Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Volkswagen settlement funds from polluting Texans air should be used to purchase cleanest electric vehicles and create jobs.

December 4, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Note: Today Governor Greg Abbott designated the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as the lead agency to administer $209 million of funding from the Volkswagen (VW) settlement. The money is intended to remedy harm caused by illegal emissions from VWs by reducing air pollution through purchase of clean vehicles. The Healthy Port Communities Coalition and its members are asking for that money to be spent on electric vehicles and infrastructure.
TCEQ’s press release: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/news/releases/gov-abbott-selects-tceq-to-distribute-209-million

Statement of Adrian Shelley, Director, Public Citizen’s Texas Office

Governor Greg Abbott has a chance for a trifecta here: create jobs, reduce pollution, and lower operating costs for local governments. The Volkswagen settlement can make this possible. Because Volkswagen polluted Texas with illegal emissions from diesel vehicles, the top priority for using settlement funds is to remove old, dirty diesel vehicles from the road. These vehicles should be replaced with all-electric vehicles (EVs) in order to save lives and help Texas meet federal air pollution standards.

The Volkswagen settlement funds also provide an economic opportunity for Texas. Texans build trucks, heavy duty equipment, and batteries. Texans have the technical know-how to build electric vehicle infrastructure. Electric vehicles built and sold in Texas will consume energy produced in Texas. Furthermore, these vehicles will get cleaner as electricity production in Texas gets greener. Compressed natural gas vehicles aren’t going to get any cleaner over time—they will still continue to produce the carbon dioxide and methane emissions responsible for climate change. EVs also save money over the life of the vehicles because their fuel and maintenance costs are much lower. There is no comparison: Electric Vehicles are the best option for Texas.

Investing in electric vehicles and infrastructure now will reduce costs in the long term. Government fleets will pay less for fuel. EVs can be charged with clean, renewable energy produced right here in Texas. This is the future, and Governor Abbott has an opportunity to seize it now.

Statement of Rev. James Caldwell, founder and executive director of Coalition of Community Organizations:

The Healthy Port Communities Coalition implores the Governor and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to leverage funds from the Volkswagen penalties to purchase electric vehicles, which are the cleanest vehicles available today, to reduce emissions and to help provide relief to communities breathing in toxic air every day.

Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., with an office in Austin, Texas.

The Healthy Port Communities Coalition advocates for the health and welfare of Houston Ship Channel communities, and includes Air Alliance Houston, the Coalition of Community Organizations, Public Citizen, and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services.

 

Posted in Air Quality, Pollution, Transportation | Tagged |

HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM PUBLIC CITIZEN

November 22, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Wishes you a safe and happy
Thanksgiving Holiday

And when you return, join us to start the rest of your holiday celebrations at
The 10th Annual Austin Green Holiday Party
Presented by Barr Mansion & The Shades of Green Radio Show

Wednesday, December 6th, 2017 from 6-10pm
Hosted and Sponsored by Barr Mansion
10463 Sprinkle Rd., Austin, TX 78754 (www.barrmansion.com)

Advance Tickets $25.00, ($30.00 at door)
(Tickets include snacks, dinner, all drinks and live music)

Co-Hosted by:

Join us for the Austin green mixer of the year, our 10th, can you believe it?  Hosted this year by 18 great organizations (including Public Citizen), this event is a fun place for area environmentalists to come together, celebrate, scheme and prepare for the new year.

Magical music by Seu Jacinto, a group introducing and developing traditional Northeastern Brazilian culture to Central Texas. Seu Jacinto pays homage to the masters of the Brazilian folk musical traditions of forró, coco, cavalo marinho, and many other Northeast Brazilian rhythms.

Experience how our hosts and sponsors Barr Mansion are at the nexus of a merging of the environmental and food movements while enjoying a buffet featuring a variety of their seasonal, all-organic favorites.

It’s been a crazy year so let’s “regroup”, have some fun and get ourselves ready for  2018. We look forward to seeing you there!

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

Who Pays for Harvey?

November 15, 2017 by Adrian Shelley

I wrote recently about the difficulty of “blaming” any particular storm on global climate change. I pointed out there that scientists don’t usually reach conclusions in the form of: “X definitely caused Y.” Particularly when complex global systems are involved.

That remains true, but research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences makes a pretty strong claim about the link. Researchers assert that climate change made a storm such as Harvey six times more likely. That’s a startling figure.

We are also gaining insight about the causes of climate change–more specifically, about who caused climate change. A recent report by researchers at the Climate Accountability Institute asserts that just 90 companies are responsible for two-thirds of all man made carbon dioxide and methane emissions since 1854. The report found that Chevron, ExxonMobil, and BP were each individually responsible for 2 to 3 percent of all carbon emissions for the period 1880-2010. Only the country of Saudi Arabia had a larger contribution, with more than 3 percent.

These recent findings lead us to one conclusion: if we know climate change is causing major storms, and we know which companies are responsible for climate change, shouldn’t we start holding them accountable?

Harvey will cost taxpayers in excess of $100 billion. The City of Houston, the state of Texas, and the federal government have all committed millions to the cleanup effort. But it won’t be enough. Houstonians are already paying for Harvey. When will climate polluters pay their fare share?

We launched WhoPaysForHarvey.com with our colleagues at the Center for Climate Integrity to ask that question? Together we’ve started a pledge that we’re asking you to sign? Do you believe its fair for the entities that caused climate change to pay for its effects? Do you think fossil fuel companies have gotten off the hook, despite knowing for decades (#ExxonKnew) about the harm they were causing?

If you agree with us, please sign our pledge. This won’t be the last severe storm Texas endures. It’s time we started planning for the future, instead of rebuilding the mistakes of the past.

Who Pays for Harvey?

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , , , , |

Join us for the 10th Annual Austin Green Holiday Party

November 10, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Barr Mansion & The Shades of Green Radio Show Present
The 10th Annual Austin Green Holiday Party

Wednesday, December 6th, 2017 from 6-10pm
Hosted and Sponsored by Barr Mansion
10463 Sprinkle Rd., Austin, TX 78754 (www.barrmansion.com)

Advance Tickets $25.00, ($30.00 at door)
(Tickets include snacks, dinner, all drinks and live music)

Co-Hosted by:

Join us for the Austin green mixer of the year, our 10th, can you believe it?  Hosted this year by 18 great organizations (including Public Citizen), this event is a fun place for area environmentalists to come together, celebrate, scheme and prepare for the new year.

Magical music by Seu Jacinto, a group introducing and developing traditional Northeastern Brazilian culture to Central Texas. Seu Jacinto pays homage to the masters of the Brazilian folk musical traditions of forró, coco, cavalo marinho, and many other Northeast Brazilian rhythms.

Experience how our hosts and sponsors Barr Mansion are at the nexus of a merging of the environmental and food movements while enjoying a buffet featuring a variety of their seasonal, all-organic favorites.

It’s been a crazy year so let’s “regroup”, have some fun and get ourselves ready for  2018. We look forward to seeing you there!

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

It’s Tonight in Dallas – Tomorrow in Ft. Worth….and You Don’t Want to Miss It!

November 8, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Join Us for the Latest Info on Climate Change 

Come Join Public Citizen and Other Sponsoring Groups in an Evening to Discuss Climate Change

Wednesday, November 8 in Dallas
Brookhaven College, Bldg. H, Spindletop Room
(same room where Sierra Club meets)
at 6:30 pm

Thursday, November 9 in Ft. Worth
Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens
at 6:30 pm

Public Citizen is hosting a statewide tour of twenty cities regarding this important topic.

Hear about the latest data on climate change and how it is affecting Texas.

Was Hurricane Harvey, our horrific flooding and wildfires spurred by changing global temperatures?

What efforts are underway to combat climate change?

Join Us and Our Sponsors for this Event

Feel Free to Forward.

 

 

 

Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming | Tagged |

It’s cold! Where’s your ‘global warming’ now?

October 31, 2017 by Adrian Shelley

In which we read from the dictionary, and a Senator throws snowballs.

Image: Eric Berger for Ars Technica.

Texas is experiencing a cold snap. It’s a welcome relief for most of us after 8 months of summer. But after the heat finally retreats, there’s something else we are left to deal with: climate skepticism.

When I was an air quality advocate in Houston, I came to expect an inquiry from a certain AM radio station each year around this time. Each winter it was the same thing: If ‘global warming’ is real, then why is it so cold?

This position was perhaps best embodied in the person of Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, who famously threw a snowball on the Senate floor in order to make…some sort of point…about climate change?

Putting aside the rhetorical strength of a grown man throwing a snowball, what is behind this ‘argument’ against climate change?

As with many arguments that are free of facts, this one is easily dispatched, in this case with a dictionary. So let’s get to it with some definitions:

weather – the state of the atmosphere with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness.

climate – the average course or condition of the weather at a place usually over a period of years as exhibited by temperature, wind velocity, and precipitation.

The difference is easy enough to see if you’re not dodging snowballs. Weather is the state of things at a given time; climate is the trend over many decades.

With that simple understanding, it’s easy to see that a few days of weather can’t lead to any conclusions about climate. The trend in climate, over the last decades and since the industrial revolution, has been one of warming temperatures, increasing droughts, and more severe storms (this is why we favor the term ‘climate change’ over the less accurate ‘global warming’). A few days of weather of any given kind can’t change that climate trend.

“But wait!” you say, “Doesn’t that mean that we can’t blame Hurricane Harvey on climate change?”

Well, no, we can’t. And this is reflected in meteorologists’ careful statements about Harvey and its link to climate change. We may get some headlines that say that “It’s a Fact” that climate change made Harvey worse. But those are headlines, written by editors. The truth is far more nuanced, with scientists willing to express only “medium confidence” in a link between recent hurricanes and climate change.

So we can say that Harvey—a historically intense storm—is consistent with what we know about the relationship between storms and climate change. But we can’t say that climate change “caused” Hurricane Harvey.

Similarly, we can’t blame an especially hot day on climate change, just like we can’t point to a cold day as evidence that climate change isn’t real. That’s just not how climate works.

So enjoy the cold weather, but appreciate that we will have fewer cold days in the long term if we don’t reverse the effects of climate change now.

And watch out for snowballs.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

Earthquake in Texas, now you can see where when and how large.

October 26, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Texas always had some natural earthquake activity throughout its history, but that activity seems to be increasing, and despite mounting evidence that oil and gas activity has triggered all of the recent earthquakes in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas regulators have consistently questioned the link.

A study by researchers at the University of Texas and Southern Methodist University argues that humans have been causing earthquakes not just in North Texas but throughout the state for nearly 100 years.  The paper, concludes that activities associated with petroleum production “almost certainly” or “probably” set off 59 percent of earthquakes across the state between 1975 and 2015, including the recent earthquakes in Irving and Dallas.

Another 28 percent were “possibly” triggered by oil and gas activities. Scientists deemed only 13 percent of the quakes to be natural.

Between 1980 and about 2010 there were one to two earthquakes per year in the entire state. Between 2010 and 2015 that rate of seismicity changed to up to 15 small earthquakes per year.  The number of earthquakes continues to rise, with 28 earthquakes recorded in Texas in 2016.

Almost a decade ago, the ground around the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex started shaking. As the frequency and intensity of earthquakes increased in a region poorly prepared for the seismic activity, the risk became a priority for the state.

In the 84th and 85th Legislative Sessions, the Texas Legislature tasked the Bureau of Economic Geology in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin with helping to locate and determine the origins of earthquakes in our State, and, where they may have been caused by human activity, help to prevent them from occurring in the future.  And in June 2015, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the 84th Legislature authorized $4.47 million for TexNet.

Since then, the Bureau’s TexNet research team has developed the TexNet Earthquake Catalog, a dynamic mapping web page, which provides information on the location of monitoring stations, and recorded earthquakes across the state.  Check it out – http://www.beg.utexas.edu/texnet

Posted in Fracking, TCEQ, Texas Legislature | Tagged |

Texas and New Mexico are targeted to become the nation’s dump for deadly radioactive waste! Oppose H.R. 3053!

October 23, 2017 by Citizen Carol

 

Oppose H.R. 3053

This dangerous bill could come up on the US House floor at any time and we expect it to move this week.

If passed into law, H.R.3053, Rep. John Shimkus’ Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017, would eliminate a major hurdle for companies proposing to store deadly, cancer-causing high-level nuclear reactor waste at consolidated interim storage sites, which are currently proposed for Texas and New Mexico.

The bill could lead to the unprecedented massive movement of thousands of truck, train, and/or barge shipments of irradiated nuclear fuel, through 45 states.  These shipments would pass through the heart of many major cities and pass through 370 of the 435 congressional districts across the country.

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) in Andrews, Texas and Holtec/ Eddy Lea Energy Alliance in Hobbs, New Mexico are seeking licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for such storage. “Interim” could be up to 100 years, so the waste might never leave, creating a de facto permanent dump that would likely leak.

Over 10,000 train shipments of this dangerous waste could occur, and at least one train accident is anticipated. Shipments would take 24 years, moving through major U.S. cities, passing close to schools, neighborhoods and military bases, and creating risks from leaks, accidents or terrorism.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Sign the Credo petition at http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/prevent-unnecessary-radioactive-risks-across-the-nation

Ask you Congressional Representative to: 

  • Vote NO on H.R. 3053 and ask Colleagues to do the same.
  • Support an amendment requiring the designation of transportation routes before any consolidated interim storage site can be licensed

Who Represents Me?  www.house.gov/representatives/find

Capitol Switchboard, (202) 225-3121

Current co-sponsors of HR 3053 – please ask them to reconsider. 

Texas Representatives: Bill Flores, Pete Olson, Joe Barton, Gene Green, Pete Sessions, John Carter, Ted Poe, Brian Babin, John Ratlcliffe, Roger Williams.

MORE INFO: 

  • Passage of this bill could lead to unprecedented massive transport of nuclear waste. Over 10,000 train shipments of high-level radioactive waste could go to these sites, over 24 years. Spent nuclear fuel from reactors around the country could travel through cities including Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Lubbock, Corpus Christi, Midland, Amarillo and El Paso, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and other cities across the country.
  • Radioactive waste moving through major cites could be targeted by terrorists. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality warned that “consequences due to sabotage or accidents are also higher during transport since the waste may be near population centers.”
  • In analysis for Yucca Mountain, DOE expected at least one train accident if transport of high-level radioactive waste was mainly by train.
  • DOE found that a severe accident involving one radioactive waste cask releasing a small amount of radiation could contaminate a 42-square mile area, with remediation costs up to $9.5 billion to raze and rebuild the most heavily contaminated square mile in an urban area.
  • The waste might never be moved to a permanent repository, creating de-facto permanent dumps and potential unimaginable disasters. 
  • After studying this issue, four Texas counties passed resolutions opposing high-level radioactive waste transport through their communities. House Members should amend H.R. 3053 to require designation of the least risky transportation routes before a consolidated interim storage site can be licensed. 

Fight to protect your community and all communities along potential transportation routes… and also those in the Texas/ New Mexico border region targeted for high-level radioactive waste storage in their backyards. Why should their children’s health and future be put at risk?

Posted in Nuclear, Radioactive Waste | Tagged |

San Antonio Moving Forward with Climate Action Planning

October 21, 2017 by kaibawhite

Last week, people gathered at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio to learn about the science of climate change and local climate action planning.  The event was attended by students and other community members who are eager for climate action.

Climate change is happening – now, and Texas is already experiencing more climate disasters than any other state – from historic drought and raging wildfires to historic inland flooding and the devastating wind and rain from Hurricane Harvey. These events are costing us in lost lives, destroyed homes, increased pollution, business and infrastructure and lost economic opportunity.  Climate scientist and UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences professor Kerry Cook presented research that shows that the earth is warming, that it’s warming because of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions (primarily carbon dioxide, but also methane and other gases), and how this warming is causing the disasters being felt in Texas.  There’s no question about the science.

We need action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare our communities to be more resilient to the changes that are already happening and will continue to worse.  The Trump administration is busy dismantling policies – including the Clean Power Plan and fuel efficiency standards for vehicles – that would help protect the climate, and deleting scientific information about climate change from government websites.  And the Texas state government is beholden to the fossil fuel industries that are causing climate change.  So it’s left to our local governments to take action.  Which they are doing all around the country.

San Antonio is stepping up to take on the challenge.  CPS Energy – which is owned by the city – has donated $500,000 to the University of Texas at San Antonio to develop a community climate action and adaptation plan.  The university has assembled a team – lead by Associate Professor Hazem Rashed-Ali – that will create an updated greenhouse gas inventory (an accounting of where emissions are coming from) for the San Antonio area, and evaluate and recommend actions that will reduce emissions and make the community more resilient to climate change.  The plan will include actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from every part of the community, from sources that include energy production, solid waste, transportation and industry.

Mr. Rashed-Ali explained how public participation will be incorporated into this process at every step.  A steering committee and technical advisory committees of community members will be integral to the process, as will community events and other opportunities for the public to share ideas and give feedback.  The process is expected to take 18 months and will result in a plan that will be presented to the city council for approval.

Thankfully, the people of San Antonio have elected a pragmatic city council that recognizes the threat that climate changes poses to the community and the opportunity to benefit from embracing solutions.  Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will improve local air quality, create jobs, expand transportation options, and improve quality of life.  The budget that City Council recently adopted for fiscal year 2018 included funding for a new climate liaison for the Office of Sustainability.  This person (once hired) will work with Doug Melnick, San Antonio’s Chief Sustainability Officer, to keep information flowing between the planning process at UTSA and the city.

San Antonio District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval, who has a background in climate and air quality science, made it clear that the city can and will take action.  Mayor Nirenberg appointed her as the chair of the Community Health and Equity Committee, making her the City Council lead on the climate action and adaptation plan.  But she doesn’t plan to sit and wait for the plan to be completed before taking action to benefit the community.  She knows there is no time to waste and encouraged the public to continue reaching out the Council about taking action.  This is the kind of open and engaged government that can really get things done.

With our communities under assault from the effects of climate change, it can be easy to get discouraged or even depressed, but Sister Martha Ann Kirk, who is a professor at the University of the Incarnate Word made sure to infuse hope into the conversation.  She rightfully recognizes the incredible human resources that the San Antonio community has and encouraged everyone to embrace the healing power of natural places.  The University of the Incarnate Word is home to just such a place – the Blue Hole.  This connection to nature transcends religious beliefs.  We would all do well to head Sister Kirk’s advice and step out of our busy lives when we feel overwhelmed and reconnect with the Earth we are trying to protect.

The Climate Action SA coalition – of which Public Citizen is a member – has been working for the past year to garner public support for developing a climate action plan.  We’re all pleased that City Council, CPS Energy and UTSA have heard our calls and are taking action.  This is just the start though – the real work lies ahead.  This is a massive undertaking and we need more volunteers.  Maybe you’d like to serve on one of the steering or technical advisory committees, or maybe you want to help with outreach to different parts of the San Antonio community, or maybe you want to research solutions to be considered for the plan.  Whatever your skills are, we’d love to welcome you to participate in this work.

Sign up to get involved.

Video of the event is on the Facebook event page.

Presentations:
by Professor Kerry Cook
by Associate Professor Hazem Rashed-Ali
by Sister Martha Ann Kirk

Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming | Tagged , , , , |

Support a documentary on the Transpecos pipeline

October 12, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Public Citizen’s Rita Beving has worked with ranchers and farmers against unjust eminent domain practices in regards to pipelines such as Keystone XL, the Seaway pipeline, and others.  Many of us also know about the injustice of the TransPecos pipeline of West Texas.

There is a film producer who has now worked for two years down in the Big Bend area shooting footage of the plight of ranchers and landowners in that area and is working on a feature film on this pipeline – but she needs our help as she has funded her work on her own dime  and needs to get this film into post production.

Please support this Austin fundraiser below this weekend for the Sandlot World Series and final Sandlot Service of 2017 at The Long Time!  The Long Time is located at 5707 N. Dunlap Rd. in Austin, TX  78725.  The website is www.thelongtime.com

Saturday, October 14, 3:00PM
Tulsa City Saturns vs. Your Texas Playboys
Music by The Tender Things
w/ Lone Star Beer, Tito’s, 512 Tequila, 9 Banded Whiskey, and Charles and Charles Rosé / Food Truck / After Party
Benefitting the TRANS PECOS PIPELINE DOCUMENTARY – more info at Trans Pecos Documentary / @transpecosdoc

Here is the Facebook Event Page

$5 entry for all humans

AND…
Sunday, October 15, 11:00AM
Cap City Cobras vs. Senators

Posted in pipelines | Tagged |

Austin Commits to Making Solar Accessible for Low-Income Residents and Renters

October 6, 2017 by kaibawhite

Austin City Council adopted a resolution yesterday to direct $500,000 of Austin Energy’s fiscal year 2018 budget to prove solar to “multi-family affordable housing, low-income residents, renters, and non-profits.”  Austin Energy staff agree that this goal is achievable and have committed to develop programs to serve these customers.  Per the resolution, staff will report back to Council in February on progress made toward achieving this goal.

Expanding access to solar for low-income residents is the next generation of distributed solar policy.   As solar prices have dropped significantly and solar financing has become widely available, solar adoption among middle-income residents has increased.  But it is still difficult for low-income residents and renters to take advantage of these opportunities in Austin.

There are several barriers to adopting solar with these groups of customers.  Renters lack control over the decision and landlords often see no reason to invest in solar to reduce bills for tenants.  Low-income residents are more likely to lack access to credit, or sufficient savings to buy solar.  And multi-family properties require different billing arrangements than single family homes.

Affordable housing developed by Foundation Communities has been the one big exception to this deficit of solar for low-income residents in Austin.  The non-profit boasts 720 kilowatts of solar across many of its Austin properties.  Most of these installations are used to supply energy for common areas, or are at properties where Foundation Communities pays all bills for its tenants.

Foundation Communities Homestead Oaks Apartments in south Austin is the one example where the organization uses solar to reduce the bills of each of its 140 tenants.  Unfortunately, Austin Energy’s billing policy required that each unit have its own, independent solar array.  Instead of one big solar installation on the roof, there are 140 installations, each with its own production meter.  This drove up the cost by 15-20%, resulting in a large area of wall being filled with meters, and made the job more complicated.  It’s not an attractive model.

What is the solution?  Shared solar – similar to virtual net metering that exists in many other states.  Austin Energy needs to update its billing system to allow Value of Solar production credits (Austin Energy’s alternative to net metering) from a single solar array to be divided among multiple customer accounts.  Austin Energy has committed to making this change by September 2018.

The Shared Solar billing solution is just the start.  Much more will be needed to make solar accessible to low-income residents and renters.  Austin Energy could offer a higher residential solar rebate for installations on affordable housing properties where solar is used to benefit the individual residences (such as at the Homestead property).  The utility already offers a somewhat higher solar incentive for nonprofits with commercial customer accounts, but these is currently no such offer for residential accounts for multifamily housing.

Another option would be to implement a program similar to CPS Energy’s Solar Host program.  This program allows residents to benefit from rooftop solar without making any investment.  The utility contracts with a solar developer who installs solar on customer rooftops.  The utility pays the solar developer a set rate per kilowatt-hour of energy produced, and each participating customer receives a bill credit for each kilowatt-hour produced on their roof.  Essentially, the customer is renting their roof space.  The bill credits aren’t as high as if the customer owned the solar installation, but it requires no investment on their part, making solar accessible to low-income customers.

Implementing an on-bill repayment program could expand access to solar for renters.  This would tie a solar loan to a particular customer meter, as opposed to the customer themselves.   When one tenant moves out and another moves in, both the repayment of the loan and the bill credits from solar production transfer to the new tenant.  Ideally, such a program would ensure that average annual bill credits exceed annual loan repayment, meaning that a customer’s energy bill would not increase.

Buying down the community solar rate for low-income customers would also help renters.  Austin Energy is considering donating solar installations to affordable housing properties.  That’s how the Guadalupe-Saldana Net Zero Subdivision was able to incorporate solar.  Public Citizen fully supports this, but recognizes that this solution will always be limited by available funding.

The Austin City Council resolution was sponsored by Council Member Greg Casar and co-sponsored by Council Members Leslie Pool, Delia Garza, and Pio Renteria.  They were joined in support by Council Members Ann Kitchen, Alison Alter and Ora Houston, Mayor Pro Tem Tovo, and Mayor Steve Adler.  Public Citizen applauds City Council and Austin Energy for embracing this next step in local solar development in Austin and looks forward to engaging with staff and other stakeholders to make this effort a success.

Posted in Austin Energy, Energy, Renewables, solar | Tagged , , , , , |

Climate Polluters Should Pay Their Fair Share of Hurricane Harvey Recovery

October 3, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Sept. 4, 2017 – floodwater in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey near the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Texas should require climate polluters to pay their fair share of the Hurricane Harvey recovery effort, and Public Citizen will tell Texas lawmakers this on Wednesday.

Adrian Shelley testifying in front of House Natural Resources Committee in Houston on paying for infrastructure post Harvey flooding. Click here to watch, see written transcript of his remarks below.

Responding to an interim charge from Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, the House Natural Resources Committee is hold a hearing at 10 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The hearing will take public testimony on issues related to Hurricane Harvey and flooding in general.

The hearing comes amid a disagreement between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner about how to fund the Harvey recovery effort. After Turner proposed an unpopular temporary increase in property taxes, the governor allocated $50 million from the state’s disaster relief fund – representing half of the total for the biennium – for Harvey recovery. The governor has not foreclosed the possibility of allocating Rainy Day funds as well, though he has stated that would not happen before the 2019 legislative session.

For Wednesday’s hearing, the committee has asked for strategies to fund efforts to mitigate future flood events.

“Fossil fuel companies have shirked their responsibility for climate change for too long, with some aware for at least 40 years of the role their industry has played,” said Adrian Shelley, director of Public Citizen’s Texas office, who is testifying on Wednesday. “Houstonians have paid the cost of the carbon pollution industry’s neglect. It’s time climate polluters pay their fair share.”

The contribution to climate change by carbon polluters, including the fossil fuel industry, worsened Harvey’s impact on Texas. Ninety companies from around the world, mostly from the fossil fuel industry, contributed 57 percent of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and approximately 42 to 50 percent of the rise in global mean surface temperature between 1880 and 2010 globally, according to a recent report in the journal Climate Change. Many of those companies have offices in Houston.

According to Dr. Kevin Trenberth with the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, “The human contribution can be up to 30 percent or so of the total rainfall coming out of the storm. It may have been a strong storm, and it may have caused a lot of problems anyway – but [human-caused climate change] amplifies the damage considerably.”

If you are in the Houston area, and wish to testify in front of this committee come to the George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida De Las Americas, Houston, TX 77010 (Room 371) by 10 am.  Witnesses can sign up to testify at that time.  If you do not have time to wait to testify, you can provide 16 copies of written testimony to the clerk when you sign up.

Below is testimony presented to the House Natural Resource Committee by Adrian Shelley, Director of the Texas office of Public Citizen on Wednesday,  October 4, 2017

It’s been more than a month since Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Texas Coast, and we are still tallying the damage. We don’t know how many homes were flooded, how many cars were destroyed, or how many billions the recovery will cost. We do know that the recovery needs will exceed our government resources. Even with contributions at every level of government, we will not have enough to fund the recovery effort. Many—perhaps most—Houstonians have already borne some of the costs of Harvey in lost property and lost wages. Many more will find that insurance and government relief will not be enough to cover their losses.

There is another source of funding for Harvey recovery: the carbon pollution industry. If you don’t like hearing the words “climate change,” then substitute the words “extreme weather” in the rest of my remarks. We know that extreme weather made Harvey worse. Dr. Kevin Trenberth with the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research estimates that 30% of the impact of Harvey was attributable to climate change—sorry, extreme weather. We know that some of the biggest climate polluters in the fossil fuel industry have known about extreme weather for at least 40 years. And we know that they have failed to act, going so far as to obscure evidence of their role in extreme weather.

Ninety companies from around the world, mostly from the fossil fuel industry, contributed 57 percent of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and approximately 42 to 50 percent of the rise in global mean surface temperature between 1880 and 2010 globally, according to a recent report in the journal Climate Change. Many of those companies have offices in Houston.

I know that these companies have paid their fair share of campaign contributions, so what I am about to say might not be popular with you. But make no mistake: carbon polluters bear responsibility for Hurricane Harvey. They are culpable, and their role can be quantified. It is time for members of those industries to act like the leaders they pretend to be. They should pay their fair share of the recovery effort, and they should fund what must happen next: the effort to prepare Houston for the next big storm.

Because whether we believe in it or not, extreme weather is here to stay.

Posted in Climate Change | Tagged |

Electric Utilities’ Early Knowledge and Ongoing Deception on Climate Change From 1968-2017

September 26, 2017 by Citizen Carol

The Energy and Policy Institute just released a new report that traces the electric utility industry’s early knowledge of the climate change risks of burning fossil fuels as far back as the 1960s:

http://www.energyandpolicy.org/utilities-knew-about-climate-change/

The report also shows how despite this early knowledge, some electric utility interests chose to engage in ongoing efforts to sow doubt about climate science and block legal limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

This trend is especially disturbing in light of the fact that the recently published list of potential names for the Science Advisory Board and the EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee includes many industry representatives and consultants. The panels are typically composed primarily of independent academics and researchers charged with reviewing agency science and advising the Environmental Protection Agency on major policy decisions.

While industry has always had a voice on those panels, comments from the Trump administration and the potential new appointees suggest the balance may soon change in favor of greater power for regulated companies, particularly the oil and gas industries.

The list of potential new advisory board members includes officials from Exxon Mobil, Phillips 66, Alcoa, Noble Energy, Total, and the American Chemistry Council, a lobbying group for the chemical industry.

Here are a few of the key findings from the Energy and Policy Institute’s report:

  • Scientists had begun to warn the electric utility industry about climate change as early as 1968
  • Electric utilities knew enough about climate change by 1971 to include research into the “effects of CO2” in the industry’s long-term research and development goals for through the year 2000
  • Utilities, through the largely customer funded Edison Electric Institute and Electric Power Research Institute, sponsored some cutting edge climate research during the 1970s and 1980s
  • EPRI – the electric utility industry’s official R&D organization – acknowledged a “growing consensus” on climate change among scientists in 1988
  • Just one year later, in 1989, efforts by some electric utility interests to sow doubt about climate science began with the formation of the Global Climate Coalition
  • In 2017, some electric utilities continue to back special interest groups – including the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, American Legislative Exchange Council, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Utility Air Regulatory Group – that attack climate science and/or oppose legal limits on CO2 emissions from power plants
  • Thomas Fanning, the CEO of Southern Company, still denied that CO2 emissions are a primary contributor to climate change during a 2017 interview with CNBC. At the time, Fanning was also the chairman of the Edison Electric Institute

Read this report and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag: #UtilitiesKnew

Posted in Climate Change | Tagged |

September is the start of the State Employee Charitable Campaign

September 11, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Texas State employees have the option to give to charities of their choice through a workplace giving campaign and September is the start of their campaign season.  We want to remind you that throughout the coming year, many communities will be recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Harvey and if you have a workplace giving campaign, you can help charitable organizations throughout the year by having your contributions withheld each pay period.

EarthShare of Texas vets conservation and environmental organizations for hundreds of workplace giving campaigns throughout Texas, of which Public Citizen is one.

Flooding in Bay City, TX post Hurricane Harvey landfall.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

Texas Climate Tour: Remarks by Adrian

September 6, 2017 by Adrian Shelley

UT Professor Kerry Cook, Jim Marston (EDF), Reggie James (Sierra Club), Luis Castilla (Public Citizen) and Adrian Shelley (Public Citizen)

This speech was delivered by our Texas Office director Adrian Shelley at the kickoff event for our Texas Climate Tour.

Dear Friends and Allies,

Thank you for coming today. I would especially like to thank Mayor Steve Adler and the City of Austin for hosting us this morning. I would also like to thank our speakers, including Mayor Adler, Jim Marston with the Environmental Defense Fund, Reggie James with the Sierra Club, Professor Kerry Cook with the University of Texas, and of course, our press officer Luis Castilla.

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. How we act now to prevent the worst impacts of climate change will define us for generations to come. Our leaders in Washington D.C., and even here in Austin, are not willing to face the threat of climate change. This means that we must act now to do everything that we can.

Luis began planning this trip well before any of us knew what was in store for Texas. Now Hurricane Harvey has ravaged our coast, claimed dozens of lives, and displaced tens of thousands of people. My hometown of Houston was devastated by Hurricane Harvey, and though the recovery effort will last many years and cost many hundreds of billions of dollars, the city will never fully recover. Harvey has left a deep scar on the Gulf Coast that will not soon heal. Our leaders in Texas have said the cost of reducing CO2 is too great, but now we see that the cost of inaction is far greater.

The tragedy of Hurricane Harvey unfolded over several days in full view of the entire nation. But there is another tragedy occurring on the Texas Gulf Coast. Every day lives are shortened by the impact of the fossil fuel industry. Each day in Houston, in Corpus Christi, in Port Arthur, and in other towns along the coast we see the impacts of this tragedy. Asthma attacks, cancer, and shortened lives are the daily result of a nationwide disaster caused by our reliance on fossil fuels. Climate change is only the biggest of these impacts, but we must be mindful of their daily cost on our most vulnerable brothers and sisters across the state.

Houstonians will recover from the unprecedented disaster that was Hurricane Harvey. They have done so before. But what will happen after the memory of this storm fades? Will we prepare for the next one?

As a nation, we need to rise to this challenge. If our lawmakers in Washington D.C. won’t act, then we need to act for them. As Luis travels across Texas, he will spread the message about what is possible today. Cities occupy only two percent of the world’s landmass, but they consume 2/3 of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global carbon emissions. And with 90 percent of the world’s urban areas situated on coastlines, cities are vulnerable to climate change impacts, such as rising sea levels and powerful coastal storms.

So what can cities do? They can start by counting their carbon pollution emissions. Then they can set targets for reducing those emissions. And they can make actionable policy decisions, such as purchasing renewable energy, amending building codes to promote energy efficiency, and electrifying transportation.

We are part of a movement happening in cities across America. Some of our targets are huge, including the biggest and dirtiest coal plants in the nation. We are looking to do nothing less than transform energy generation and transportation in the United States. With such ambitious goals, taking personal actions isn’t enough—you must also lend your voice to the chorus calling for large-scale action on climate change.

Right now, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the chorus is loud. Everyone wants to see something happen. We want to feel like the situation is under control. But we can’t risk losing the energy that has come out of this tragedy. Like we did after Ike, after Katrina, and after Allison. Let’s not find ourselves in this same situation when the next tragedy occurs.

As Luis travels across Texas, meeting Texans where they are, he has an important message for everyone: climate change is a local issue. Its impacts are local. It affects our friends, our families, and ourselves. And its solutions are local. They begin with us, right now.

So even as we begin to put the lessons of Hurricane Harvey behind us, we must ask ourselves: what can I do? What can I do today, to prepare for tomorrow?

As individuals, there are things we can do: You can start today, by recycling, replacing old lightbulbs with LEDs, and turning down your air conditioning. You can schedule an energy audit of your house, which will help you to reduce the energy you use and save you money. You can plan to purchase solar panels for your roof, or buy a more efficient vehicle—even an all-electric one. Most of these solutions will save you money over time.

You’ll find something that you can do. It might feel small today, but it will be a little bit bigger tomorrow. And bigger still the day after. And when you add your voice to the chorus demanding action on climate change, you will become part of something even bigger. You will see how local actions can have a global impact.

Together we can and we must make this transition. Our lives and the lives of our children depend on us taking action – now.

Thank you.

Luis beginning his Texas Climate Tour in a Tesla Model S on loan from Trammell S. Crow.

 

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »