWERING THE ELECTRIC GRID. >> SO RIGHT NOW, AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THE LARGEST SINGLE SOURCE OF POWER IN THE U.S. IS NATURAL GAS. IT’S THE LARGEST CAPACITY RESOURCE THAT WE HAVE. IT’S FOLLOWED PRETTY CLOSELY BY COAL, WHICH IS DECLINING PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY. AFTER THAT, IT’S NUCLEAR. AND THEN AFTER THAT WE HAVE WIND, SOLAR AND HYDRO. THEY ARE ALL ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT. SOLEDAD: HOW DO YOU FIX IT? YOU’VE GOT TO KEEP THE POWER GRID GOING WHILE YOU’RE ALSO REPAIRING THE POWER GRID AND TRANSITIONING THE POWER GRID. SOUNDS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. >> I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE SOMETIMES LOSE SIGHT OF IS THAT AN ELECTRIC GRID AT ANY POINT IN TIME OR THE ELECTRIC SECTOR AT ANY POINT IN TIME NEEDS TO FIND WAYS TO BALANCE RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. AND I THINK ONE OF THE TIME THAT WHEN WE GET IN TROUBLE IS WHEN WE OVEREMPHASIZE ONE OF THOSE THREE DIMENSIONS, AS OPPOSED TO RECOGNIZING THAT THEY ALL NEED TO BE WORKED AND THOUGHT OF IN TANDEM. SO THE WHOLE WORLD IS BECOMING SO MUCH MORE DEPENDENT ON ELECTRICITY THAT EVEN A MOMENT WITHOUT POWER IS IS A REAL PROBLEM FOR PEOPLE. SOLEDAD: JIM ROBB IS THE CEO OF THE NORTH AMERICAN ELECTRIC RELIABILITY CORPORATIO

A black bear in Sevierville, Tennessee, died after it got into an unlocked car in search of food, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said Thursday in a news release.Sevierville is about 30 miles from Knoxville in East Tennessee, just north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The owner of a vehicle parked at a rental cabin found the bear inside the car around 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday; the car owner said they’d left the cabin in a different vehicle around 10 a.m. that morning.Officials believe the bear was able to open the unlocked car with its teeth or paws and became trapped after the door shut. The bear seemed to be reaching for an empty soda can and a food wrapper on the floor, the release added.”We believe that heat likely killed the bear as outside temperatures exceeded 95 degrees yesterday, meaning the vehicle’s interior possibly reached over 140 degrees,” the release said.The agency said that people should lock their car doors, roll up windows “and never leave food or anything that smells like food inside!”Bears have a sense of smell that’s seven times stronger than that of a bloodhound, the agency added.This week, dangerous heat has settled into the South, with heat alerts continuing for over 40 million people from Texas to Florida, including Dallas, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Mobile and Jacksonville.

A black bear in Sevierville, Tennessee, died after it got into an unlocked car in search of food, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said Thursday in a news release.

Sevierville is about 30 miles from Knoxville in East Tennessee, just north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The owner of a vehicle parked at a rental cabin found the bear inside the car around 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday; the car owner said they’d left the cabin in a different vehicle around 10 a.m. that morning.

Officials believe the bear was able to open the unlocked car with its teeth or paws and became trapped after the door shut. The bear seemed to be reaching for an empty soda can and a food wrapper on the floor, the release added.

“We believe that heat likely killed the bear as outside temperatures exceeded 95 degrees yesterday, meaning the vehicle’s interior possibly reached over 140 degrees,” the release said.

The agency said that people should lock their car doors, roll up windows “and never leave food or anything that smells like food inside!”

Bears have a sense of smell that’s seven times stronger than that of a bloodhound, the agency added.

This week, dangerous heat has settled into the South, with heat alerts continuing for over 40 million people from Texas to Florida, including Dallas, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Mobile and Jacksonville.