The Great Texas Cleanup: Outdoor Art & Music Festival
July 24th in Houston at Discovery Green
On July 24th, the Sierra Club and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Service (TEJAS) will host The Great Texas Cleanup: A Rally & Concert for Clean Energy and Clean Air. Environmental and community groups from Houston, Texas and around the country will join local, state, and national businesses in taking a stand to cleanup Texas now!
The concert is FREE to the public and welcomes all ages.
Local musicians will play an eclectic variety of music that will unite youth, students, young professionals, families, and different communities in the fight for a future we all share. Community leaders and distinguished speakers will talk about urgent issues that have culminated into our best opportunity to cleanup Texas now. Artists, businesses, and local nonprofits will share with you what they are doing to help and how you can get involved!
Hope to see ya’ll there! CleanupTexasNow.org
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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 Air Quality, Coal, Energy, Global Warming | Tagged Air Quality, Clean Energy, Coal, coal plant, Texas |
It is frustrating that our local and federal governments are strained from taking action to ameliorate our air and water quality because once they try to do so, the other side recites loss in jobs as the result– but never do they mention any public health concerns and the effect that has on the economy. Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, natural gas, Renewables, solar, TCEQ | Tagged Air Quality, cap and trade, drilling, drilling moratorium, EPA, TCEQ, Texas |
July 7, 2010 by Citizen Carol
On Monday, when many of us were celebrating the 4th of July holiday, two State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) administrative law judges (ALJs) released their ruling in a controversial case over whether to permit the proposed 1,200 MW “White Stallion” coal plant near Bay City, Texas.
AJLs Kerrie Jo Qualthorough and Paul Keeper announced they could not recommend issuance of the permit, that they found the application to be deficient in several respects. In sending their proposed findings to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the ALJs recommended TCEQ gather more information from White Stallion to address specific deficiencies within the next 180 days.
Specifically, the ALJs found White Stallion:
- relied upon unapproved ozone monitoring data,
- failed to conduct a health effects review for coal dust,
- failed to determine the appropriate emission limits for the hazardous air pollutants Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) and Hydrogen Fluoride (HF). Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Global Warming | Tagged Coal, EPA, TCEQ, Texas, white stallion |
July 7, 2010 by Citizen Carol
A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO
) says the climate & energy bill currently stalled in the Senate would reduce the federal deficit by about $19 billion over the next ten years. The CBO is responsible for providing Congress with nonpartisan analyses of economic and budget issues, and lawmakers rely on it for guidance. This is the second positive analysis of the bill by a government agency in a month. A similar report was issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in June.
Many senators have said they flatly oppose legislation that adds even a penny to the federal deficit, and these two reports should force them to look anew at this initiative which will actually reduce it.
In its report Wednesday, the CBO said the energy bill would increase federal revenues by about $751 billion from 2011 to 2020, mostly though the sale of carbon credits in a cap-and-trade plan to be applied to utilities and other sectors of the economy. Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming | Tagged American Power Act, APA, CBO, CBO score, climate bill, climate change, Coal, deficit, Global Warming, public citizen texas, Texas |
Anthropogenic global warming (AGW) deniers went crazy a few months ago with an email controversy involving the University of East Anglia in Britain. Joining an earlier finding by the House of Commons, a British panel has just issued a sweeping exoneration of all scientists involved. Climatologist Phil Jones was immediately reinstated in his position at the research unit (he had “stepped aside” during the investigation proceedings). Check out the New York Times for more info.
AGW deniers will likely spin this any number of different ways, probably including something along the lines of “the entire British government is simply in on this vast, global conspiracy of man-made global warming!” Why? Because the hysteria over AGW denialism is not based on science and facts – it is based on preconceived world views , propaganda and self-interests.
The truth has always been, and remains, that the overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree AGW is real and likely one of the greatest threats mankind has ever faced. There is a vast amount of scientific research and study from many different fields of science that confirm AGW, and no evidence coming out of the scientific community that anything else could account for the changes we are seeing in our climate.
This war against science is led by large fossil-fuel corporations and their sponsored think-tanks who want to defer their accountability and responsibilities for as long as possible. In light of the BP Gulf spill the time has finally come when all people on this planet, even staunch, right-wing Americans, need to join in solidarity and move our country and our planet away from a fossil-fuel reliant economy and forward into an energy future based on renewable energy and social justice.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, green jobs | Tagged anthropogenic, britain, climategate, controversy, denial, denier, Global Warming, house of commons, man made, panel, phil jones, Texas, university of east anglia |
Ted Glick, policy director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network was just sentenced for his demonstration on September 8.
I am on one year’s probation, I need to pay an $1100 fine, I need to do 40 hours of community service in D.C. and if I’m arrested over the next year I automatically go to jail for 30 days on each of the two misdemeanor counts I was convicted of.
What was Ted’s heinous crime? He hung two banners saying “Green Jobs Now” and “Get to Work” in the Hart Senate Office Building. Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, Renewables | Tagged activist, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, climate change, Coal, Glick, Global Warming, green jobs, hart senate, Public Citizen, sentence, sentenced, Ted Glick, Texas |
Did YOUR Legislator win 2nd prize in any beauty contests? Find out in their personal financial disclosures.
Texas Tribune has just published their list of Texas Personal Financial Statements: 2009, in which you can search for the personal financial statements of over 3,000 Texas officials and political candidates. Why not look up your representative or senator, your favorite TCEQ commissioner, the governor, perhaps? You will be able to see the source of the paychecks they are bringing home and what investments or gifts they might have which create any impropriety.
All of this is thanks to the Texas Public Information Act, under which they bravely requested all of these disclosures and then went through the arduous task of scanning and uploading them.
EDITOR’S NOTE: What? You thought Texas might provide these types of records in an electronic format to begin with? Or that legislators and candidates would be able to file electronically? Almost makes you wonder why they want this information trapped on paper instead of an easily parse-able format, eh? Cut to scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark with giant warehouse where Indiana Jones is promised “top men” will be looking into the ark… ~~AW
Texas Tribune, Burnt Orange Report and the Hank Gilbert campaign are all already making issues out of information in personal financial statements of former Houston Mayor and Dem gubernatorial nominee Bill White, Governor Perry and Ag Commissioner Todd Staples, respectively.
Texas Tribune doesn’t have the time to sift through all of these, so they’re asking their readers to help them out– check out what you can and if you see something, let us know and let them know.
To save you the trouble, here is the link for Rick Perry’s: http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/texas-personal-financial-statements-2009/?appSession=532163143824315
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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 Good Government | Tagged bill white, personal financial disclosures, Rick Perry, Texas, texas tribune, Todd Staples |
In a breaking story from the AP, we learn that the air pollution rules first proposed under George W. Bush’s EPA are 
moving forward.
The Environmental Protection Agency said the new rules would cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 71 percent from 2005 levels by 2014 and nitrogen oxide emissions by 52 percent in the same time frame.
The regulation, known as the Clean Air Interstate Rule, requires 31 states from Massachusetts to Texas to reduce emissions that contribute to smog and soot and can travel long distances in the wind. The agency predicted the rule would prevent about 14,000 to 36,000 premature deaths a year.
The rule would overturn and toughen rules issued during the administration of former President George W. Bush.
What happened was the Bush Administration took a look at the scientific reviews for where the levels of these pollutants should be to protect health. When they published their new air quality standards, they were actually less strong than the science required.
And while legal wrangling is fun, the real story here is the impact on human health.
“We’re working to limit pollution at its source, rather than waiting for it to move across the country,” Jackson said in a statement.
The proposed reductions should save billions of dollars in avoided health costs and sick days and save thousands of lives each year, Jackson said. Those benefits would far outweigh the estimated $2.8 annual cost of compliance, she said.
Reducing pollution from power plants means fewer sick kids who have to miss school, it means fewer people who have to be rushed to the ER for an asthma treatment, and even means fewer deaths. And, of course, reducing these emissions most likely also means a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, another added benefit we can all be happy about.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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 Air Quality, Coal, Energy | Tagged Air Quality, climate change, Coal, coal fired power plant, EPA, NAAQS, Texas |
July 2, 2010 by Citizen Carol
About 20 of the roughly 100 contractor personnel working on the proposed addition of two new 1,350-MW nuclear units at the South Texas nuclear station have been let go.
Nuclear Innovation North America (NINA), an 88/12 joint venture of NRG Energy and Toshiba, currently owns 92.35% of the planned expansion, and CPS Energy, the municipal utility in San Antonio owns the remaining 7.65%. In May, NINA announced Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to eventually take up to a 20% stake in NINA’s share, beginning with a 10% stake in that share–or a 9.235% stake in the project itself–if a $7 billion federal loan guarantee is secured.
NINA has recently said it expects the project to cost about $13 billion, including $10 billion in “overnight” costs and $3 billion in financing costs. Although earlier cost projections have put the project coming in at $18 billion.
At this time, there is spectulation that the remaining loan guarantees will go to Calvert Cliffs in Maryland. NINA has said they would not go forward with the expansion without the loan guarantees. Could this be the beginning of the end for the STP expansion? Stay tuned.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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 Nuclear | Tagged NINA, Nuclear, South Texas Project, STP, Texas |
Here is the most recent footage from the additional State Department meeting that was held in Houston for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. See this post for the footage from the 4 original meetings in East Texas. For more info on the tar sands pipeline visit citizen.org/texas and dirtyoilsands.org.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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 Coal, coal tar sands, Global Warming, Texas |
After a several hour closed-door meeting between the two remaining candidates for Austin Energy’s General Manager position and some of Austin’s best environmental, energy, and consumer advocates, all of the groups represented came to the same conclusion: neither of these candidates was a right fit for Austin.
In fact, former City Councilwoman Brigid Shea told reporters that “Mr. Wright is wrong for Austin” and that they had hoped our nationwide search would produce “major league” candidates to fit with Austin’s leadership on energy and community issues. “No offense, but these guys are more minor league.”
You can see the entire video here of their press conference, led by Public Citizen representative Cary Ferchill:
YouTube:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcXDk-fXEYk]
Vimeo:
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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, Good Government | Tagged Austin Energy, climate change, coal plant, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, Texas |
Yesterday the TCEQ remanded the air permit for the proposed Las Brisas petroleum-coke plant back to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. What they didn’t do is require the facility to do what’s called a case-by-case analysis of MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) for Hazardous Air Pollutants. In effect, TCEQ (the agency tasked with protecting people and the environment from pollution) is not going to require Las Brisas to do a proper analysis of their pollution control!
This is outrageous. A permit which should have been denied outright, or at the least sent back to the beginning of the process, is instead being temporarily remanded on a number of less significant issues. Below is the proceeding in its entirety. The first video covers the first part of the process when the applicant and the opposition’s representation were allowed time to make comments to the commissioners. The second video shows the commissioners’ decision which is then followed by a press conference which includes responses from local residents in Corpus Christi who would be directly affected by the pollution TCEQ is failing to properly address.
For more information contact Public Citizen’s office at 512-477-1155.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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 Air Quality, Global Warming, Good Government, TCEQ, Toxics | Tagged Air Quality, Carbon Dioxide, climate change, Environmental Protection Agency, Global Warming, public citizen texas, solar power, Texas |
The TCEQ ruled today on the air permit for the proposed Las Brisas pet-coke plant in Corpus Christi. The good news is they didn’t grant the permit (yet), instead they remanded the permit back to the State Office of Administrative Hearings on a number of issues. However, they refused to acknowledge some of the most important aspects and requirements of the process (like a case-by-case analysis of the hazardous air pollutants) and practically ignored the recommendations of the administrative law judges and even their own staff – who have all recommended that this permit be denied.
TCEQ should have sent Las Brisas packing – they should have outright denied this joke of a permit, or at the least made them restart the permitting process from square one. Instead we have the same old story from TCEQ. They have shown once more that their primary interest is to allow industries to pollute irresponsibly and not, as it should be, to protect the people and environment of Texas from unnecessary pollution.
The video below is of the press conference held yesterday, which also talked about revisions to water quality standards – another mistake TCEQ is in the process of making. Visit Sierra Club’s website for more on that. Stay tuned to Texas Vox for more info on the Las Brisas case – the video footage of today’s proceedings will be up by tomorrow and will include responses from the protestants in the case including locals from Corpus Christi.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, 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, Energy, Global Warming, TCEQ | Tagged Coal, corpus christi, fail, hearing, judge, judges, las brisas, meeting, pet-coke, Petcoke, petroleum, pollution, Public Citizen, remand, soah, state office of administrative hearings, TCEQ, Texas |
June 30, 2010 by Citizen Carol
Requests for a public meeting should be submitted to EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery by July 21, 2010. For a sample request letter and where to send it, click here.
Posted in Coal | Tagged coal ash, EPA, public hearing, Texas |
The EPA announced today that Texas’s much-discussed and derided flex permitting program does not follow the federal Clean Air Act (big surprise </sarcasm>). This was an action that began when the EPA under George W. Bush called into question the transparency and efficacy of the program which allows big polluters to skirt the federal Clean Air Act. From their press release:
EPA is disapproving the permit program after determining that it allows companies to avoid certain federal clean air requirements by lumping emissions from multiple units under a single “cap” rather than setting specific emission limits for individual pollution sources at their plants.
“Today’s action improves our ability to provide the citizens of Texas with the same healthy-air protections that are provided for citizens in all other states under the Clean Air Act.,” said Al Armendariz, Regional Administrator. “EPA will continue working closely with Texas, industry, environmental organizations, and community leaders to assure an effective and legal air permitting system.”
We’re chiming in on this, with a joint press release from the Alliance for Clean Texas (ACT), where you can go to read the full press release. Here’s the highlights: Continue Reading »
Posted in Energy, Good Government, TCEQ, Toxics | Tagged ACT, asthma, clean air act, Dr. Al Armendariz, EPA, flex permits, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission |
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