World Oceans Day has been celebrated unofficially since 1992, and officially since December 2008 when the UN formally recognized it. Organized by The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network, this holiday celebrates our oceans which bring us clean air, clean food, and clean water- that is, until April 20. The explosion at BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig has, if you choose to believe the ‘official government estimate’, leaked somewhere between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day. And scientists fear we will be living with the effects of this disaster for decades.
According to MSNBC.com, Bill Mott, the director of the Ocean Project said, “it’s terrible disaster and it’s raising awareness around the country and the world about the ocean’s fragility to a large extent.”
If you want to show our oceans a little more love than they have received over the past few months, here are some ideas:
Stop by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal to learn About 5 Simple Things You Can Do For The Ocean.
Visit Change.org for Ten Ways To Honor World Oceans Day.
Find events near you organized by the World Ocean Project.
ALSO: Several groups are gathering for makeshift vigils tonight around the country to celebrate World Oceans Day and mark the 50th Day since the Deepwater Horizon explosion that began this catastrophe. The vigil in Austin will be at 1005 Congress Ave, just a block or so south of the Texas Capitol.
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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, Toxics, Uncategorized | Tagged bp, oil spill, Texas |
It was a bit surprising that the EPA finally has taken a stand against the TCEQ’s practices of giving “flexible permits.” Prominent Texas politicians including the governor criticized the action taken by the EPA and once again, Gov Perry used a very important local issue to launch his attacks on the Federal government as part of his re-election campaign. “I don’t understand the federal response of coming in to the state that should be the poster child, should be the model for this country,” Perry said last week at a news conference. He was also quoted by the Houston Press saying, “Last week, the federal government sent the very clear message that it seeks to destroy Texas’s successful clean air program and threaten tens of thousands of good Texas jobs in the process.” Perry’s claims that our air permitting program is successful is equally as dubious as his claims that we are the poster child for clean air.
Perry’s comments came at the same Texas Congress-members criticized Obama’s decision to issue a moratorium on deep-water drilling for a period that can take longer than six months. Some Congress members, who rank among the highest contribution receivers from the oil and energy industry in general, mentioned that jobs will be affected if such regulation was to take place, “”It’s exactly the wrong decision,” said Joe Barton, a Republican from Arlington, “It’s going to raise unemployment, and it’s going to raise oil prices.”
One must question the sincerity of such comments and whether they truly are accurate or not. The Dallas Morning News in an articled called “Texans in Congress say drilling support not tied to campaign donations” showed records that were obtained from Center for Responsive Politics that show how many contributions were received by Texas Congressmen:
CONTRIBUTIONS TO TEXANS IN CONGRESS
SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics
| A look at oil industry donations to members of Congress from Texas: |
| Member |
Oil/gas industry donations |
Rank* |
| Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison |
$2.1 million |
1 |
| Sen. John Cornyn |
$1.6 million |
3 |
| Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington |
$1.4 million |
1 |
| Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland |
$651,718 |
1 |
| Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas |
$642,864 |
2 |
| Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth |
$612,807 |
1 |
| Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall |
$529,468 |
3 |
| Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands |
$445,697 |
1 |
| Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock |
$440,772 |
1 |
| Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston |
$423,561 |
1 |
| Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco |
$409,698 |
9 |
| Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano |
$393,700 |
3 |
| Rep. Lamar Smith , R-San Antonio |
$391,147 |
2 |
| Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston |
$374,113 |
5 |
| Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon |
$351,480 |
1 |
| Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler |
$257,063 |
3 |
| Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas |
$232,650 |
10 |
| Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi |
$220,432 |
2 |
| Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land |
$216,300 |
1 |
| Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble |
$208,450 |
3 |
| Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin |
$207,734 |
6 |
| Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville |
$195,246 |
3 |
| Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson |
$178,632 |
17 |
| Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston |
$173,525 |
6 |
| Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock |
$164,150 |
5 |
| Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo |
$157,350 |
4 |
| Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio |
$143,500 |
7 |
| Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell |
$139,750 |
1 |
| Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes |
$98,084 |
9 |
| Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio |
$96,500 |
13 |
| Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso |
$83,350 |
12 |
| Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin |
$51,730 |
n/a |
| Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas |
$32,875 |
n/a |
| Rep. Al Green, D-Houston |
$26,400 |
13 |
|
NOTE: Tally includes donations from political action committees and individuals starting in 1989, for the lawmaker’s first year in office if later than 1989.
* Rank indicates where the oil industry ranked among the top industries to donate to a lawmaker. N/A means the oil industry wasn’t among the top 20 givers to that lawmaker.
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These numbers are staggering and if you want to bet that those massive contributions don’t alter or affect the decisions of those politicians, I have some beachfront property in Arizona I’d like to sell you. Continue Reading »
Posted in Campaign Finance, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, green jobs, Renewables, TCEQ, Toxics | Tagged Air Quality, climate change, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Global Warming, TCEQ, Texas |
The battle between the TCEQ and the EPA is still making headlines, and, at least according to the headlines at the Houston Chronicle, the environmentalists have gained the upper hand!
TCEQ and EPA have been in the headlines, as shown by this Google News search
With the looming possibility that Al Armendariz, regional EPA administrator, will take over all of Texas air quality permitting, as they have already done in the case of 39 Texas polluters, the strong opposition that Bill White is presenting to Rick Perry in the race for Texas Governor, and (don’t forget!) the sunset review of the TCEQ coming up in December, the TCEQ is in trouble.
“This has been brewing for about 15 years, ” our own Tom “Smitty” Smith told the Houston Chronicle. “But what’s happening now is you’ve finally have [sic – Houston Chronicle’s error, not Smitty’s, btw] an EPA administrator who’s got enough guts to stand up to the polluters.”
According to that same article, the fight, which started in response to the TCEQ’s issuing of flexible air quality permits in violation of the Clean Air Act, could potentially escalate from permitting to all environmental regulations. But with growing magnitude and environmental support comes growing backlash. Former TCEQ commissioner and now environmental advocate, Larry Soward, worries that the legislature will join forces with the governor to fight off the EPA.
Governor Perry and those siding with him are standing strong behind the argument that the EPA is wrongfully expanding federal control over an issue that they originally delegated to the state and that this action will hurt the Texas economy. TCEQ chairman Bryan Shaw claims that the fight has already begun to affect Texas economically, and Attorney General Abbott and state agriculture commissioner Todd Staples agree.
Politifact decided to factcheck Staples, and his statement that:
“The EPA’s regulation would directly impact thousands of Texas businesses and cost real jobs. Companies that will be endangered in Texas include 575 dairy facilities, 58 swine operations, 1,300 corn farms. No industry is more threatened than the cattle industry. If this rule is implemented, an estimated 28,000 beef cattle operations in Texas will fall under EPA regulation.”
According to Politifact, this is absolutely FALSE. The EPA ruled last week that farms will not be subject to these regulations, as Continue Reading »
Posted in Sunset, TCEQ | Tagged EPA, flex permits, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, sunset review, TCEQ, Texas |
June 4, 2010 by Citizen Carol
Federal environmental regulators set new limits on sulfur dioxide emissions for the first time in 40 years. A move that could prevent thousands of asthma attacks and premature deaths while reducing health care costs..
The new rules, which take effect under court order, will prohibit short-term spikes of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is primarily emitted from coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities. Texas has 17 coal plants, with another dozen under construction or in the permitting phase across the state.
The EPA estimates nationally the cost of retrofitting power plants to comply with the new rules will be $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. The savings in health benefits could be as much as $13 billion to $33 billion a year.
The previous standard called for concentrations of no more than 140 parts per billion, averaged over 24 hours. Under the new rules, the allowable level of SO2 would drop to 75 parts per billion in one hour to guard against short-term spikes, and is seen by the EPA as the most efficient and effective way to protect against SO2 pollution in the air we breathe.
Although the final standard is a bit less strict than the American Lung Association had urged, it is well within the range recommended by EPA’s independent science advisers.
At this writing it is anticipated that Jefferson County is the only area in Texas that would fail the tougher standard, but EPA is requiring additional monitors in some areas of the state that are borderline.
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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 Air Quality, climate change, Coal, coal plant, emissions, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Public Citizen, SO2, sulfur dioxide, Texas |
The TCEQ granted a permit to re-open the ASARCO foundry over protests of staff, residents of El Paso, and local leaders. Luckily, the EPA intervened and stopped it.
You’ve probably heard by now. The TCEQ has failed to adhere to the federal Clean Air Act, jeopardizing our health, our safety, and the quality of our air. This is why, on Tuesday, May 25, the EPA took over the TCEQ’s authority to grant clean air permits for 40 facilities across the state of Texas, most notably the Flint Hills Resources’ crude oil refinery near Corpus Christi.
The TCEQ has failed to fulfill its promises to the federal government and the citizens of Texas, whom it is supposed to protect.
The Sunset Advisory Commission is a 12-member body appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and the speaker of the house to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. Every 12 years, over 150 government agencies are reviewed for potential changes and improvements in their responsibilities and operations. And since the review of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the TCEQ, is quickly approaching, we’re getting organized! Will you join us for a call next Thursday, June 10th at 6pm CT?
From the Alliance for Clean Texas:
The Alliance for a Clean Texas (ACT) will launch its 2010-2011 TCEQ sunset campaign with a conference call next Thursday, June 10th at 6:30 p.m. All Texans committed to protecting our state’s environment and health are invited to participate in the call.
ACT is a coalition of organizations and individuals around the state working together to make this a milestone year for environmental protection in Texas. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is currently under review by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. Now is the time to turn our concerns about how TCEQ does and does not do its job of protecting our environment and our health into real, lasting reform.
In the last week, TCEQ has been at the center of two major stories about the Texas environment. The EPA has finally taken action to bring TCEQ air permitting back into compliance with the federal Clean Air Act–a move opposed by the TCEQ commissioners. And Fort Worth is reeling with the news that
Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, Sunset, TCEQ | Tagged Air permit, Air Quality, ASARCO, Barnett shale, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, flex permits, permit application, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, Sunset, sunset commission, sunset review, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission |
It was a week of welcoming at 1303 San Antonio Street. Four summer interns were hired this week and everyone is excited to to have them on board, particularly me as it gets pretty quiet in this place when there aren’t interns running around and being told what to do, or is it just me that gets pretty quiet? No matter, now onto introductions: Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged abilene christian university, abilene repor, Cap Metro, clean elections texas, internship, tenaska coal plant, Texas |
May 28, 2010 by Citizen Carol
If you buy an Energy Star appliance this Memorial Day weekend you won’t have to pay a sales tax The third annual Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday is this weekend and Texans can lower their utility bills and conserve energy with more energy efficient appliances – TAX FREE!
Look for the Energy Star label on the qualifying products listed below:
Air conditioners priced at $6,000 or less- Refrigerators priced at $2,000 or less
- Ceiling fans
- Incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs
- Clothes washers
- Dishwashers
- Dehumidifiers
- Programmable thermostats
There is no limit on the number of qualifying items one can purchase during this sales tax holiday and it also applies to sales made through internet and catalog sales of eligible products as long as:
- the item is paid for and delivered to the purchaser during the exemption period; or
- the purchaser orders and pays for the item and the retailer accepts the order during the exemption period for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period.
Texans can also use layaway plans to take advantage of the sales tax holiday. Layaway sales of eligible products qualify for the exemption if :
- the final payment on a layaway order is made and the merchandise is given to the customer during the exemption period, or
- the order is accepted into layaway by the retailer during the exemption period for immediate delivery upon full payment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period.
Even delivery, shipping, handling or transportation charges connected to the sale of a qualifying item purchased tax free during the sales tax holiday qualifies for the exemption. So you can save all the way around during this Memorial Day weekend.
Posted in Efficiency, Energy | Tagged Energy Efficiency, public citizen texas, Texas |
I’ve told my parents and now I’m telling you. ¡Si se compran una lavadora o un aire condicionado marcado Energy Star este weekend, no tienen que pagar sales taxes! If you buy an Energy Star appliance this Memorial Day weekend you won’t have to pay a sales tax! Representative Veronica Gonzalez announced the third annual Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday and encouraged Texans to lower their utility bills and conserve energy with more energy efficient appliances. Gonzalez went on to say:
Many of use see our utility bills go up during the hot summer months…energy efficient appliances are better for our environment and our wallets, and even small changes like switching to fluorescent light bulbs can make a difference. I encourage Texans to take advantage of this weekend.
If there’s no room for a brand spanking new energy efficient appliance in your budget here are some tips on how to prep your home for the coming summer heat as presented by Ed Begley Jr.
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=497852292298798919#]
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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 Consumers, Efficiency, Energy | Tagged Ed Begley Jr, Energy Efficiency, Energy Star, Representative Veronica Gonzalez, rio grande valley, sales tax, south texas chisme, Texas |
Cap Metro’s hearing at the Sunset Advisory Commission on Tuesday wasn’t the public flogging many might have expected, given the mass transit authority’s myriad problems over the past several years. It came as a shock to no one as Sunset staff delivered testimony that centered on the financial crisis the transit authority faces. Several commissioners, however, none of whom represent Austin, were surprisingly engaged and cognizant of recent reforms at Cap Metro and gave them credit for their responsiveness to the Sunset Commission’s Staff Report which recommended several changes ranging from financial management to labor contracts to rail safety.
For those who have not followed the story from the beginning (include me in that), Cap Metro’s Sunset review began with the passage last session of Sen. Kirk Watson’s (D-Austin) SB 2015. The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin). In addition to calling for the review “as if the authority were scheduled to be abolished”, it changed the structure of the Cap Metro board and called for another review in 2016. Continue Reading »
Posted in Consumers, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, Renewables, Transportation | Tagged Austinites for Action, Cap Metro, Coalition for Sustainable Transportation, Dennis Bonnen, eddie rodriguez, Jim Skaggs, John Whitmire, kirk watson, light rail, mass transit, mike martinez, Pedernales, SB 2015, StarTran, sunset commission, Texas |
The other shoe has finally dropped.
Back in September 2009, we let you know how the EPA had issued rulings that condemned TCEQ’s air quality permitting practices. And today, the EPA stopped asking nicely and took some action.
From the Houston Chronicle:
Objecting to how Texas regulates air pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it is taking over the issuance of an operating permit for a Corpus Christi refinery and could step in at some 39 other major facilities across the state.
“I think the writing will be on the wall — unless we start seeing better permits that address our objections, we are very likely to begin federalizing others,” EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz said in a telephone interview. “The state is not following federal Clean Air Act requirements.”
At issue here is the process TCEQ uses to permit new industries that contribute to air pollution. Specifically, these are called “flex permits” and have been roundly criticized by environmentalists and others for being insufficient in protecting human health and safety from dirty air. During the Bush Administration, the EPA turned a blind eye to these practices, but now are finally giving TCEQ and flex permitting the scrutiny they deserve.
Of interest here is the Sunset Review process that TCEQ will undergo this year and next, giving the Legislature the opportunity to reform the state agency. With EPA showing they are not going to allow the loopholes that flex permitting creates, it is time for TCEQ and lawmakers alike to sunset these specific practices and go about permitting new facilities based on things like… oh, the Clean Air Act. Because if TCEQ won’t, it certainly looks like EPA will.
Now if only EPA will ask TCEQ to regulate or at least measure emissions of greenhouse gases like the Texas legislature asked TCEQ to do and which they have promised to do in the past?
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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 Toxics | Tagged clean air act, Dr. Al Armendariz, EPA, flex permits, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission |
May 26, 2010 by Citizen Carol
Take a look at this op-ed submitted by Public Citizen, EDF, and Sierra Club as commented upon by Burnt Orange Report
File under “hugely important issue to everyday Texans that most of us know nothing about.” Three prominent pro-citizen activists have been working hard to draw attention to a proposed rule change by the Supreme Court of Texas that would actually increase the ability of anti-consumer special interest groups to influence legislation and regulation here in Texas. SCOTX has proposed allowing lobbyists and special-interest groups to meet privately with state agencies before companies file applications for permits. In other words, Big Money will be able to enter through the back door and make sure they get their approval before the public even knows what’s going on.
This comes at a time when lax regulation and enforcement have led to an unprecedented oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, when TCEQ has all-but-refused to follow EPA standards, and when state environmental agencies are refusing court orders to provide lawmakers with documents about the very back-door deals the SCOTX is trying to make fair game.
To read more, click here.
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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 Rule, TCEQ, Texas, texas supreme court |
May 24, 2010 by Citizen Carol
A Deal is Struck to Add $9 Billion in Risky Nuclear Loan Guarantees for Failing South Texas Nuclear Project.
In a deal between the Obama administration and House of Representatives leadership, struck last week behind closed doors, taxpayers would be on the hook for lending $9 billion to build two new nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project site in Bay City, Texas.
It is highly inappropriate for the Obama administration to stuff subsidies for nuclear power into an emergency war appropriations bill and lawmakers should strip this nuclear utility pork out of the war funding bill. Subsidizing new reactors that will take a decade or more to build cannot be considered an emergency and it is a stretch of the imagination to see how exactly it is related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Public Citizen and the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition are challenging the South Texas nuclear reactors’ license before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, and Karen Hadden of the SEED Coalition said, “It is clear that the only emergency here is the fact that the South Texas plant doesn’t have sufficient investors to make this a viable project.” 
After the estimated cost of the project more than tripled in three years to a whopping $18.2 billion, the city of San Antonio wisely pulled out of 85 percent of its investment. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has since offered a measly 10 percent investment. NRG, the primary stakeholder in the Texas project, has been financially shaky in recent years and filed for bankruptcy in 2003, making it incomprehensible how the U.S. government can justify backing this lemon of a project with $9 billion of taxpayer money. Continue Reading »
Posted in Energy, Nuclear | Tagged Nuclear, Texas |
One point we often forget when debating climate change strategies is the major economic case for changing our economy to new, clean technology. A new study has been released on the impacts of the Kerry-Lieberman bill, which we’ve never been so hot on, but it shows that despite what the chicken littles at the Chamber of Commerce might spew about how a carbon cap is a jobs killer, it’s anything but. From the NY Times articles on this story:
The Peterson Institute for International Economics said in its 18-page report that the bill from Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) creates the new jobs between 2011 and 2020 because of its mandatory limits on greenhouse gases, which will prompt $41.1 billion in investments per year as the nation shifts away from traditional fossil fuels like coal and oil and toward new nuclear power and renewables.
So, good news, right? 
Looking closer at the study itself, we see something very interesting. Michael Levi of the CFR points out that it looks more like this is a nuclear jobs bill than a climate bill, echoing what Public Citizen’s Tyson Slocum has said repeatedly about this bill.
And indeed, here is average ANNUAL net job creation by industry from 2011-2020 according to page 12 the analysis:
- Nuclear: 165,000
- CCS: 96,000
- Renewables: 19,000
Yikes. Overall, this is a bad deal. And, this assumes that carbon sequestration is economical, safe, and practical. But more on that later.
The sad thing is, we know what we need to do to create more jobs in renewable energy. Continue Reading »
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, Nuclear | Tagged American Power Act, carbon capture and sequestration, CCS, climate change, Global Warming, green jobs, jobs, Kerry-Lieberman, Nuclear, Texas |
Busy, busy, busy. Public Citizen staff have been making the rounds this week, traveling all over Texas in order to educate, empower, and organize citizens. From Beaumont to Dallas. From tar sands to the Public Utility Commission, we are working to protect the economic and environmental well-being of all Texans.
The Week in Review: Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Consumers, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, green jobs, Nuclear, Renewables, solar | Tagged matt johnson, mona avalos, Public Citizen, ryan rittenhouse, Texas, texas vox, week in review |
May 19, 2010 by Citizen Carol
In 1977, the Texas Legislature created the Sunset Advisory Commission to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. The 12-member Commission is a legislative body that reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 government agencies every 12 years. The Commission questions the need for each agency, looks for potential duplication of other public services or programs, and considers new and innovative changes to improve each agency’s operations and activities. The Commission seeks public input through hearings on every agency under Sunset review and recommends actions on each agency to the full Legislature. In most cases, agencies under Sunset review are automatically abolished unless legislation is enacted to continue them.
The Commission holds public hearings on each agency under review. These hearings offer the public an opportunity to testify about an agency and comment on the Sunset staff’s recommendations. Witness affirmation forms are available at the meeting if you would like to testify before the Commission Public hearings are webcast and archives are available. Continue Reading »
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Renewables, solar | Tagged Energy Efficiency, net metering, PUC, renewable energy, Sunset, Texas, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission |
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