Now that the ball’s dropped, toasts made, fireworks popped and black eyed peas consumed, we’re feeling reflective today. Faced with that eternally annual question, “Should Auld Aquaintance Be Forgot?“, I’m moved to such mental poetry as “Heck no, this year was too much fun!”
We’ve had a hell of a year here at Texas Vox. In such a short span we’ve gone from a humble policy blog, primarily read internally and by our own interns, to stake our claim as a top climate and energy blog in the state, with a national and even international reach. And you, dear citizen-readers, are not the only ones to take notice: from responses we’ve received over the year it is clear that we’re also on the radar of agency commissioners, legislators, city council members and even the office of the governor. Not too shabby for 12 month’s time, and an exciting place to be as we enter a new decade and crucial political time.
So here’s the first segment of our “Year in Review” series: the Top Texas Vox Stories of 2009.
1. Energy Citizens
Remember when, way back in August, your intrepid friends at Texas Vox boogied down to Houston to crash the American Petroleum Institute’s astroturf “Energy Citizens” rally? This was the first of several rallies across the nation that API staged to make it look like there was a strong, ground-up movement against a federal climate change bill. But it turned out that the event was more of a company picnic than a grassroots campaign; they blocked our entry and wouldn’t even let in the “real” anti-cap and trade grassroots, as organized by folks like Freedomworks — no American flags either! But never fear, your own Citizen Sarah was able to sneak past their burly guards and interview a few of these so-called Energy Citizens — who we found out say the darndest things (like that they don’t really know much of anything about the climate and energy bill and are there because or their employers)!
API’s antics didn’t end in Houston, either — in North Carolina, they even locked out the state representative of the district where the rally was held! After a few more rallies, it quickly became clear that on top of being funded by the American Petroleum Institute and stocked with energy company employees, the majority of them were also organized by oil-industry lobbyists. But by that point, no one was buying API’s story anymore. Way to bust ’em, Netroots!
2. The 2009 81st Legislative Session
Activists had high hopes for the 2009 81st Legislative Session. With the new Obama administration, fear of pending federal climate legislation, and a new Speaker of the House to break the Craddickocracy, it seemed almost certain that good bills would pass to move Texas closer to a clean energy future.
Two weeks into the session, Public Citizen Texas’ legislative package (which included such lofty goals as significant climate change legislation, a major update of state energy efficiency programs, a non-wind renewable portfolio standard (RPS), and a bill to create incentives for solar power) was in the best shape it had ever been, and the session looked to be one of the most productive in history. At this point, all of the bills Public Citizen’s Texas office supported had made it out of committee, been passed by either one chamber or the other, and had made it out of Calendars committee and were scheduled for debate.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of our legislation was calendared behind an incredibly contentious Voter ID bill which would have required Texas voters to present a valid driver’s license to vote. In order to block this bill, House Democrats adopted the “chubbing” tactic — talking bills to death — to avoid getting far enough down the bill list to have to vote on the Voter ID bill.
This stalling technique cut five days from the end of the session deadline and killed a tragically long laundry list of bills that were scheduled after Voter ID. As an example, SB 16, an omnibus air quality bill which would have provided funding for TERP, plug-in hybrids, and a diesel emissions reduction plan, was directly after Voter ID on Calendars. Our solar incentives bill was also on the same page, and the non-wind RPS bill was scheduled to be discussed the following day. It was a very disheartening end to an otherwise shining legislative session — kind of like a great interception and full field run that ended in a trip just shy of the 1 yard line.
But there were still some great victories in there. These major wins included:
- Funding for the Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP) for areas in non-attainment status of the federal Clean Air Act (CHB 1796)
- A carbon dioxide registry to address the state’s contribution to global warming (CHB 1796)
- A “green fee” bill allowing the governing board of public colleges and universities to institute an environmental service fee (once approved by student body election)
- A bill to create municipal solar districts that would allow local governments to provide low-cost loans to consumers to install solar on roofs (HB 1937)
- A “no regrets” strategy for greenhouse gas reduction in the state. This bill will require the State Comptroller to examine the state’s energy use in order to find ways to reduce our emissions and save money at the same time (SB 184)
- A green fleets bill to promote low emissions and plug-in hybrid vehicles for fleets of major state agencies (HB 432)
For the full text, all-green-groups wrap-up number, read the press release Texas Legislature Advances Clean Power and Green Jobs, but Loses Steam in Political Wranglings.
Check back with us tomorrow for more fun stories from 2009!
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, Renewables, solar | Tagged 2009, 2010, 81st legislative session, Air Quality, american petroleum institute, API, astroturf, auld lange syne, calendars, chubbing, City Council, clean air act, Clean Energy, climate, climate legislation, Energy, Energy Citizens, Energy Efficiency, freedomworks, governor perry, green fleets, green gee, Netroots, new year, no regrets, north carolina, Obama administration, public citizen texas, solar districts, solar power, Texas, Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP), texas vox, voter id |
The Texas Progressive Alliance is still somewhat amazed to be living in the year we make contact, and we hope we’re all still going strong when Odyssey Three rolls around.
Texas has most drilling, worst regulation. Texas made national news this week in the ProPublica investigative report and they used pictures provided by TXsharon @ Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.
WhosPlayin reports that the local city council is once again considering the question of whether to participate in 287(g) and force its vendors to use E-Verify to check for work eligibility.
BossKitty at TruthHugger found a poignant editorial on Al Jazeera: Weary Soldiers At Risk, They Know This – Why do foreign correspondents have more in depth observations than America’s own Corporate media who follows the money and toes the line for sponsors political perks that promise ’scoops’.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks all kids should be given free, nutritious school meals. Just do it.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson discusses another worthless GOP plan for transportation in Texas, Kay’s transportation plan is a clunker.
The Texas Cloverleaf questions whether or not a Houston City Councilman-elect knows the difference between a campaign website and city resources.
Off the Kuff called out some political gamesmanship over the murder rate in Harris County.
Last week Teddy reviewed the best of the Left of College Station, and looks at the year ahead at Left of College Station. This week Left of College Station will begin coverage of the 2010 campaign season in the Brazos Valley, and report on human trafficking in Houston.
Candidate filings, including Gordon Quan for Harris County Judge and a list of the statewides, appears in PDiddie’s post at Brains and Eggs.
Bay Area Houston hopes the next decade will be better than the last.
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog covered Gordon Quan’s campaign kickoff including full video of Quan’s speech.
LibbyShaw puts together the latest throw downs exposing GOP hypocrisy and lies. Check it out : Rachel Maddow Busts Republicans for Cowardice, Hypocrisy and Lies.
At McBlogger, Mayor McSleaze noted with some interest that Marc Katz filed for Lt. Governor. Some, but not much. More important to him was a really nasty prairie dog attack.
Neil at Texas Liberal selected his wife as person of the decade and named his blog—Texas Liberal— as blog of the decade.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged al jazeera, asian american action fund, bay area houston, bravos valley, City Council, couldbetrue, eye on williamson, foreign correspondents, gas drilling, gordon quan, harris county, houston, houston city council, human trafficking, left of college station, libby shaw, mcblogger, off the kuff, propublica, rachel maddow, regulation, school lunch, soldiers, south texas chisme, Texas, texas cloverleaf, texas liberal, texas progressive alliance, Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round, transportation, truthhugger, whosplayin |
December 28, 2009 by Public Citizen Texas
The November/December edition of Public Citizen News, a bi-monthly newsletter distributed to Public Citizen members, featured this article on our statewide “Roll Beyond Coal” Tour. Since not all of you out there get the newsletter, I thought I’d share:
‘Roll Beyond Coal’ Tours Texas
By Geena Wardaki
It’s not often that you lug a 20-foot-tall inflatable “coal plant” around Texas to protest dirty coal-fueled power plants.
But that’s exactly what Public Citizen and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club did in September.
The “coal plant” served as a powerful image that drove home the message to “clean up dirty power plants now,” which the groups delivered to Texas residents during the “Roll Beyond Coal” tour.
The groups visited Texas communities where proposed coal plants would be built and met with local grassroots and citizen organizations.
The two-week tour, which was part of Public Citizen’s Coal Block campaign, stopped in Waco, Dallas, Abilene, College Station, Corpus Christi, Bay City, Houston and Austin. Texas residents turned out in crowds of varying sizes to show their support and protest with the tour at each stop.
“The biggest cities actually had the smallest response,” said Ryan Rittenhouse, Coal Block campaign director for Public Citizen’s Texas office. “The largest turnouts were from grassroots movements where the issue is more local, smaller towns where proposed coal plants would be built and whose residents would be directly affected.”
Area demonstrators included members of T.P.O.W.E.R. (Texans Protecting Our Water Environment and Resources) from Waco, the No Coal Coalition from Bay City, the Multi-County Coalition from Sweetwater and the Clean Economy Coalition from Corpus Christi.
“Roll Beyond Coal” had two main objectives: one, to show support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent finding that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) rules for granting permits to new coal plants do not comply with the federal Clean Air Act; and two, to push the EPA to stop the TCEQ from granting any permits for or allowing the operation of any new coal-powered plants and from issuing any new air pollution permits. TCEQ currently issues “flex permits,” which allow coal plants to sometimes exceed emissions as long as they don’t go over their total emission caps for the year. Eleven coal plants are proposed or under construction in Texas, more than any other state in the country.
The “Roll Beyond Coal” tour also educated people about federal climate change legislation making its way through Congress (H.R. 2454). Concern exists that new climate change legislation will grandfather proposed or newly built plants, allowing the plants to avoid the proposed emissions standards. (Senate climate change legislation also would enable new plants to be evade emission control standards for a decade.)
Public Citizen told residents to call and write Texas Sens. John Cornyn (R) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R), and urge them to vote against the grandfathering of new coal plants in the climate change legislation. (Visit www.coalblock.org to see how you can e-mail these senators, too.)
“The ‘Roll Beyond Coal’ tour was an important and entertaining way to reach out to Texas residents and get them engaged and involved in blocking dirty coal power plants,” Rittenhouse said.
“Now, people need to let their lawmakers know that coal plants should not get special treatment in any climate change legislation.”
Geena Wardaki is a Public Citizen communications intern.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Coal | Tagged abilene, Austin, bay city, clean air act, clean economy coalition, coal block, coal plant, college station, corpus christi, dallas, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, federal climate change legislation, flex permits, grandfathering, grassroots, H.R. 2454, houston, john cornyn, kay bailey hutchison, lone star chapter, Multi-County Coalition, no coal coalition, public citizen texas, roll beyond coal, ryan rittenhouse, Sierra Club, sweetwater, T.P.O.W.E.R., TCEQ, Texans Protecting Our Water Environment and Resources, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Waco |
The Texas Progressive Alliance would like to thank everyone for reading all of the weekly blog roundups this year. This is the last roundup of 2009, and we are all looking forward to 2010.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants everyone to be afraid of drug cartels buying our politicians. We’ve all seen what money and power did to health care reform. Imagine all that drug money buying power here. It’s time to legalize drugs and take away the profit.
You can’t make this stuff up at Bay Area Houston. GOP “Bubba” white supremacist wanted for murder.
Barnett Shale Communities can breathe easier after a VICTORY last week when TCEQ issued a new emission policy following the release of Texas OGAP’s Study: Shale Gas Threatens Human Health. Read the study and view documents TCEQ will use to record odor complaints and take necessary enforcement action.
WhosPlayin picked up on the TCEQ policy change, and also weighed in on strange comments by a Flower Mound Councilman explaining his vote not to impose an oil and gas moratorium. Speaking of councilmen, Lewisville has a teabagger councilman who wants to turn down a $913,000 stimulus grant from the federal government.
The Texas Cloverleaf looks at the potential for a contested party chair race in Dallas County. And, it is among the Democrats.
Xanthippas at Three Wise Men, on Robert George, the conservative Christian “big thinker” who dresses up old prejudices in new rationales.
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog is terribly excited that Gordon Quan is running for Harris County Judge.
Off the Kuff writes about Harris County Board of Ed Trustee Michael Wolfe, the silliest officeholder in Harris County.
Escalation in Afghanistan, a health care reform bill lacking a public option, and another climate change bust in Copenhagen has left a lot of Obama believers stranded at the intersection of Hope and Change. PDiddie has stepped off the bus; read why at Brains and Eggs.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the GOP property tax swap has fixed nothing, as most people knew back when it passed, The Texas GOP and the Texas budget.
Neil at Texas Liberal said that all of us in life seek the 60 votes of hope and kindness to defeat the filibusters of despair and anger. The Senate of life is always session so that we can rustle up the needed votes.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Afghanistan, asian american action fund, Barnett shale, bay area houston, change, climate change, copenhagen, couldbetrue, dallas county, democrats, drug cartels, eye on williamson, filibuster, flower mound, gop, gordon quan, harris county, health care reform, health reform, hope, human health, lewisville, michael wolfe, off the kuff, oil and gas moratorium, public option, robert george, shale gas, south texas chisme, TCEQ, Texas, texas cloverleaf, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, texas progressive alliance, three wise men, wcnews, weekly round up, whosplayin, xanthippas |
The San Antonio Nuclear Expansion Soap Opera plot thickens. Today’s update brings the shocking news that South Texas Project Reactors 3 & 4 could actually cost, not $13 Billion, not even $17 Billion… but $18.2 Billion!
With all the trouble CPS has gotten into recently regarding transparency (a gentle term we’re using that translates roughly to “lying to the public and covering up bad news”), you’d think that they would’ve come forward and made this estimate public as soon as humanly possible.
But you’d be wrong. Instead, they presented the numbers to their board in a closed session last week (read: NOT public, you’re not invited). Sometime later, the San Antonio Express-News got wind of the update, “based on numbers provided by the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Co”, and published the results.
When will CPS learn that they have got to be honest with the public, the mayor, and city council? They told folks all summer long that the plant would cost $13 Billion, even though insiders knew since late June that it could very well be $4 Billion more. CPS has led a lengthy and sloppy cover-up campaign of STP and nuclear power’s “inconvenient truth” that culminated in resignations, an internal investigation, and several firings and demotions.
Am I going to fast for you? Did you miss a few episodes, and are confused that CPS’ prize project could so quickly fall to pieces? Let’s do a recap.
Previously, on Amores Nucleares:
With just days before San Antonio City Council was to vote to approve $400 million in bonds for new nuclear reactors, it was leaked that the project could actually cost $4 Billion more than CPS had been saying all summer (according to Toshiba, who would actually be building the plant). The vote was postponed, there was an impromptu press conference, and it came out that CPS staff had actually known about the cost increase for more than a week — Oops! Oh, and the “leak” wasn’t that CPS came out with the truth, an aide from the mayor’s office only found out after confronting CPS about a rumor he’d heard. But how did the mayor’s office find out? NRG, CPS’ partner in the project was the “Deepthroat”, because they were going to announce Toshiba’s $17 Billion cost estimate at a shareholder’s meeting soon after the city council vote and thought, geez, that could look really bad for CPS! Meanwhile, CPS reps flew to Japan in a hurry to figure things out. Steve Bartley, interim GM for CPS, resigned. Furious that CPS had hidden the ugly truth from City Council, the mayor demanded the resignation of two key CPS board members, and got City Council to vote unanimously that they get the boot. Chairwoman Aurora Geis agreed to go, but Steve Hennigan said “No Way, Jose.” THEN CPS completed an internal audit of the whole shebang to figure out what-the-hell-happened, which found that Steve Bartley was to blame, and everyone else was only guilty of failure in their “responsibility of prompt disclosure”. And then this week it came out the project could be even more way way expensive than anyone thought (except of course Energia Mia, Public Citizen, SEED Coalition, the Center for American Progress, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and analysts Arjun Makhijani, Clarence Johnson, Craig Severance, and Mark Cooper to name a few).
That about brings us up to speed.
So what is next? December 31st, Toshiba should come out with a new, “official” cost estimate, which CPS will use to come up with their own cost estimate mid-January. City council is slated to vote January 15th, once and for all, on $400 million in bonds to continue the project. But clearly, enough is enough. Tell City Council to stop throwing good money after bad, and to cut their losses before its too late. Tell them to vote “no” to nuclear bonds January 15th, and start the year off fresh and free from the “ghost of nuclear projects past.”
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged amores nucleares, Arjun Makhijani, clarence johnson, CPS Energy, craig severance, Energia Mia, mark cooper, Nuclear, nuclear expansion, Nuke Free Texas, Public Citizen, San Antonio, san antonio express news, SEED Coalition, soap opera, South Texas Project, Texas, transparency |
December 23, 2009 by Public Citizen Texas
By Kirsten Bokenkamp
During his campaign, President Obama said “change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” As individuals, we need to internalize this, and act on it. This is the last blog in the Green-up Your Life! series, a series dedicated to the many ways we, as individuals, can reduce climate change.
Unfortunately, the environmentally-friendly changes to our daily lives is just the first step to securing a livable planet for future generations. In addition, we must demand that our government adopt laws to protect our planet. While the science behind climate change is well established, our leaders will not act until we make them. The importance of government action to combat climate change was made clear in a recent Washington Post op-ed by Mike Tidwell titled To really save the planet, stop going green. In the op-ed, Tidwell argues that “going green” is tricking many people into actually thinking that there is major change happening, when in reality, only a very small percentage of people buy compact florescent light bulbs and fuel efficient cars, have a compost pile, and eat vegetarian diets, etc. “Going green”, in effect, is creating a false impression of change, which is actually hindering the real process of change. If we care, we should adopt a “green” lifestyle and incorporate the above activities into our lives – but doing all of these individual things does not dismiss us from taking political action to demand large-scale change.
What does this mean for us? It means learning the details about climate change legislation, and calling/writing/visiting our state and federal representatives to demand that they take action. Not sure what to ask for? Here are a few things to get you started:
• A bill that achieves emissions cuts of at least 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80-95% by 2050 (right now, the Waxman-Markey Bill cuts emissions by only 4% of 1990 levels. Unfortunately, the Waxman-Markey Bill deceptively uses 2005 levels, and thus the 17% reduction in emissions seems to be near the scientific requirements. But, as Congress well understands, the rest of the international community and climate scientists use 1990 levels as their base. Thus, the 17% emissions cut at 2005 levels turns out to be only 4% of 1990 levels, a number far from minimum 25% necessary to save our planet.)
• Stopping the construction of new coal plants.
• Increasing funding for renewable energy and creating green jobs
We all have the tools and knowledge necessary to create change on a personal and political level. The next steps are advocacy, action, and maintenance. We are facing a huge crisis, and taking only small and popular steps are not enough. Obama said it himself – we are the change that we have been waiting for. So let’s do it!
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged cap and trade, change, climate change, green, greensboro, individual, politics, president obama, responsibility, Texas, Waxman-Markey bill |
Sixty seconds doesn’t seem like a lot of time; however, there are lots of things that can be done in sixty seconds or less. For instance, an average adult can type 38 to 40 words and blink between ten and 30 times every sixty seconds (sometimes simultaneously). Furthermore, an elite distance runner can run about 180 steps every sixty seconds and the world’s fastest rappers can recite over 723 syllables in even less time.
There are a lot of things an average person can do in sixty seconds or less in their everyday life that will, more or less, benefit the earth. So here it goes…
- Switch out your light bulbs to ones that are more energy efficient.
Remember that every time you turn on a light in your home or office you send a message to the power grid, demanding more energy. In America, 301 million people share the same power grid. That’s five percent of the world’s population, inevitably sucking up a quarter of the earth’s energy. Over half of the grid is powered by coal plants alone, which are the nation’s number one culprit for greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that, for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated by a coal-fired plant, 1.43 lbs of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. In Texas, 144 lung cancer deaths and 1,791 heart attacks a year are attributed to pollution from power plants. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs and cut the amount of energy you use by two-thirds.
- Conserve water by turning off your faucet when brushing your teeth or taking less time in the shower.
The average American family consumes around 300 gallons of water everyday. This works out to be 495,000 gallons per person every year. What boggles my mind is the fact that there are about 1.2 billion people in the world who don’t have access to clean, portable water and here we are overestimating the frugality of our supply. We have to realize that water is fast becoming the world’s ultimate commodity, and water conservation is the most cost-effective way to reduce our demand for it.
There are several quick and easy things you can do in your home or change in your daily routine to conserve water. First, you can simply cut your shower time by 60 seconds or more. If every member in your family does the same, you can end up saving 200 to 300 gallons a month. Also, if you are a fan of hot showers and hate the first 60 seconds or so of cold water that first escapes the showerhead, you can use a container to catch the cold water and save it for when you want to water plants or rinse your vegetables. Second, turn off your faucet when you are brushing your teeth or shaving, and don’t leave the water running when you’re washing dishes—fill one of your sinks for rinse water instead. These simple acts can save three gallons of water in one day alone.
- Read your product labels.
The production and distribution of all kinds of clothing have a tremendous impact on the environment. Wool comes courtesy of sheep, whose herds are known to burp and err… otherwise emit methane—a greenhouse gas that is almost 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. In countries like New Zealand, methane is fast becoming the most potent greenhouse gas. Researchers for the United Nations now believe that livestock industries are a major contributor to climate change—being responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than cars are. Furthermore, the method of growing cotton is extremely petrochemical-intensive. About ten percent of all agricultural chemicals in the United States are used to produce cotton, which is grown on just one percent of all major agricultural land. The process of growing cotton requires 110 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per acre. At the end of the day, the use of these synthetic fertilizers and soil additives can wreak havoc on our soil, water, and air supply–leading to oxygen-less deadzones or even acid rain. Some popular fashion outlets like H&M are now carrying lines of eco-friendly garments, including those made from organic cotton. Green is the new black; be aware of where your clothes come from and how they are made.
As for the ever popular subject of organic food…
One may enjoy biting into the more conventional, juicy fuji apple—truly nature’s candy, and some say the sweetest apple in town; however, the organic gala apple is just as good as the former, but better for you and for the environment. It’s true that organic food products are almost always more expensive than the more conventional fruits and vegetables; although, it would only be fair to point out that organic farming is a major player in the effort to combat global warming. Birthed during the organic movement of the 1930s and 1940s, today organic farms cover a mere 0.8% of the total farming area in the world. Many people don’t realize the great benefits organic farming offers to our land, lives, and livelihood. Aside from its major contribution of reducing carbon dioxide emissions (done by sequestering carbon in the soil), organic farming also (1) cuts production cost by 25% to 30% for farmers, (2) reduces soil erosion by up to 50%, (3) has a positive effect on the ecosystem and groundwater supplies, and (4) preserves the original nutritional content of food, giving consumers a healthier and fresher substitute.
- Reuse and Recycle: refill your water bottles and separate your trash.
Ever buy a bottle of water before working out at the gym, or have a bottle of water with your lunch? Have you ever contemplated the existence of that bottle of water and how it can affect the environment, even after you have used it?
The United States is the largest consumer of bottled water in the world, with Americans chugging a little less than seven billion gallons in 2004 alone. It takes one and a half million barrels of oil a year to produce the part polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles made in the U.S. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars commuting into downtown Austin daily (this is also another issue that needs to be tackled). Globally, it takes more than two and a half million tons of plastic per year to make water bottles. This is a process that requires a whole lot of energy and, in the end, leaves us with heaps of unwanted plastic waste worldwide. Now, I’m not saying to boycott bottled water. I am just saying that if you do purchase bottled water—and do so frequently, don’t throw the bottle out right away. You can reuse the bottle—refilling it with water from the tap or water fountains.
Furthermore, by taking 60 seconds to put your newspaper, tuna can, or salsa jar into a separate recycling bin you can ultimately save humanity years in environmental damage. About 60% of the household trash thrown away everyday can potentially be recycled.
Probably one of the simplest things an individual can do to bring awareness to green issues and hopefully effect change is to speak up and say something. You can talk to the manager of your local supermarket and ask that they carry more organic products. You could call or email your local representative to speak about environmental issues that affect your family, neighborhood, city, or state.
Why not take 60 seconds out of your day to save the earth?
Yours truly,
Ashlie Lynn Chandler
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming | Tagged acid rain, Bottled Water, carbon dioxide emissions, Citizen :60, Coal Plants, cotton, dallas, deadzones, energy efficient light bulbs, environment, EPA, Global Warming, greenhouse gas, light, methane, organic clothing, organic food, Power, public citizen texas, recycle, renewable energy, reuse, synthetic fertilizers, Texas, water conservation |
The Texas Progressive Alliance brings you the highlights from the blogs.
As the deadline to file for a place on the 2010 March primary ballot drew near, there was lots of activity on the Democratic side: Kinky Friedman followed Hank Gilbert over to the race for agriculture commissioner, Linda Chavez-Thompson was rumored to be running for lt. governor, and, late on Friday, Ronnie Earle dropped his name in the hat for that same post. There’s more on all this news from PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.
BARNETT SHALE GAS THREATENS HUMAN HEALTH !!! TXsharon posted the Final Results of the DISH TX health survey at Bluedaze.
WhosPlayin broke the story about a former Republican County Commissioner who got arrested this week for shoplifting a vacuum cleaner.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why some men in power (here, here, here, here and here) think that abusing women and children is their right? Why does Senator Cornyn choose to enable rapists?
Over at Bay Area Houston, John Coby is bored and thinks Kay Bailey Hutchison’s commercial sounds like a Whataburger commercial.
Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about the fifth anniversary of the terrible Indian Ocean tunami. Five Years Since Terrible Indian Ocean Tsunami—People Are Recovering While many are still suffering from the impact of this killer wave, there are also many who are recovering and getting back their lives.
The folks over at McBlogger are desperate for your help! Find out how you can do them a solid when you help get a planet named for the blog!
Xanthippas at Three Wise Men covers the utter failure of tort “reform” in Texas (with a h/t to John Coby.)
The Texas Cloverleaf highlights the charge against the Denton County District Attorney’s office of racial discrimination and harassment in the workplace
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the fact that elected Texas Republicans still have no sensible ideas about how to pay for roads, Dewhurst and transportation funding.
Off the Kuff took a look at precinct data in the Houston Mayor’s runoff.
lightseeker has a question for you over at TexasKaos, Is Arnold’s California a foretaste of our nations’ future? Check out his analysis in Deadlock, facts ,Partisans -Is California a Fore taste of Our Collective Future?.
XicanoPwr reports that anti-immigration grinches are wanting to replace dreams of success with a lumps of coal by filing a lawsuit challenging Texas’ DREAM Act, the statute that allows undocumented students to pay in-state rates, provided, they meet certain criteria. Their grinch-like behavior would rather punish these extremely vulnerable students for the sins of their undocumented parents, instead of rewarding them for wanting to contribute to our society by making college tuition a bit more affordable, since they already are ineligible for financial aid.
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog is excited that Houston has one of the first hospital Asian care units in the nation
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged asian american action fund, Barnett shale, bay area houston, bluedaze, brains and eggs, California, couldbetrue, county commissioner, denton county, dewhurst, Dish, dream act, hank gilbert, indian ocean, john coby, kay bailey hutchison, kinky friedman, lightseeker, linda chavez-thompson, march, mcblogger, off the kuff, pdiddie, republican, ronnie earle, Senator Cornyn, south texas chisme, Texas, texas liberal, texas progressive alliance, Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round, texaskaos, three wise men, tort reform, txsharon, whataburger, whosplayin, xanthippas, xicanopwr |
December 17, 2009 by Public Citizen Texas
By Kirsten Bokenkamp
Happy Holidays! Just saying those words is enough to evoke joyful images of
families gathered in the kitchen preparing a succulent holiday meal to be enjoyed together, or excited and wide-eyed children opening gifts next to a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. When I close my eyes, I can almost taste the cinnamon-spiced hot apple cider. Yum. Unfortunately, for some of us, the holiday season also means traveling long distances to be with our loved ones; fighting the crowds at busy stores as we endlessly try to find the perfect gifts; and paying higher energy bills resulting from our holiday lights and all of our cooking.
Amidst all the holiday cheer, sometimes it is inconvenient to think about how our activities might contribute to climate change. The purpose of the Holiday Edition of Green-up Your Life! is to give easy ideas about how to have the lowest impact on the earth while still enjoying the holiday season.
Time to Travel
With all the crowds and delays, flying during the holiday season can be really frustrating. And what about those 4 to 8 hour drives? Unfortunately for many of us, flying or driving are often the only options – for now. The future, however, looks bright. President Obama is already in support of investing in the high-speed national rail service, as it would reduce traffic congestion, cut dependence on foreign oil and improve the environment. It would also create many new green-jobs, something that we desperately need to jump-start the economy. What can you do? Click here to tell your Representatives in Congress that you are in favor of appropriating government funds towards the creation of a national high-speed passenger rail system. I have to admit, there is something romantic about taking the train home for the holidays.
The Gift of Giving
Giving gifts makes us feel good; it is a way to let our loved ones know we are thinking about them; and it is a token of appreciation of being part of another person’s life. Too often, though, we get caught up in the act of giving a gift, without thinking about the repercussions. By following some simple guidelines, you can keep your gifts environmentally friendly, and socially responsible.
- Skip anything that you plug in, or that requires batteries.
- Buy from local vendors when you can. I can think of many gift ideas, from hats and scarves, to food, to jewelry, to artwork, that you can buy from an artisan in your own community.
- Think outside the box: Give a gym membership, a haircut, a massage, or tickets to a game or a concert.
- Combine errands, or better yet, leave the car in a parking spot and walk from store to store.
- Skip the wrapping paper: Use an old newspaper or a paper bag instead. Same goes for a card: Unless it is a private message, write something right on what ever material you wrap the present in.
Do you need a gift for people who already have everything they could ever want? Buy them something from Oxfam. A gift such as soap, purified water, manure, seeds for a garden, a cooking stove, a bicycle, or a dozen chicks will be delivered to somebody in the world who needs it, and your friend will get a card thanking them for their contribution. This kind of gift can be more thoughtful than yet another sweater, and it is a nice way to to contribute to those in need during the holiday season.
In the kitchen and around the house
One of the best things you can do, even though it defies tradition, is to skip the meat (or at least, if possible, buy it from a local organic rancher). Why is this important? Refer back to earlier blogs in this series – Eat Less Meat, and Go Organic. While I wish more people would do this, I do recognize that not everybody will. So, thankfully there are also other, less drastic, measures we can take in the kitchen. For instance, if you are slow roasting something, there is no need to preheat the oven. Also, each time you open the oven door, the oven temperature decreases by about 25 degrees. If you have an oven light, use that instead. When your oven is on, try to fill it up by baking multiple things at once. As long as there is still room for air to circulate, your food will be just as delicious. A helpful hint for stovetop cooking is to match the size of the pan to the size of the burner. According to California’s Consumer Energy Center, using a smaller pan on a larger burner wastes 40% of the energy!
Other hints around the kitchen include only running your dishwasher when it is completely full, and if it has an energy saver mode – use it! Try to limit the amount of times you open and close the refrigerator. Each time that door opens, the fridge needs to work overtime to keep the temperature at its setting.
Do your wallet & the earth a favor...no need to go overboard!
Holiday lights outlining the frames of homes and around the tree are beautiful, and are such a classic mark of the season. They also raise energy bills and are not all that good for the environment. One thing you can do is replace old lights with LED (light emitting diode) bulbs. They are more expensive, but because they are 90% more efficient than your average light bulb, they can start saving you money within the first year of purchase, quickly making up for the upfront costs. Another thing to do is turn off the lights in the day time when it is hard to see them anyway, and put them on a timer at night, so they automatically turn off once everybody has fallen fast asleep.
Happy New Year!
With many New Year’s resolutions in the air, it is a great time to make a commitment to living a greener life. When you think about it, actions that we take during the holiday season can be taken throughout the year. We have so many things to be thankful for, not least for the earth that sustains us. With that gift, comes the responsibility of doing our part to ensure that our families can celebrate for generations to come.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Consumers, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming | Tagged Christmas, eat less meat, Energy Efficiency, environment, food, gift, green, holiday lights, holiday meal, holiday season, holiday travel, holidays, new year's resolution, organic, oxfam, presents, Texas |
Congratulations to San Angelo, Texas, where a new 150 MW wind farm is up, spinning, and on with commercial operations. According to North American Wind Power,
The project’s 100 General Electric 1.5 MW turbine generators are expected to generate more than 525,000 MWh of wind energy per year, which will be sold into the ERCOT system. Approximately 200 jobs were created during the nine-month construction period and 10 full-time professionals will be employed at the now-operational facility. Padoma Wind Power, an NRG subsidiary, developed the project, which is capable of powering more than 100,000 Texas homes.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Energy, Renewables | Tagged Clean Energy, ercot, green jobs, north american wind power, NRG, Texas, wind power |
I’m very impressed with this op-ed from Jim Boston, which refers to the Tenaska coal plant proposed near Sweetwater, Texas. It was originally published Monday, December 13th in the Abilene Reporter News.
Why live in West Texas when it is somewhat a hostile environment? Faced with frequent droughts, sandstorms, hail, constant wind, tornadoes, rattlesnakes, scorpions, feral hogs, mesquite trees and house cat-snatching coyotes, why do our people insist on staying here? West Texas people after a while begin to resemble, in spirit perhaps, the somewhat undesirable native species. They are gnarled and bent from leaning toward the prevailing wind direction like mesquite trees, gritty (perhaps from the sandstorms), tenacious and tough, like feral hogs, and even deadly when protecting their home turf, like the rattlesnake.
Why do we live in West Texas? I guess it is because we like it. We like seeing if we can “hang in there” and survive all that Mother Nature can throw at us, and ultimately even prosper. We appreciate seeing the horizons and breathtaking sun risings and settings (you know the good Lord made a lot of country, and what he was ashamed of he put trees on). We enjoy observing the night sky with stars and constellations invisible in a lighted urban environment. Meeting our neighbors, or even local, unknown strangers, we gratefully acknowledge their presence with customary four finger salute in the windshield of our beloved pickups or SUVs, without our hand leaving the steering wheel. We shut down our towns to enjoy Friday night football, rooting for our home teams, yet exhibiting our stubborn independence with a politically incorrect prayer before game time. Traffic, or lack thereof, is another benefit we cherish, and hope it stays that way. The same feeling goes for the absence of a lot of heavy industry, usually located near urban areas. Finally, we appreciate our wide open spaces, and relative few people per square foot. We realize the people here are special, and we revere their sense of right and wrong, and generosity.
Considering all the good things we value in living in this area, why would we want to bring in something that might degrade the quality of our existence here. I’m speaking, of course, of the controversial Tenaska project. Why do we need it? Have we done enough to further the “green cause” by supporting the largest wind farm in the world to supply power to urban areas? If selling electricity to metropolitan areas is the goal, why not locate nearer to the sales point and closer to lakes that could supply the necessary water? The same goes for if the sequestering CO2 is the goal, why not locate nearer the oil patch?
Water, of course, is the big issue with Tenaska, Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal | Tagged abilene reporter news, coal plant, jim boston, roscoe, sweetwater, tenaska, Texas, west texas |
TXsharon @ Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS helps you follow the money to see why Governor Perry and others want Texans to keep breathing toxic air.
BossKitty at TruthHugger is proud to give a Hat Tip to Houston – Annise Parker inherits a City of Progress.
The Stonewall Democrats of Denton County denounce Rep. Michael Burgess for his recent actions against openly gay Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings, at the Texas Cloverleaf.
This week on Left of College Station Teddy covers the dispute in Waco between the McLennan County Republican Party and the Hispanic Republican Club of McLennan County over whether or not the Republican Party needs to reach out to minority voters. Also on Left of College Station this week, the tradition of homophobia continues at Texas A&M and the Coalition for Life invites anti-choice and anti-woman Jeb Bush to speak at their annual fundraiser. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.
While Houstonians took great pride in the election of Annise Parker as mayor, it was discouraging to see — despite his company’s multi-million dollar contracts with the city and his apparent misunderstanding of their value — that Stephen Costello was elected to city council over a good Democrat, Karen Derr.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme hopes Silvestre Reyes gets primaried for his vote against a women’s right to choose. Beto O’Rourke may be just the one to do it.
Off the Kuff gave a rundown of the Houston runoffs.
Over at BlueBloggin, guest writer Len Hart of the The Existentialist Cowboy, has been connecting some dots with the CIA Efforts to Control World Distribution of ‘Illicit’ Drugs. If the US/CIA hoped to control this lucrative trade, the Taliban had to go. I wonder how many CIA ‘black ops’ have been financed ‘off the books’ (as was Iran/Contra) with the proceeds of its various drug.
Neil at Texas Liberal does not understand why the Burger King on Houston’s Harrisburg Blvd. needs to be open on Christmas Day. Neil is certain that staff at Burger King wants to be off on Christmas and that an Xmas Whopper is a depressing thought. The picture in the post features a rare snowfall in Houston.
WhosPlayin finds that once again Lewisville ISD is trying to shut out citizen involvement. This time, they’re trying to supersede state law and charge more for public information requests.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on a discussion about where the Democrats in Texas stand heading into 2010, Pragamatic party building.
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog has a guide to the historic Houston runoffs.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Air Quality, annise parker, annisse parker, asian american action fund, beto o'rourke, bluebloggin, bluedaze, bosskitty, burger king, cia, coalition for life, college station, could be true, democratic party, denton county, drilling reform, eye on williamson, governor perry, Hispanic Republican Club of McLennan County, houston, houston runoffs, jeb bush, karen derr, kevin jennings, left of college station, len hart, lewisville isd, mclennan county, micheal burgess, off the kuff, republican party, Silvestre Reyes, snow, south texas chisme, stephen costello, stonewall democrats, Texas, texas a&m, texas cloverleaf, texas liberal, truthhugger, txsharon, Waco, wcnews, whosplaying |
Its already getting tough to keep tabs on everything happening in Copenhagen, so for now I’ll just share what I’ve been reading. Here’s today’s Copen-digest:
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged austin to copenhagen, citizen energy, climate voice, fossil of the day awards, grist, Public Citizen, tck tck tck, Texas, tyson slocum, wonk room |
The dramatic irony of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) decision this morning to grant the NRG Limestone Coal Plant an air permit (and therefore permission to begin construction on a third smokestack) is painful. At the very moment that leaders from around the world are meeting to come to an international agreement to save the world from catastrophic global warming, at the very moment that residents of developing nations are begging for the continued existence of their land and way of life, Texas gives the green light to build another mercury-spewing, asthma-inducing, planet choking coal plant.
Not exactly what I was hoping to wake up to this morning.
This decision also comes just days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came out with its engangerment finding, which says that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases represent a significant threat to public health and welfare. Earlier this year, the EPA also ruled that TCEQ has not been adhering to the Clean Air Act in its issuance of new air permits. This is the first coal plant permit that TCEQ has issued since that warning (which TCEQ doesn’t seem to have taken to heart). AND, according to Karen Hadden, executive director of SEED Coalition,
The TCEQ is not following federal law (Maximum Achievable Control Technology or MACT) in issuing this permit and a result, mercury emissions will be higher.
So many hearts to break, so little time. But of course there’s always a silver lining. Next legislative session, the TCEQ (and a whole host of other commissions) will undergo the Sunset Review process — and as Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas Office mentions, that gives Texas a chance to reform the TCEQ permitting process:
This is just another example of why the Sunset Commission should take a good hard look at how TCEQ rubber stamps permits for coal plants in Texas.
In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for progress in Copenhagen, and stay tuned at Texas Vox for more information on how you can help fight global warming and a 2nd Texas coal rush.
Full breakdown of the good (NRG has agreed to offset 50% of their emissions, though there’s nothing in their permit to hold them to that), the bad, and the ugly after the jump:
Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged air pollution, Air Quality, army corps of engineers, Carbon Dioxide, citizen sarah, clean air act, climate change, co2, coal plant, copenhagen, denmark, environmental integrity project, eva hernandez, Global Warming, Karen Hadden, maximum achievable control technology, mercury, nox, NRG, nrg limestone, ozone, particulate matter, paul rolke, public citizen texas, robertson county our land our lives, robertson couny, ryan rittenhouse, SEED Coalition, Sierra Club, smog, soah, sox, state office of administrative hearings, sunset commission, sunset review, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Tom "Smitty" Smith |
As of today, all four of the largest greenhouse gas polluters (China, the US, the EU, and India — no, not Texas) have announced the greenhouse gas reduction goals they want to pursue at the Copenhagen climate talks (COP-15) this week in Denmark. Here’s the rundown:
- EU: 20% cut in emissions relative to 1990 levels by 2020
- USA: 17% cut below 2005 levels by 2020
- China: 40-45% relative to the size of their economy (cutting what is called “carbon intensity”–curbing growth but not cutting it)
- India: 25% cut in carbon intensity.
Well, it’s a start, but, as we’ve said previously, is simply not enough— and we’re not the only ones who think so. Some estimates, such as the Climate Interactive Scoreboard above, show that current climate pledges put us on a path to at least another 3.5 C of warming (that’s almost 8 F).
This has caused preeminent climate scientist Jim Hansen of NASA to say he hopes the negotiations at Copenhagen will fail, so that we will have to start over and write a brand new climate treaty.
I’m not one to call for failure, but I am one to call for leadership. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for deeper cuts from both Britain and the EU. Is it time for Obama to do the same? Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged 17% reduction goal, 35% reduction goal, climate change, cop15, copenhagen, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, ipcc, obama, Texas |
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