Excellent news from San Antonio!
One: According to a new poll by the Willie Velasquez Institute, the majority of Texans are in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA), the big cap and trade bill currently being debated in Congress.
Two: Latino leaders and organizations in San Antonio have formed a coalition called Tejanos for a Better Future to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation from a Latino perspective.
Hope Texas leadership **cough, cough Charlie Gonzalez and Gene Green** is listening because it looks as if ACESA will be voted out of committee tonight, and these Congressmen’s’ opportunity to hold heavy sway over this legislation is fast reaching an end.
WCVI Calls for Congressmen Green and Gonzalez to Vote for Landmark Climate Change Bill
San Antonio, TX – The William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) recently completed a flash poll of registered voters in Texas Congressional Districts 20 and 29 and the preliminary findings imply strong support for the landmark Climate Change bill, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACESA).
WCVI, which held Latino Leadership meetings in San Antonio and Los Angeles on April 25th and in Houston on May 21st to discuss this bill, is urging community members to contact Representative Charlie Gonzalez’s and Gene Green’s Offices to support the bill. As members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, they hold important swing votes, which could be scheduled as soon as today.
Further, WCVI, along with other Latino leaders, have formed Tejanos for a Better Future, a coalition of leaders and organizations in San Antonio. Its goal is to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation from a Latino/Hispanic perspective.
“The climate crisis will disproportionately impact Latinos. ACESA, now being discussed in Congress will create new economic opportunities for our community through green jobs and a new green economy.” said Antonio Gonzalez, WCVI President.
Preliminary survey data shows 58% of voters support the ACESA. An overwhelming 87% of voters want to see Texas increase its production and use of renewable energy and 95% want to see the state become more energy efficient. And finally, 55% of voters believe green house gases can be reduced while creating economic opportunities and jobs at the same time.
Added Gonzalez, “The work of Tejanos for a Better Future is very timely with the climate change legislation moving through the US House of Representatives this week. This bill is vital to our planet and to Latinos, and we have high expectations that Congressmen Gonzalez and Green will support a strong bill that protects the environment and our community.”
WCVI plans to hold additional Climate Change briefings in Arizona, California and Texas. For more information, call 210-922-3118 or visit www.wcvi.org.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged acesa, american clean energy and security act, arizona, California, cap and trade, charlie gonzalez, Congress, Gene Green, house energy and commerce, latino leadership, los angeles, San Antonio, tejanos for a better future, Texas, wcvi, willie velasquez institute |
A message from Public Citizen, SEED Coalition, and Environment Texas:
Your help is needed right away to put energy efficiency into place!
Please call or email your city councilmember today to tell them you support STEP – the new energy efficiency program for San Antonio!
Tomorrow, San Antonio City Council will decide on how CPS Energy can fund their energy efficiency programs known as STEP (Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan). CPS Energy has set a goal to save 771 Megawatts of power through energy efficiency programs by 2020. This would be one of the most aggressive efficiency goals in the country and we support it!
Energy efficiency is the cheapest energy resource CPS Energy can invest in. By spending money on weatherizing low income homes and providing rebates for people to purchase high efficiency appliances, CPS avoids having to purchase more expensive energy that would cost everyone more. In addition, people who take advantage of these programs will begin saving money on their utility bills immediately, offsetting the cost of the programs!
Call or email your city councilmember today to tell them:
-I support energy efficiency and urge you to approve STEP
-I want public accountability for these programs through quarterly reporting including information such as the amount of money spent on and energy saved from each program
-I want to be sure that CPS spends the money they collect for STEP on energy efficiency and solar rebates, not for other purposes like coal or nuclear plants!
Mayor Phil Hardberger (210) 207-7060 phardberger@sanantonio.gov
District 1 Mary Alice P. Cisneros (210) 207-7279 district1@sanantonio.gov
District 2 Sheila D. McNeil (210) 207-7278 district2@sanantonio.gov
District 3 Jennifer V. Ramos (210) 207-7064 district3@sanantonio.gov
District 4 Philip A. Cortez (210) 207-7281 district4@sanantonio.gov
District 5 Lourdes Galvan (210) 207-7043 district5@sanantonio.gov
District 6 Delicia Herrera (210) 207-7065 district6@sanantonio.gov
District 7 Justin Rodriguez (210) 207-7044 district7@sanantonio.gov
District 8 Diane G. Cibrian (210) 207-7086 district8@sanantonio.gov
District 9 Louis E. Rowe (210) 207-7325 district9@sanantonio.gov
District 10 John G. Clamp (210) 207-7276 district10@sanantonio.gov
If you don’t know who your councilmember is, find out here.
If you are able to, show up at City Hall tomorrow and talk to City Council about STEP. It is agenda item #5 and should be up before lunchtime. If you would like to speak, though, you have to sign up in person between 8-9 AM (114 W. Commerce). If you can’t sign up in time, come by and be there for support!
Posted in Efficiency | Tagged CPS Energy, Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, San Antonio, SEED Coalition, STEP, Texas |
Carson, California was recently on the path to becoming home to a pet-coke power plant, situated conveniently next door to the BP Carson refinery. The project, though touted as the “cleanest and greenest of energy plants possible,” would really have been an environmental and possibly a public safety nightmare. Luckily the project was scrapped, largely due to the activities of the Wilmington Coalition for a Safe Environment and other grassroots organizers.
Pet-coke, short for Petroleum Coke, is a petroleum by-product that can be burned to produce energy in a manner similar to coal. The proposed plant, which would have been built by BP America in conjunction with Edison International, would burn pet-coke as a means of producing energy — hydrogen. 90% of the carbon dioxide used would be pumped into the Wilmington oil field (This is a common method of enhanced oil recovery. The CO2 pushes the oil closer to the surface, making recovery more economic), which is a massive oil field stretching through Los Angeles county from San Pedro Bay to Long Beach. Needless to say, much of the land above this oil field is heavily populated with Los Angeles residents.
Recently I was able talk with Jesse Marquez, founder and Chief Director of Wilmington Coalition for a Safe Environment, about his victory over BP and Occidental and why this proposal was such a bad idea. Continue Reading »
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Toxics | Tagged Air Quality, bakersfield, bp carson, california communities against toxicity, carbon capture and sequestration, Clean Energy, fire hazard, hydrogen, jesse marquez, kern county, los angeles, occidental, pet-coke, petroleum coke, refinery, Texas, wilmington coalition for a safe environment |
Original post found at Alliance for a Clean Texas.
With the deadline for House bills to pass third reading last Friday at midnight, the 81st Session entered its final phase. The good news is that seven of ACT’s high priority bills have made it to the last two weeks of the session. Here’s a run-down of the bills’ current status:
SB 545 Fraser — Passed the Senate; currently in House Committee on Energy Resources
SB 541 Watson — Passed the Senate; currently in House Committee on State Affairs
SB 546 Fraser — Passed both Senate and House
HB 280 Anchia — SB 546 is companion (HB 280 made it through House)
SB 16 Averitt — Passed the Senate; committee substitute adopted by House Committee on Environmental Regulation (5/18).
HB 1553 Burnam — Left pending in House Calendars Committee (no longer moving)
SB 184 Watson — Passed Senate; in House Committee on Environmental Regulation
HB 821 Leibowitz — Passed House; in Senate Committee on Business and Commerce
HB 300 Isett — Passed House; in Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Renewables | Tagged 81st session, alliance for a clean texas, anchia, averitt, burnam, business and commerce, energy resources, environmental regulation, fraser, house, isett, leibowitz, senate, state affairs, Texas, Texas Legislature, transportation and homeland security, watson |
Buried in the language of the “Clean Energy Bank” legislation sponsored by Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) is a blank check to the nuclear industry.
This bill includes unlimited availability of taxpayer loan guarantees for construction of new nuclear reactors.
Unlimited guaranteed loans. As in, as many as the industry could possibly want, no matter the cost, no matter the default rate. Which for the record, is 50% according to the Congressional Budget Office.
This is one of the most audacious, nasty, pork-laden bill I have heard of in a really long time. How do they even think that they can get away with this?
Write your House member and Speaker Nancy Pelosi now. And then forward this message to everyone you can think of.
For more information on the “clean energy” bank, check out this NIRS post on Daily Kos.
Since our own Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is encouraging lawmakers to give the nuclear industry even more money, it is more important than ever that we make sure folks on the Hill know that Not All Texans support nuclear power. Make your voice heard today!
Posted in Energy, Nuclear | Tagged clean energy bank, congressional budget office, jay inslee, jeff bingaman, kay bailey hutchinson, Loan Guarantees, nirs, nuclear industry, nuclear information and resource service, Nuclear Power, Rep. Jay Inslee, senate energy committee, Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, Texas |
Over the weekend we had a little more time to look over the language in the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and have found it wanting. Check out this thoughtful statement from our Energy Program Director for the skinny on the bill and what went wrong:
Statement of Tyson Slocum, Director of the Energy Program at Public Citizen
The climate change legislation that will be debated this week is a huge disappointment. Not only will it prove a boon to energy industries, but it won’t protect consumers and may very well not even curb global warming. The first draft, penned months ago, was on track to accomplish these goals, and we applauded it as a great start. Since then, however, lawmakers have met in secret with representatives of the coal and oil industries and facilitated industry efforts to gut the bill.
The Obama administration got it right when officials released a budget that would auction 100 percent of pollution allowances. As long as pollution allowances are auctioned, the government will have the revenue necessary to mitigate energy price increases through rebates while having money to invest in the sustainable energy infrastructure we need to end our reliance on fossil fuels.
This was further reinforced by President Obama’s selection for the new chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Jon Wellinghoff, who said that “we may not need any” new nuclear or coal power plants because we have yet to harness the capacity of renewables and energy efficiency.
But the House of Representatives has not followed the administration’s lead.
When Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) released a draft climate bill in March, we praised it as a great first step but noted that it needed to be improved during the committee mark-up process.
But instead of a transparent process involving debate and voted-upon amendments, committee leadership conducted closed-door negotiations with polluters. The result: The bill was radically altered to accommodate the financial interests of big energy corporations while giving nothing new for the environment or for working families. This is hardly the transformation this country needs to jump-start its economy and curb climate change. This is more of the same old wait-and-see, special-interest-bailout approach that has gripped Washington for ages. Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged auction, charlie rangel, clean energy bank, climate change, coal and oil industry, Congress, energy and commerce, energy prices, Environmental Protection Agency, ferc, fossil fuels, Global Warming, goldman sachs, highly regressive, james hansen, john wellinghoff, Obama administration, pollution allowances, Public Citizen, renewable energy, sustainable energy, temple of doom, Texas, tyson slocum, Waxman, ways and means |
It’s Monday, and that means it is time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance’s weekly round-up.
At Bluedaze, TXsharon asks: What are the chances that an industry in charge of conducting its own testing to determine waste disposal methods will find toxin levels too high if that means disposal of the waste will be more costly? Landfarms: Spreading Toxic Drilling Waste on Farmland. With VIDEO.
BossKitty at TruthHugger sees lessons never learned … it is NOT about religion, ya’ll! How does it fit that US Military crusader evangelists want to save these souls right before we blow them away. How can we justify putting Mulims on death row, by their own people, just because we convinced them to become APOSTATES?! General Order Number One, Forbid Proselytizing – Evangelists Cannot Protect Murtads – Wars fought using 12th century religious mentality means that civilization has made two steps backwards!
Mean Rachel is reminded on Mother’s Day of children, the lack thereof and why The Pill should be available over the counter.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know how can Rick Perry brag about how well Texas is doing when over 22% of our children face hunger every day?
Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News showed a video from the Texas Freedom Network of our own Texas Department of Miseducation in action.
WhosPlayin covered the Denton County Democrats’ election of a new County Chair, after previous chairman Neil Durrance resigned to run for U.S. Congress in District 26 in 2010. Continue Reading »
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ahmed rashid, bay area houston, bluedaze, bosskitty, brains and eggs, bush administration, couldbetrue, Denton, department of education, easter lemming liberal news, eye on williamson, Gene Green, hunger, jim olson, john carter, john coby, left of college station, liberaltexan, mcblogger, mean rachel, mother's day, neil durrance, off the kuff, Pakistan, progressive activists, Rick Perry, south texas chisme, stimulus money, Texas, texas freedom network, texas kaos, texas liberal, texas progressive alliance, three wise men, toxic drilling waste, truthhugger, txsharon, unemployment insurance, wcnews, weekly roundup, whosplayin, xanthippas |
This afternoon Waxman and Markey finally formally introduced H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Up to now, they’ve just been circulating an unofficial ‘discussion draft’, but now that we’ve got some actual language (932 pages of it), we’ve got a better idea of the bill’s specifics.
And it looks like some of the specifics are significantly watered down from the original draft, largely thanks to Texas’ own Congressmen Charlie Gonzalez and Gene Green. According to a CongressDaily article, “Waxman To Release Draft Text After Striking Late Deals,”
Eyeing the start of the bill’s markup Monday, House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman struck a deal early this morning with Texas Reps. Gene Green and Charles Gonzalez that strips out a low-carbon fuels mandate and hands out credits to petroleum refiners amounting to 2 percent of all emissions under the bill’s cap-and trade-program from 2014-26. The deal might be enough to get Green, Gonzalez and perhaps other oil-patch Democrats on board. Green called the deal “a reasonable first step to protecting our energy infrastructure and keeping good-paying jobs here at home.”
The thrust of the bill, and how it differeniates from the drafts, is as follows:
- 17% emissions cut from 2005 levels by 2020 (instead of 20%)
- giving away 85% of allowances and auctioning just 15%
Unfortunately, this kind of means that no one has to really cut their emissions for 20 years. Which is disappointing, to say the least. You can see how these allowances will allocated here.
The good news is that, though the bill is compromised… we’ve got a real carbon bill introduced! The bad news is… it isn’t nearly strong enough to create the economic revolution we need to really address the carbon crisis. Now, the bill won’t go through markup until early next week, which could mean that there is a chance it could be strengthened… but it is more likely that in order to pass the whole House, it may be weakened even more.
Heavy news for a Friday, I know. It can’t be all good news all the time. We’ll keep you updated on the status of this bill through markup.
Have hope, my friends. It ain’t over til the fat lady sings.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged american clean energy and security act, auction, carbon crisis, Carbon Dioxide, charlie gonzalez, congressdaily, discussion draft, Gene Green, Global Warming, house energy and commerce, hr 2454, Markey, Texas, Waxman |
Check out the following statement from Common Cause railing on the energy industry for exerting undue influence over the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. I can’t say I’m surprised to hear that energy interests gave an average$107,230 in campaign contributions to Energy and Commerce committee members, nearly twice as much than any other member of the House — but I can say that I’m disappointed. When our leaders receive this kind of money from the very industries they’re supposed to regulate, you’ve got to wonder who they’re really working for. Cheers to Common Cause for not pulling any punches.
Statement of Bob Edgar, President of Common Cause, on energy industry influence on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
As the House Committee on Energy and Commerce begins debate on a draft energy bill, an immediate and intense battle over whether this bill can pass in Congress is likely. Energy and climate change issues are high on the minds of the American people and were debated aggressively during the 2008 elections. The public demands action and deserves it.
The energy industry has already been active, though, and the American people similarly deserve to see how the industry – whose profits and future depend on decisions made in Congress, particularly the Energy and Commerce committee – has exerted tremendous influence over this debate already through targeted campaign contributions and massive lobbying expenditures.
A Common Cause analysis revealed that major energy interests contributed more than twice as much to Energy and Commerce committee members’ campaigns, on average, than to other members of Congress. Committee members received an average of $107,230 in campaign cash from the energy sector in the last election, while their non-committee counterparts collected an average of $46,539, a difference of over 130 percent.
The largest player in the energy sector, electric utilities like Southern Company and Duke Energy, had the most pronounced targeting of its campaign contributions. The average Energy and Commerce committee member received $49,495 from electric utility interests alone in the 2008 cycle, while a non-committee member received an average of $18,579, a difference of over 160 percent.
It’s an old adage that money follows power in Washington, but that refrain takes on new meaning – and potentially dangerous consequences – when the wealthy special interests are clearly poised to exert enormous influence over a decision as crucial as how to tackle energy independence, green jobs, and a warming planet. Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged bod edgar, campaign contributions, center for public integrity, climate change, common cause, duke energy, energy industry, house committee on energy and commerice, southern company, special interests, Texas |
For more information on the Carbon Caps = Hard Hats campaign, check out thecapsolution.org
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged braddock PA, cap solution, carbon cap, green jobs, john fetterman, Texas |
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Dismiss talk of global warming and environmentalism if you must. But times are changing fast and, along with them, the very way we heat and cool our homes and businesses.
The Texas Senate signaled as much this week, approving a bill encouraging development of solar energy plants to generate electricity, much as the state has done in making wind an energy player in Texas and beyond.
Now it’s up to the House and Gov. Rick Perry to show similar vision for Texas.
We hope it isn’t much of a stretch. Sunshine is something we have plenty of in Texas — and we’re unlikely to run out of it anytime soon.
Passage of state Sen. Kirk Watson’s legislation, with help from Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, is remarkable for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the Senate is dominated by Republicans. Watson is a Democrat.
Yet many lawmakers on both sides want to encourage the solar, geothermal and biomass energy aims in this bill. Some see the writing on the wall.
A Texas Public Utility Commission report issued Tuesday concludes that electricity prices could jump as much as $10 billion a year — $27 a month in the average electric bill — if Texans don’t anticipate looming federal greenhouse regulations aimed at cutting carbon-based fuels like natural gas and coal.
Environmentalists and lawmakers see Watson’s bill as neatly bolstering our state’s energy arsenal, especially as Texas continues to grow. Solar could help ensure energy offerings at peak times of the day, while wind will prove of greatest impact during the night hours. Continue Reading »
Posted in Energy, Renewables | Tagged democrat, environmentalism, Global Warming, kip averitt, kirk watson, PUC, republicans, Rick Perry, solar energy, Texas, texas house, texas public utility commission, texas senate, troy fraser, voter id bill, waco tribune |
As we’ve said before, there are a lot of good reasons to support a federal cap and trade bill: it would address the looming threat of global warming, create thousands of new green jobs while kick-starting a the clean energy economy, increase national security by achieving energy independence, and done right could even address long-entrenched social inequalities.
But according to a new ad campaign run by Texas Interfaith Power and Light, a vote for clean energy can also be considered “an act of faith.”
The word, according to their press release:
State religious leaders are calling on U.S. Congressman Charles Gonzalez to show leadership on clean energy legislation that Congress is set to mark up starting Thursday. With calls to Congressman Gonzalez and a San Antonio Express-News ad in his district, Texas Interfaith Power & Light is voicing the faith perspective people of faith bring to the debate over the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.
“Texans of faith know that the care for creation and loving our neighbors go hand in hand,” the ad says, asking Congressman Gonzalez to take action on the volatile fuel prices, pollution and global warming that harm “the most vulnerable among us, particularly the poor, the elderly, minorities, and the farmers who provide food for our families.”
Kudos to Texas Interfaith Power and Light for stepping up to the plate. The greater the diversity of voices weighing in on this issue the more politicians will see that a climate change bill has far-reaching support across the population, and that there will be significant political consequences to inaction.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged cap and trade, charlie gonzalez, Clean Energy, energy independence, Global Warming, green jobs, national security, religious leaders, san antonio express news, Texas, texas interfaith power and light |
Yesterday afternoon the Texas Senate passed through SB 541, a bill authored by Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin) to create a non-wind renewable portfolio standard. If passed through the House, SB 541 would put Texas on course to have 1500 MW of renewable energy from non-wind sources such as solar, geothermal, and biomass.
If you follow us on Twitter, of course this is old news to you. Public Citizen Texas has been using our Twitter feed to keep folks updated on breaking legislative news and votes, as well as to share interesting news articles and blog posts. Check it out:
If this sounds appealing to you, why not give us a follow? We promise not to tweet your ear off.
Thanks to Senator Watson’s SB 541, Texas could become a national leader in solar energy just as are in the wind industry. Along with Senator Fraser’s 545, which will provide $500 million in solar incentives over the next 5 years, SB 541 will ensure that incentives are provided for both the large, utility scale solar and small-scale distributed solar that Texas needs.
While we would have preferred a larger renewable portfolio standard, Public Citizen is delighted that this bill has passed the Texas Senate. This is a major step forward for Texans that will create tens of thousands of new clean green jobs within the state and lead to lower electric bills by hedging against the price of natural gas.
Hopefully the Texas House will see the light on solar power and pass an even stronger set of renewable energy goals that will make the grass grow greener, our air cleaner, and the green economy stronger.
Posted in Energy, Renewables | Tagged biomass, Clean Energy, distributed solar, geothermal, public citizen texas, renewable energy, renewable portfolio standard, sb 541, senator watson, solar, Texas, texas house, texas senate, Twitter, utility scale solar |
Kudos and many thanks to San Antonio’s outgoing Mayor Hardberger and council members Justin Rodriguez, Jennifer Ramos, Lourdes Galvan, and Phillip Cortez for signing on to a letter urging Congressman Charlie Gonzalez to get with the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act program.
The letter reads:
We have an unprecedented opportunity to put San Antonians to work in new green jobs — building wind turbines, installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, and laying a smarter electric grid that will power our new energy economy. We also believe it is of the utmost important that we rescue our children, our grandchildren, and the world they’ll inherit from the ravages of global warming.
According to Greg Harman at the San Antonio Current’s QueQue blog,
The cadre adds the weight of local elected leadership to an ongoing campaign working to ensure San Antonio’s representative in Congress (serving on the influential House Committee on Energy & Commerce) pushes for binding commitments to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions quickly while transitioning the economy into a more sustainable direction.
Hopefully Charlie is feeling the pressure and will back away from the polluter giveaways he’s been flirting with as of late. That’s because, everybody with me now, Giving Away Allowances is a Terrible Way to Write This Bill. EPA’s most recent analysis says that giving away pollution credits is “highly regressive”, meaning it hurts low-income families the most. At best, this is a bailout and a free ride for the polluters. At worst it will create windfall profits for huge energy companies at the expense of every lower and middle income family in Texas.
Just listen to that broken record spin. No shame here, I’ll say it as many times as it takes for it sink in.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged charlie gonzalez, EPA, jennifer ramos, justin rodriguez, lourdes galvan, phillip cortez, polluter giveaways, San Antonio, san antonio current, smart grid, solar panels, Texas, waxman-markey, Weatherization, wind turbines |
Hey hey, looks like ReEnergize Texas was featured in a recent article on the New York Times’ Green, Inc blog. Check it out:
By Kate Galbraith
College students often protest when administrators threaten to raise their fees.
But rising numbers of students seem willing to self-impose a “green” fee, to help the environment and purchase renewable energy. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education posts a list of universities that have such fees, which generally hover around $3 to $5 a semester but have increased to $40 a term in the case of Northland College in Wisconsin.
Portland State University is currently voting on whether to establish this kind of fee.
In some states like Florida and Texas, students at public universities have been foiled in their efforts to impose green fees. That is because any fee increase must be approved by the state legislature. The back-and-forth process can easily take four years, according to Trevor Lovell of ReEnergize Texas, a youth coalition pushing for measures to address climate change — by which time the student body will have (hopefully) turned over.
A bill backed by ReEnergize Texas is working its way through the Texas state legislature that would allow university students to impose green fees more easily.
A similar bill in Florida just failed.
“The economic woes of our country coupled with an increase to tuition for state universities, made the members hesitant to enact any more new fees this session,” said Zachary Keith, who coordinated the green-fee effort in Florida, in an e-mail message.
He vowed to try again in the next legislative session, and noted that referendums at big Florida universities have shown solid support.
Texas is trying to avoid Florida’s legislative fate. Amanda Grosgebauer, who has chaired the environmental issues committee at Texas A&M, wrote a letter to the legislature stating that in March, 76 percent of students at her university had favored increased environmental services. “That is more student support for one issue than in the history of the University,” Ms. Grosgebauer wrote, in a letter provided by ReEnergize Texas.
“In the past our efforts have hit against a wall of political preferences — environmental issues are seen as a leftist, radical or an unreasonable luxury,” Ms. Grosgebauer continued. “We are tired of hearing that excuse.”
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged college students, green, inc, New York Times, reenergize texas, Texas |
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