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Posts Tagged ‘Texas’

Thousands rally to protest global warming

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , on February 5, 2011 |

Thousands rally to protest global warming

Photo by Greg Vaugh of Kansas

Heard from a friend yesterday, he’s originally from Connecticut, so unlike us south Texans, thinks one should drive around as long as you can see more than just the outline of a car covered in snow.  He ventured out at noon to get coffee and groceries at the Whole Foods in downtown Austin, but the roads were still frozen in the shadows and almost everything was closed down, so he turned around and headed home.
Family in Corpus Christi, TX emailed and said that the sleet came in fast yesterday and  they had over 100 accidents after it started.   Cars were stranded, then abandoned on some of the overpasses.  All the highway causeways (bridge crossings over the bays) and major bridges were closed by 7pm Thursday night and were not expected to reopen until noon on Saturday.   It got above freezing by noon on Friday, but temperatures dipped below freezing again by sundown.
Let us know what things were like in your community during the past few days.

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An unusual day in Austin, TX

Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on February 4, 2011 |

Here is a photo of Austin, Texas as a winter wonderland –  shared by a friend on facebook who lives in Arkansas.  If you are interested some other amazing photographs of Austin in snow by this photographer, you can go to Stanford Moore’s website by clicking here.

Austin in winter

A stunning photo by Stanford Moore

If you didn’t catch it last week, check out MSNBC’s Today Show host Matt Lauer interview with CUNY physics professor, Michio Kaku, about possible causes of these wild winter storms.  Click here to watch the segment.

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Rolling blackouts – who profits?

Posted in Energy, tagged , , , , on February 4, 2011 |

Wednesday, State Rep. Lon Burnam and his staff got little in the way of a satisfactory answer from ERCOT as to why as many as 50 power plants were off line, and predicted that the issue will remain a hot topic especially in light of the fact that ERCOT is up for a sunset review this session.  He also raised the question about who stands to benefit from this event and he is not the only one.

Public Citizen and Sierra Club called on Governor Perry and the Commissioners at the Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, (ERCOT) to investigate the cause of the outages and the response by the state’s regulated and unregulated electrical utilities and who profited.

In the early hours on Wednesday, prices on the wholesale electricity market shot up 66 times from 3:00 AM through 11:00 AM and the electricity companies made millions overnight as electricity prices rose to the cap of $3,000.

John Fainter, who heads the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, told the Texas Energy Report that such price spikes cannot be immediately passed on to ordinary customers in the competitive market who have fixed-rate contracts, but you can bet that eventually ratepayers will pick up that cost and some generators will rake in a windfall.

Fainter also said that allegations that some suppliers might have engaged in market manipulation to drive up the price is extremely hard to prove because you have to show that power that was otherwise available was deliberately withheld until it got to a certain price.  (watch the documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room to see how this works.)

We don’t disagree with Fainter’s assessment, but still believe that the wide price spike should be investigated.

Thursday, the need for continuing the series of rolling blackouts was lifted by ERCOT mid-morning. But the state’s generating capacity was still down by some 3,000 megawatts that afternoon. ERCOT said that voluntary efforts on the part of Texas residential and commercial users to curb consumption helped alleviate the crisis while insisting the state’s electric grid was never in danger of suffering a crippling catastrophic failure.

So kudos to all you Texas consumers who suffered in the cold and dark during the blackouts and then, girded by soup, hot drinks and blankets, continued to help out the utilities and the regulators by turning down your thermostats, turning off your TVs and computers, and paying your electric bills.  Must stop writing now, since in doing my part,  my thermostat is set to 58 degrees and my fingers are numb.

Click here to read an article by Forrest Wilder for the Texas Observer on utility profiteering during the rolling blackouts.

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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

Real Time Spot Pricing Report

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Who didn’t contribute to yesterday’s rolling blackouts?

Posted in Renewables, tagged , , , , , , on February 3, 2011 |

Yesterday, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said cold weather had knocked out about 50 of the 550 power plants in Texas, totaling 8,000 megawatts.  We can’t tell you which plants were down because that information is considered “confidential under market rules.”  According to ERCOT’s website, its market rules “are developed by participants from all aspects of the electricity industry” and reviewed by the Public Utility Commission. This coupled with an increase in demand caused the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to launch the longest period of planned outages in state history, affecting 1.4 million consumers before being halted mid-afternoon.

What we do know is wind energy played a major role in keeping the blackouts from becoming more severe. Between 5 and 7 am yesterday morning (the peak of the electricity shortage) wind was providing between 3,500 and 4,000 MW, roughly the amount it had been forecast and scheduled to provide. That is about 7% of the state’s total electricity demand at that time, or enough for about 3 million average homes. (more…)

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Rolling Blackouts, who’s to blame?

Posted in Coal, Global Warming, tagged , , , , on February 2, 2011 |

A massive winter storm rolled through Texas last night causing 7,000 megawatts worth of power plants to shut down and in the wee hours of the morning, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid operator, declared an energy emergency.

ERCOT called on state energy suppliers to cut about 4,000 megawatts worth of power demand equal to about 2.9 million homes, leaving homes dark and without heat for up to an hour (some folks for even longer), causing some schools and businesses to shut and creating traffic snarls as traffic lights stopped working during rush hour. (more…)

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Sunset chairman supporting Railroad Commission overhaul

Posted in Air Quality, Campaign Finance, Good Government, Sunset, tagged , , on February 2, 2011 |

The Sunset Advisory Commission is putting the wheels in motion to overhaul the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC).  And, the chairman of the Sunset Commission is telling two of RRC commissioners that their agency “badly broken.” 

Commissioner Michael Williams, the longest-serving member of the trio, has endorsed the overhaul.

The Sunset Commission has recommended the Railroad Commission be renamed the Texas Oil and Gas Commission and that the three-commissioner structure be replaced with a single commissioner who would be elected to a four-year term that would coincide with the terms of most other statewide elected officials.

Late last year, during the public hearing, several Sunset members expressed concern that railroad commissioners are too chummy with the industry they regulate and that the three-commissioner make-up means that at least one commissioner is campaigning while making decisions affecting the industry that constitutes their largest campaign contribution pool.

Two of the three sitting Texas Railroad commissioners have appealed to the legislative leadership not to push through a restructuring that would likely eliminate both of their jobs.  But Senator Glenn Hegar, chairman, and State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, vice chairman of Sunset, pushed back, telling the Railroad Commissioners that “maintaining the status quo” was never considered by Sunset.

The Sunset recommendations for the state agencies that were up for review during the interim must be incorporated into legislation and taken up this session for the agencies to continue their existence.  The Legislature has the opportunity to make meaningful reforms to the Railroad Commission, however members from either house can modify the recommendations, meaning that the proposed overhaul is not a done deal.  

So if you want to see reforms to the Railroad Commission this session, make a call.  Don’t know who represents you at the Texas legislature, 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.

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Texas leads in use of diesel as fracking fluid

Posted in natural gas, tagged , , , , , on February 2, 2011 |

Drilling companies injected more than 32 million gallons of fluids containing diesel into the ground during hydraulic fracturing operations from 2005 to 2009, according to federal lawmakers.  About a third of the 32 million gallons was straight diesel fuel, with 49.8% of the 32.2 million gallons of fluid containing diesel injected into Texas wells.  Texas lead the 19 states using diesel as a fracking fluid, followed by Oklahoma at 10% of the 32.2 million gallons.

Hydraulic fracturing is a drilling technique that involves pumping millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals into underground formations to release greater quantities of gas and oil. The technique dates back several decades, but it has drawn new scrutiny from the public and regulators as its use has grown in recent years.

Concerns include the potential for the chemicals to get into drinking water or for natural gas to migrate into water wells.  While the industry says that such an incident rarely happens and can easily be avoided, some homeowners near Fort Worth would probably wouldn’t buy that claim.

Most hydraulic fracturing fluid uses water as its primary component, but in formations where water is absorbed too easily – such as in certain kinds of clay – diesel is used as an additive.

The EPA and industry agreed in 2003 that diesel wouldn’t be used in hydraulic fracturing jobs in coal bed methane formations, because drilling in those formations tends to be closer to drinking water sources.  At this time, none of the companies that used diesel as a fracking fluid could provide data on whether they performed hydraulic fracturing in or near underground sources of drinking water.

Lawmakers are asking the EPA to look at diesel use in its study into the safety of hydraulic fracturing.

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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.

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Vermont Governor appoints two new commissioners to the radioactive waste compact commission

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , on February 1, 2011 |

Governor Peter Shumlin, the newly sworn in Governor of Vermont, has appointed Montpelier attorney Richard Saudek and Vermont Law School professor Peter Bradford to the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission (TLLRWCC).   The TLLRWCC is an 8 member legal entity, separate and distinct from the party states, whose commissioners are appointed by the Governors of Texas and Vermont. The Commission consists of six Texas and two Vermont appointees.

The commission are responsible for administering the provisions of the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact. The States of Vermont and Texas are the party states. Texas is the host state for a low level radioactive waste disposal facility.

Saudek, who is a partner in the law firm of Cheney, Brock & Saudek, P.C., has advised legislative committees on issues involving Vermont Yankee and its owner, Entergy Corp. Saudek has also served as Chair of the Vermont Department of Public Service, and as Vermont’s first Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service.

Bradford is an adjunct professor at Vermont Law School, where he teaches ‘Nuclear Power and Public Policy.’ He also teaches utility regulation, restructuring, nuclear power and energy policy. Bradford served on the Public Oversight Panel for the Comprehensive Vertical Assessment of Vermont Yankee, and has served as an expert witness on investment in new nuclear power.

Public Citizen is very pleased with Mr. Bradford’s appointment and believes Mr. Saudek will also make a good addition to this industry skewed commission.

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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.

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Even in Texas it’s a brave new world for the energy industry

Posted in Energy, tagged , , , on February 1, 2011 |

Energy interests of all sizes are poised to defend their share of tax breaks, loan guarantees and other financial incentives amid calls to slash spending both at the state and the federal level.

Concerned that debt-obsession at the federal and state will translate into real cuts, industry groups and their lobbyists are preparing for what amounts to an all-out war, pitting energy resource against energy resource. Their battles should prove to be daunting given that there will probably be no sacred cows when it comes to cutting the billions of dollars in assistance that the government hands out every year.

In his State of the Union speech last Tuesday, Obama cracked a smile as he said, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own,” repeating the call he’s made the past two years for the elimination of billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies.

While that alone would not be enough to cause the industry to break their stride, rumblings from house Republicans lining up their own targets, are probably giving the industry pause. The conservative Republican Study Committee recently outlined $2.5 trillion in spending, tax breaks and subsidies it wants to see cut over the next decade, including billions of dollars in Energy Department research, vehicle, fuels, weatherization and energy efficiency programs.

With so many battlefronts ahead, energy businesses trying to map out investments are probably sweating bullets trying to figure out how to make the case for pending large capital outlays (say for instance – the billions of dollars needed to build a new nuclear power plant which won’t see a return on investment for a decade).

Hoping they will be spared, we can expect energy lobbyists to push back with warnings that messing with the status quo will force lay offs and halt projects that are helping get the economy back on its feet.  

Still, even in a state with as intimate a relationship with the energy industry as Texas, you can’t get blood from a stone.  In the face of a massive budget deficit this legislative session and a constitutionally required balanced budget, you can bet Texas will be looking hard at every dollar it spends and every dollar of revenue it gives up.

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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.

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EPA listening to stakeholders about their proposed rules on greenhouse gas standards

Posted in Air Quality, Global Warming, tagged , , , on January 31, 2011 |

The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a series of “listening sessions” in the coming months in order to get input from stakeholders on the agency’s plans to implement new greenhouse gas standards on power plants and refineries.

If  you cannot make it to the sessions, each session will be webcast and recorded for later viewing at http://www.epa.gov/live and written comments on these planned rulemakings may also be submitted. The agency requests that written comments be submitted by March 18, 2011. For information and instructions on submitting written comments, go to http://www.epa.gov/airquality/listen.html.    

Below is a list of the “listening” sessions and their locations

Session 1: Electric Power Industry Representatives
Feb. 4, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (ET)
EPA Ariel Rios East Building
1301 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 1153
Washington, D.C.

Session 2: Environmental and Environmental Justice Organization Representatives
Feb. 15, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (ET)
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, S.W., Atlanta/Augusta Room
Atlanta, Ga.

Session 3: State and Tribal Representatives
Feb. 17, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Ralph Metcalfe Federal Building
77 West Jackson Blvd., Lake Michigan Room
Chicago, Ill.

Session 4: Coalition Group Representatives
Feb. 23, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (ET)
EPA Ariel Rios East Building
1301 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 1153
Washington, D.C.

Session 5: Petroleum Refinery Industry Representatives
March 4,  10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and public comments 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (ET)
EPA Ariel Rios East Building
1301 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 1153
Washington, D.C.

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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.

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Texas News Roundup Jan 31, 2011

Posted in News Roundup, tagged , , , , on January 31, 2011 |

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready to retire the phrase “blue norther” for another year as it brings you this week’s blog roundup.

Off the Kuff took an early look at fundraising for 2011 city of Houston elections.

The Big Gas Mafia says it’s impossible but hydraulic fracturing causes gas to migrate threatening life…AGAIN. TXsharon puts 2 and 2 together at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Bay Area Houston has a press release from Rick Perry titled Rick Perry Asks Republican Voters to Quit Their State Jobs. (more…)

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State of the Union (LOL)

Posted in Good Government, tagged , , on January 30, 2011 |

State of the Union CartoonCheck out the State of the Union address as seen through the eyes of editorial cartoonists.  Click here to get to MSNBC’s slideshow.

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What is causing all this wicked weather?

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , on January 29, 2011 |

What is causing this wicked weather?MSNBC’s Today Show host Matt Lauer interviews CUNY physics professor, Michio Kaku, about possible causes of these wild winter storms.  Click here to watch this segment.

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Representative Lon Burnam (D-Ft Worth) taking on climate change

Posted in Global Warming, Texas Legislature, tagged , , , , , , , on January 28, 2011 |

State Rep. Lon Burnam filed legislation (House Bill 977) that would have state agencies develop plans to address the implications their policies might have on climate change.

Burnam’s bill is similar to a measure he offered last session. The bill would have 12 entities in the state each publish a plan assessing that entity’s role with respect to climate change.  For example, the Department of Agriculture would “conduct a vulnerability assessment” of the state’s farmland and the Water Development Board would “devise a plan outlining its role in managing the changing water resources.”

All good ideas, we’ll see how far this makes it in this political climate.

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Legislation filed in response to fight between city of Byran and its electric company could end city-owned utilities open records exemption

Posted in Good Government, tagged , , , , , on January 28, 2011 |

Municipally owned utility companies could lose their exemption to parts of the Texas Open Meetings Act under a bill filed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden.  The bill was filed in response to a dispute between the City of Bryan and its publicly operated electric company.

Last year City of Byran officials asked Bryan Texas Utilities to provide them with the compensation packages for 13 top executives as part of their budget preparations. The utility refused, citing a provision in the 1999 electric market restructuring law that allows them to withhold some information if it would put publicly owned companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Senate Bill 366 would strip that exemption from the government code.  Ogden filed the bill  just days after the utility relented and agreed to release part of the information that city officials were requesting. The Bryan-College Station Eagle also filed numerous open records requests for the information.

We’ll be watching this bill with some interest.

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