Sixty seconds doesn’t seem like a lot of time; however, there are lots of things that can be done in sixty seconds or less. For instance, an average adult can type 38 to 40 words and blink between ten and 30 times every sixty seconds (sometimes simultaneously). Furthermore, an elite distance runner can run about 180 steps every sixty seconds and the world’s fastest rappers can recite over 723 syllables in even less time.
There are a lot of things an average person can do in sixty seconds or less in their everyday life that will, more or less, benefit the earth. So here it goes…
- Switch out your light bulbs to ones that are more energy efficient.
Remember that every time you turn on a light in your home or office you send a message to the power grid, demanding more energy. In America, 301 million people share the same power grid. That’s five percent of the world’s population, inevitably sucking up a quarter of the earth’s energy. Over half of the grid is powered by coal plants alone, which are the nation’s number one culprit for greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that, for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated by a coal-fired plant, 1.43 lbs of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. In Texas, 144 lung cancer deaths and 1,791 heart attacks a year are attributed to pollution from power plants. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs and cut the amount of energy you use by two-thirds.
- Conserve water by turning off your faucet when brushing your teeth or taking less time in the shower.
The average American family consumes around 300 gallons of water everyday. This works out to be 495,000 gallons per person every year. What boggles my mind is the fact that there are about 1.2 billion people in the world who don’t have access to clean, portable water and here we are overestimating the frugality of our supply. We have to realize that water is fast becoming the world’s ultimate commodity, and water conservation is the most cost-effective way to reduce our demand for it.
There are several quick and easy things you can do in your home or change in your daily routine to conserve water. First, you can simply cut your shower time by 60 seconds or more. If every member in your family does the same, you can end up saving 200 to 300 gallons a month. Also, if you are a fan of hot showers and hate the first 60 seconds or so of cold water that first escapes the showerhead, you can use a container to catch the cold water and save it for when you want to water plants or rinse your vegetables. Second, turn off your faucet when you are brushing your teeth or shaving, and don’t leave the water running when you’re washing dishes—fill one of your sinks for rinse water instead. These simple acts can save three gallons of water in one day alone.
- Read your product labels.
The production and distribution of all kinds of clothing have a tremendous impact on the environment. Wool comes courtesy of sheep, whose herds are known to burp and err… otherwise emit methane—a greenhouse gas that is almost 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. In countries like New Zealand, methane is fast becoming the most potent greenhouse gas. Researchers for the United Nations now believe that livestock industries are a major contributor to climate change—being responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than cars are. Furthermore, the method of growing cotton is extremely petrochemical-intensive. About ten percent of all agricultural chemicals in the United States are used to produce cotton, which is grown on just one percent of all major agricultural land. The process of growing cotton requires 110 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per acre. At the end of the day, the use of these synthetic fertilizers and soil additives can wreak havoc on our soil, water, and air supply–leading to oxygen-less deadzones or even acid rain. Some popular fashion outlets like H&M are now carrying lines of eco-friendly garments, including those made from organic cotton. Green is the new black; be aware of where your clothes come from and how they are made.
As for the ever popular subject of organic food…
One may enjoy biting into the more conventional, juicy fuji apple—truly nature’s candy, and some say the sweetest apple in town; however, the organic gala apple is just as good as the former, but better for you and for the environment. It’s true that organic food products are almost always more expensive than the more conventional fruits and vegetables; although, it would only be fair to point out that organic farming is a major player in the effort to combat global warming. Birthed during the organic movement of the 1930s and 1940s, today organic farms cover a mere 0.8% of the total farming area in the world. Many people don’t realize the great benefits organic farming offers to our land, lives, and livelihood. Aside from its major contribution of reducing carbon dioxide emissions (done by sequestering carbon in the soil), organic farming also (1) cuts production cost by 25% to 30% for farmers, (2) reduces soil erosion by up to 50%, (3) has a positive effect on the ecosystem and groundwater supplies, and (4) preserves the original nutritional content of food, giving consumers a healthier and fresher substitute.
- Reuse and Recycle: refill your water bottles and separate your trash.
Ever buy a bottle of water before working out at the gym, or have a bottle of water with your lunch? Have you ever contemplated the existence of that bottle of water and how it can affect the environment, even after you have used it?
The United States is the largest consumer of bottled water in the world, with Americans chugging a little less than seven billion gallons in 2004 alone. It takes one and a half million barrels of oil a year to produce the part polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles made in the U.S. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars commuting into downtown Austin daily (this is also another issue that needs to be tackled). Globally, it takes more than two and a half million tons of plastic per year to make water bottles. This is a process that requires a whole lot of energy and, in the end, leaves us with heaps of unwanted plastic waste worldwide. Now, I’m not saying to boycott bottled water. I am just saying that if you do purchase bottled water—and do so frequently, don’t throw the bottle out right away. You can reuse the bottle—refilling it with water from the tap or water fountains.
Furthermore, by taking 60 seconds to put your newspaper, tuna can, or salsa jar into a separate recycling bin you can ultimately save humanity years in environmental damage. About 60% of the household trash thrown away everyday can potentially be recycled.
Probably one of the simplest things an individual can do to bring awareness to green issues and hopefully effect change is to speak up and say something. You can talk to the manager of your local supermarket and ask that they carry more organic products. You could call or email your local representative to speak about environmental issues that affect your family, neighborhood, city, or state.
Why not take 60 seconds out of your day to save the earth?
Yours truly,
Ashlie Lynn Chandler
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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 Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming | Tagged acid rain, Bottled Water, carbon dioxide emissions, Citizen :60, Coal Plants, cotton, dallas, deadzones, energy efficient light bulbs, environment, EPA, Global Warming, greenhouse gas, light, methane, organic clothing, organic food, Power, public citizen texas, recycle, renewable energy, reuse, synthetic fertilizers, Texas, water conservation |
The Texas Progressive Alliance brings you the highlights from the blogs.
As the deadline to file for a place on the 2010 March primary ballot drew near, there was lots of activity on the Democratic side: Kinky Friedman followed Hank Gilbert over to the race for agriculture commissioner, Linda Chavez-Thompson was rumored to be running for lt. governor, and, late on Friday, Ronnie Earle dropped his name in the hat for that same post. There’s more on all this news from PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.
BARNETT SHALE GAS THREATENS HUMAN HEALTH !!! TXsharon posted the Final Results of the DISH TX health survey at Bluedaze.
WhosPlayin broke the story about a former Republican County Commissioner who got arrested this week for shoplifting a vacuum cleaner.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why some men in power (here, here, here, here and here) think that abusing women and children is their right? Why does Senator Cornyn choose to enable rapists?
Over at Bay Area Houston, John Coby is bored and thinks Kay Bailey Hutchison’s commercial sounds like a Whataburger commercial.
Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about the fifth anniversary of the terrible Indian Ocean tunami. Five Years Since Terrible Indian Ocean Tsunami—People Are Recovering While many are still suffering from the impact of this killer wave, there are also many who are recovering and getting back their lives.
The folks over at McBlogger are desperate for your help! Find out how you can do them a solid when you help get a planet named for the blog!
Xanthippas at Three Wise Men covers the utter failure of tort “reform” in Texas (with a h/t to John Coby.)
The Texas Cloverleaf highlights the charge against the Denton County District Attorney’s office of racial discrimination and harassment in the workplace
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the fact that elected Texas Republicans still have no sensible ideas about how to pay for roads, Dewhurst and transportation funding.
Off the Kuff took a look at precinct data in the Houston Mayor’s runoff.
lightseeker has a question for you over at TexasKaos, Is Arnold’s California a foretaste of our nations’ future? Check out his analysis in Deadlock, facts ,Partisans -Is California a Fore taste of Our Collective Future?.
XicanoPwr reports that anti-immigration grinches are wanting to replace dreams of success with a lumps of coal by filing a lawsuit challenging Texas’ DREAM Act, the statute that allows undocumented students to pay in-state rates, provided, they meet certain criteria. Their grinch-like behavior would rather punish these extremely vulnerable students for the sins of their undocumented parents, instead of rewarding them for wanting to contribute to our society by making college tuition a bit more affordable, since they already are ineligible for financial aid.
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog is excited that Houston has one of the first hospital Asian care units in the nation
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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 Uncategorized | Tagged asian american action fund, Barnett shale, bay area houston, bluedaze, brains and eggs, California, couldbetrue, county commissioner, denton county, dewhurst, Dish, dream act, hank gilbert, indian ocean, john coby, kay bailey hutchison, kinky friedman, lightseeker, linda chavez-thompson, march, mcblogger, off the kuff, pdiddie, republican, ronnie earle, Senator Cornyn, south texas chisme, Texas, texas liberal, texas progressive alliance, Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round, texaskaos, three wise men, tort reform, txsharon, whataburger, whosplayin, xanthippas, xicanopwr |
December 17, 2009 by Public Citizen Texas
By Kirsten Bokenkamp
Happy Holidays! Just saying those words is enough to evoke joyful images of
families gathered in the kitchen preparing a succulent holiday meal to be enjoyed together, or excited and wide-eyed children opening gifts next to a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. When I close my eyes, I can almost taste the cinnamon-spiced hot apple cider. Yum. Unfortunately, for some of us, the holiday season also means traveling long distances to be with our loved ones; fighting the crowds at busy stores as we endlessly try to find the perfect gifts; and paying higher energy bills resulting from our holiday lights and all of our cooking.
Amidst all the holiday cheer, sometimes it is inconvenient to think about how our activities might contribute to climate change. The purpose of the Holiday Edition of Green-up Your Life! is to give easy ideas about how to have the lowest impact on the earth while still enjoying the holiday season.
Time to Travel
With all the crowds and delays, flying during the holiday season can be really frustrating. And what about those 4 to 8 hour drives? Unfortunately for many of us, flying or driving are often the only options – for now. The future, however, looks bright. President Obama is already in support of investing in the high-speed national rail service, as it would reduce traffic congestion, cut dependence on foreign oil and improve the environment. It would also create many new green-jobs, something that we desperately need to jump-start the economy. What can you do? Click here to tell your Representatives in Congress that you are in favor of appropriating government funds towards the creation of a national high-speed passenger rail system. I have to admit, there is something romantic about taking the train home for the holidays.
The Gift of Giving
Giving gifts makes us feel good; it is a way to let our loved ones know we are thinking about them; and it is a token of appreciation of being part of another person’s life. Too often, though, we get caught up in the act of giving a gift, without thinking about the repercussions. By following some simple guidelines, you can keep your gifts environmentally friendly, and socially responsible.
- Skip anything that you plug in, or that requires batteries.
- Buy from local vendors when you can. I can think of many gift ideas, from hats and scarves, to food, to jewelry, to artwork, that you can buy from an artisan in your own community.
- Think outside the box: Give a gym membership, a haircut, a massage, or tickets to a game or a concert.
- Combine errands, or better yet, leave the car in a parking spot and walk from store to store.
- Skip the wrapping paper: Use an old newspaper or a paper bag instead. Same goes for a card: Unless it is a private message, write something right on what ever material you wrap the present in.
Do you need a gift for people who already have everything they could ever want? Buy them something from Oxfam. A gift such as soap, purified water, manure, seeds for a garden, a cooking stove, a bicycle, or a dozen chicks will be delivered to somebody in the world who needs it, and your friend will get a card thanking them for their contribution. This kind of gift can be more thoughtful than yet another sweater, and it is a nice way to to contribute to those in need during the holiday season.
In the kitchen and around the house
One of the best things you can do, even though it defies tradition, is to skip the meat (or at least, if possible, buy it from a local organic rancher). Why is this important? Refer back to earlier blogs in this series – Eat Less Meat, and Go Organic. While I wish more people would do this, I do recognize that not everybody will. So, thankfully there are also other, less drastic, measures we can take in the kitchen. For instance, if you are slow roasting something, there is no need to preheat the oven. Also, each time you open the oven door, the oven temperature decreases by about 25 degrees. If you have an oven light, use that instead. When your oven is on, try to fill it up by baking multiple things at once. As long as there is still room for air to circulate, your food will be just as delicious. A helpful hint for stovetop cooking is to match the size of the pan to the size of the burner. According to California’s Consumer Energy Center, using a smaller pan on a larger burner wastes 40% of the energy!
Other hints around the kitchen include only running your dishwasher when it is completely full, and if it has an energy saver mode – use it! Try to limit the amount of times you open and close the refrigerator. Each time that door opens, the fridge needs to work overtime to keep the temperature at its setting.
Do your wallet & the earth a favor...no need to go overboard!
Holiday lights outlining the frames of homes and around the tree are beautiful, and are such a classic mark of the season. They also raise energy bills and are not all that good for the environment. One thing you can do is replace old lights with LED (light emitting diode) bulbs. They are more expensive, but because they are 90% more efficient than your average light bulb, they can start saving you money within the first year of purchase, quickly making up for the upfront costs. Another thing to do is turn off the lights in the day time when it is hard to see them anyway, and put them on a timer at night, so they automatically turn off once everybody has fallen fast asleep.
Happy New Year!
With many New Year’s resolutions in the air, it is a great time to make a commitment to living a greener life. When you think about it, actions that we take during the holiday season can be taken throughout the year. We have so many things to be thankful for, not least for the earth that sustains us. With that gift, comes the responsibility of doing our part to ensure that our families can celebrate for generations to come.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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, Global Warming | Tagged Christmas, eat less meat, Energy Efficiency, environment, food, gift, green, holiday lights, holiday meal, holiday season, holiday travel, holidays, new year's resolution, organic, oxfam, presents, Texas |
Congratulations to San Angelo, Texas, where a new 150 MW wind farm is up, spinning, and on with commercial operations. According to North American Wind Power,
The project’s 100 General Electric 1.5 MW turbine generators are expected to generate more than 525,000 MWh of wind energy per year, which will be sold into the ERCOT system. Approximately 200 jobs were created during the nine-month construction period and 10 full-time professionals will be employed at the now-operational facility. Padoma Wind Power, an NRG subsidiary, developed the project, which is capable of powering more than 100,000 Texas homes.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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, Renewables | Tagged Clean Energy, ercot, green jobs, north american wind power, NRG, Texas, wind power |
I’m very impressed with this op-ed from Jim Boston, which refers to the Tenaska coal plant proposed near Sweetwater, Texas. It was originally published Monday, December 13th in the Abilene Reporter News.
Why live in West Texas when it is somewhat a hostile environment? Faced with frequent droughts, sandstorms, hail, constant wind, tornadoes, rattlesnakes, scorpions, feral hogs, mesquite trees and house cat-snatching coyotes, why do our people insist on staying here? West Texas people after a while begin to resemble, in spirit perhaps, the somewhat undesirable native species. They are gnarled and bent from leaning toward the prevailing wind direction like mesquite trees, gritty (perhaps from the sandstorms), tenacious and tough, like feral hogs, and even deadly when protecting their home turf, like the rattlesnake.
Why do we live in West Texas? I guess it is because we like it. We like seeing if we can “hang in there” and survive all that Mother Nature can throw at us, and ultimately even prosper. We appreciate seeing the horizons and breathtaking sun risings and settings (you know the good Lord made a lot of country, and what he was ashamed of he put trees on). We enjoy observing the night sky with stars and constellations invisible in a lighted urban environment. Meeting our neighbors, or even local, unknown strangers, we gratefully acknowledge their presence with customary four finger salute in the windshield of our beloved pickups or SUVs, without our hand leaving the steering wheel. We shut down our towns to enjoy Friday night football, rooting for our home teams, yet exhibiting our stubborn independence with a politically incorrect prayer before game time. Traffic, or lack thereof, is another benefit we cherish, and hope it stays that way. The same feeling goes for the absence of a lot of heavy industry, usually located near urban areas. Finally, we appreciate our wide open spaces, and relative few people per square foot. We realize the people here are special, and we revere their sense of right and wrong, and generosity.
Considering all the good things we value in living in this area, why would we want to bring in something that might degrade the quality of our existence here. I’m speaking, of course, of the controversial Tenaska project. Why do we need it? Have we done enough to further the “green cause” by supporting the largest wind farm in the world to supply power to urban areas? If selling electricity to metropolitan areas is the goal, why not locate nearer to the sales point and closer to lakes that could supply the necessary water? The same goes for if the sequestering CO2 is the goal, why not locate nearer the oil patch?
Water, of course, is the big issue with Tenaska, Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal | Tagged abilene reporter news, coal plant, jim boston, roscoe, sweetwater, tenaska, Texas, west texas |
TXsharon @ Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS helps you follow the money to see why Governor Perry and others want Texans to keep breathing toxic air.
BossKitty at TruthHugger is proud to give a Hat Tip to Houston – Annise Parker inherits a City of Progress.
The Stonewall Democrats of Denton County denounce Rep. Michael Burgess for his recent actions against openly gay Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings, at the Texas Cloverleaf.
This week on Left of College Station Teddy covers the dispute in Waco between the McLennan County Republican Party and the Hispanic Republican Club of McLennan County over whether or not the Republican Party needs to reach out to minority voters. Also on Left of College Station this week, the tradition of homophobia continues at Texas A&M and the Coalition for Life invites anti-choice and anti-woman Jeb Bush to speak at their annual fundraiser. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.
While Houstonians took great pride in the election of Annise Parker as mayor, it was discouraging to see — despite his company’s multi-million dollar contracts with the city and his apparent misunderstanding of their value — that Stephen Costello was elected to city council over a good Democrat, Karen Derr.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme hopes Silvestre Reyes gets primaried for his vote against a women’s right to choose. Beto O’Rourke may be just the one to do it.
Off the Kuff gave a rundown of the Houston runoffs.
Over at BlueBloggin, guest writer Len Hart of the The Existentialist Cowboy, has been connecting some dots with the CIA Efforts to Control World Distribution of ‘Illicit’ Drugs. If the US/CIA hoped to control this lucrative trade, the Taliban had to go. I wonder how many CIA ‘black ops’ have been financed ‘off the books’ (as was Iran/Contra) with the proceeds of its various drug.
Neil at Texas Liberal does not understand why the Burger King on Houston’s Harrisburg Blvd. needs to be open on Christmas Day. Neil is certain that staff at Burger King wants to be off on Christmas and that an Xmas Whopper is a depressing thought. The picture in the post features a rare snowfall in Houston.
WhosPlayin finds that once again Lewisville ISD is trying to shut out citizen involvement. This time, they’re trying to supersede state law and charge more for public information requests.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on a discussion about where the Democrats in Texas stand heading into 2010, Pragamatic party building.
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog has a guide to the historic Houston runoffs.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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, annise parker, annisse parker, asian american action fund, beto o'rourke, bluebloggin, bluedaze, bosskitty, burger king, cia, coalition for life, college station, could be true, democratic party, denton county, drilling reform, eye on williamson, governor perry, Hispanic Republican Club of McLennan County, houston, houston runoffs, jeb bush, karen derr, kevin jennings, left of college station, len hart, lewisville isd, mclennan county, micheal burgess, off the kuff, republican party, Silvestre Reyes, snow, south texas chisme, stephen costello, stonewall democrats, Texas, texas a&m, texas cloverleaf, texas liberal, truthhugger, txsharon, Waco, wcnews, whosplaying |
Its already getting tough to keep tabs on everything happening in Copenhagen, so for now I’ll just share what I’ve been reading. Here’s today’s Copen-digest:
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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 austin to copenhagen, citizen energy, climate voice, fossil of the day awards, grist, Public Citizen, tck tck tck, Texas, tyson slocum, wonk room |
The dramatic irony of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) decision this morning to grant the NRG Limestone Coal Plant an air permit (and therefore permission to begin construction on a third smokestack) is painful. At the very moment that leaders from around the world are meeting to come to an international agreement to save the world from catastrophic global warming, at the very moment that residents of developing nations are begging for the continued existence of their land and way of life, Texas gives the green light to build another mercury-spewing, asthma-inducing, planet choking coal plant.
Not exactly what I was hoping to wake up to this morning.
This decision also comes just days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came out with its engangerment finding, which says that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases represent a significant threat to public health and welfare. Earlier this year, the EPA also ruled that TCEQ has not been adhering to the Clean Air Act in its issuance of new air permits. This is the first coal plant permit that TCEQ has issued since that warning (which TCEQ doesn’t seem to have taken to heart). AND, according to Karen Hadden, executive director of SEED Coalition,
The TCEQ is not following federal law (Maximum Achievable Control Technology or MACT) in issuing this permit and a result, mercury emissions will be higher.
So many hearts to break, so little time. But of course there’s always a silver lining. Next legislative session, the TCEQ (and a whole host of other commissions) will undergo the Sunset Review process — and as Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas Office mentions, that gives Texas a chance to reform the TCEQ permitting process:
This is just another example of why the Sunset Commission should take a good hard look at how TCEQ rubber stamps permits for coal plants in Texas.
In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for progress in Copenhagen, and stay tuned at Texas Vox for more information on how you can help fight global warming and a 2nd Texas coal rush.
Full breakdown of the good (NRG has agreed to offset 50% of their emissions, though there’s nothing in their permit to hold them to that), the bad, and the ugly after the jump:
Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged air pollution, Air Quality, army corps of engineers, Carbon Dioxide, citizen sarah, clean air act, climate change, co2, coal plant, copenhagen, denmark, environmental integrity project, eva hernandez, Global Warming, Karen Hadden, maximum achievable control technology, mercury, nox, NRG, nrg limestone, ozone, particulate matter, paul rolke, public citizen texas, robertson county our land our lives, robertson couny, ryan rittenhouse, SEED Coalition, Sierra Club, smog, soah, sox, state office of administrative hearings, sunset commission, sunset review, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Tom "Smitty" Smith |
As of today, all four of the largest greenhouse gas polluters (China, the US, the EU, and India — no, not Texas) have announced the greenhouse gas reduction goals they want to pursue at the Copenhagen climate talks (COP-15) this week in Denmark. Here’s the rundown:
- EU: 20% cut in emissions relative to 1990 levels by 2020
- USA: 17% cut below 2005 levels by 2020
- China: 40-45% relative to the size of their economy (cutting what is called “carbon intensity”–curbing growth but not cutting it)
- India: 25% cut in carbon intensity.
Well, it’s a start, but, as we’ve said previously, is simply not enough— and we’re not the only ones who think so. Some estimates, such as the Climate Interactive Scoreboard above, show that current climate pledges put us on a path to at least another 3.5 C of warming (that’s almost 8 F).
This has caused preeminent climate scientist Jim Hansen of NASA to say he hopes the negotiations at Copenhagen will fail, so that we will have to start over and write a brand new climate treaty.
I’m not one to call for failure, but I am one to call for leadership. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for deeper cuts from both Britain and the EU. Is it time for Obama to do the same? Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged 17% reduction goal, 35% reduction goal, climate change, cop15, copenhagen, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, ipcc, obama, Texas |
Join Public Citizen Texas December 15th at Barr Mansion (we just can’t get enough) for the Second Annual Austin Green Holiday Social! This event will be co-hosted by seven of Austin’s best and brightest green groups.
Join us again at the beautiful Barr Mansion, the first certified organic events facility in the nation, as we bring together seven great organizations for one great evening. We are coming together to celebrate the holidays, bring our groups closer together, network and prepare for a great and productive 2010.
Enjoy great live Latin/World Fusion music by Nelson Saga. Delicious organic foods, beer, wine and teas will be provided.
Please bring a canned food item for a needy family over the holidays. We will also have several great raffle items with all proceeds to benefit Mobile Loaves & Fishes.
Co-Hosted by:
Texas Green Network • Austin EcoNetwork • Eco Series • NetImpact • Public Citizen • Sierra Club • Design Build Live
Tuesday, December 15th 6-10pm
Barr Mansion and Artisan Ballroom
10463 Sprinkle Road
For directions and information, click HERE.
Admission: $22 in advance / $30 at door
Please REGISTER in advance here. If you plan on joining us and paying at the door, you can also rsvp at rsvp@TexasGreenNetwork.org to make sure plenty of food and beverage is on hand.
Stay with us after the jump to learn more about the event hosts! Continue Reading »
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Austin EcoNetwork, austin texas, barr mansion, christmas party, design build live, eco series, green holiday social, green party, holiday party, Join Public Citizen, mobile loaves and fishes, nelson saga, net impact, organic, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Texas, Texas Green Network |
The international climate negotiations in Copenhagen begin today, and will continue until December 18th. No time for a full reckoning now of what this means in the big picture, what’s at stake, and what to expect — but since others have done a great job already, at the moment there’s no need to. Plus, there will be plenty of time for that as the negotiations really get kicking. For now, whet your appetite on the following posts, primers, and articles: Citizen Sarah’s pick of the pre-COP15 litter.
How to Explain Copenhagen to a Comedian **or just about anyone, really
COP15: From San Anto to Copenhagen, Con Amor by Marisol Cortez, Climate Justice Organizer at the Southwest Worker’s Union
My Road to Copenhagen by Emily Grubert, energy and earth resources graduate student and Daily Texan columnist
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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 citizen sarah, climate change, climate justice, cop15, copenhagen, daily texan, Global Warming, San Antonio, southwest workers union, Texas |
Once again it’s time for the Texas Progressive Alliance to bring you the highlights from the blogs.
Xanthippas at Three Wise Men airs out some thoughts on the escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and some painful lessons learned blogging about the war in Iraq.
Bay Area Houston claims The Race for Houston Mayor is Now About Race.
Texas is the first state to conduct testing of citizens to determine if their health symptoms are caused from exposure to drilling toxins. But TXsharon is not sure this is such a great idea. Find out why on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.
BossKitty at TruthHugger sees a political disconnect between incarceration and rehabilitation within America’s “big business prison system”. Follow through and accountability are casualties of creative budgeting in the criminal justice system with furlough programs, commutations and pardons BACKLASH. Maurice Clemmons was but a single example of a mentally unstable felon. Where was his follow up? Where was his parole officer? Where was the mental health infrastructure that could have defused this violent explosion?
Neil at Texas Liberal asked who are the Democrats running for Houston municipal offices in the runoff election, and who among the Democrats is someone a liberal can support. The post also features pictures and paintings of scenes of gambling as any election is little more than a spin of the wheel.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme sees tea parties and general batsh*t craziness in Nueces County with Club for Growth guy leading the Republican Party.
Teddy at Left of College Station covers the political maneuvering in local Republican primaries, and writes about Obama’s War: Choosing Escalation and Occupation. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.
nytexan at Bluebloggin clearly states “I’m Sick of War.” As I listen to Obama’s speech to increase troops in Afghanistan, all I can think of is, the US has been in some kind of war my entire life. Just so you know, I was born between the Korean War and the Vietnam War. We are a war nation. No way to get around it.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts about a conversation over Thanksgiving weekend with two Houston Republicans, or Why Bill White can win.
This was Dickens on the Strand weekend in Galveston and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs took a break from politics and spent the weekend on the island. Here are a few photos from the festival.
Charles of Off the Kuff spent much of the week engaged in an email debate on the Texas Tribune with conservative blogger David Benzion over the merits of Bill White as Mayor of Houston and potentially Governor of Texas.
liberaltexan reports on Political Maneuvering Begins in Republican Primaries. It seems that the race for Texas State Senate District Five is gettting compicated. Check it out at TexasKaos.
The Texas Cloverleaf offered it’s prediction on whether Bill White would run for Governor. 1-0! Yes!
WhosPlayin thinks the Texas Railroad Commission is on a ‘power trip’, intervening in the placement of power lines bringing renewable energy to Texas population centers – ostensibly because the lines might cross over abandoned oil and gas wells, or land that might be used for oil and gas wells in the future. *** Citizen Sarah says, an excellent read!!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Afghanistan, bay area houston, bill white, bluebloggin, boss kitty, brains and eggs, couldbetrue, david benzion, democratic party, democrats, drilling, drilling reform, drilling toxins, eye on williamson, galveston, governor's race, houston mayor, iraq, korean war, left of college station, liberaltexan, natural gas, nueces county, nytexan, obama, off the kuff, oil and gas wells, pdiddie, politics, prison system, race, renewable energy, republican party, republicans, south texas chisme, Texas, texas cloverleaf, texas governor, texas liberal, texas progressive alliance, Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round, Texas Railroad Commission, texaskaos, three wise men, truthhugger, txsharon, vietnam war, war in Afghanistan, wcnews, weekly round up, whosplayin, xanthippas |
Join us next Thursday, December 10th to help stop Texas from becoming the nation’s radioactive waste dump!
Please Come:
Texas Compact Commission Stakeholder Meeting
Thursday, December 10th at 9am
Texas Capitol, Extension Auditorium, E1.004
You are invited to attend the press conference as well, held by the SEED Coalition, Public Citizen, and Sierra Club, on stopping Texas from becoming the nation’s radioactive waste dump, the inadequacies of the west Texas dump site and the corruption surrounding the permitting process.
Thursday, Dec. 10th at 12:30 pm – Texas Capitol, Speaker’s Committee Room, 2W.6.
* Show your presence and that the public interest matters.
* Tell the Compact Commission not to allow import of radioactive waste into Texas from the rest of the country!
All of the State TCEQ scientists who worked on the permit for the West Texas dump site, owned by Waste Control Specialists (WCS), determined the site to be inadequate because of the possible radioactive contamination of our aquifers and groundwater. Corruption and politics led to the permitting of the site anyways, ignoring the entire TCEQ technical team’s recommendation against issuing the permit. 3 TCEQ employees quit over the decision.
Now the Compact Commission is putting rules in place, to let nuclear power waste from across the country into Texas, making this site the nation’s radioactive waste dumping ground. The Texas Compact Commission, appointed by Governor Perry, and responsible for managing so-called “low-level” radioactive waste generated within its boundaries, is developing rules for importation of radioactive waste from outside the compact (TX and Vermont), AGAINST the original intent of the law, which was for only the 3 states of the compact to be able to dump there.
The Commission is taking comments from stakeholders on the development of the import rule. We want to let them know that the generators of nuclear waste and the dump company that is profiting from taking the waste are not the only stakeholders in this process. Please come help make the voices of the public, Texas taxpayers, and water drinkers heard LOUD and CLEAR.
Learn more at:
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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 andrews county, aquifers, compact commission, corruption, dumping ground, glenn shankle, good to glow, governor perry, groundwater, inadequate site, low level radioactive waste, no bonds for billionaires, Nuclear Power, Nuke Free Texas, nukes, politics, Public Citizen, rad waste, radioactive contamination, radioactive waste dump, save the ogallalaa aquifer, SEED Coalition, Sierra Club, TCEQ, Texas, texas capitol, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Compact Commission, texas compact commission stakeholder meeting, vermont, waste control specialists, WCS, west texas |
Please join the Energia Mia Coalition
including the Esperanza Center, Southwest Worker’s Union
No Nuclear! Platica Tonight
a discussion with local activists and visiting energy expert Arjun Makhijani
FRIDAY, Dec. 4th – 7pm
at the Esperanza Center (210)228-0201
922 San Pedro Ave, SA, TX 78212
Marisol Cortez
currently works as the climate justice organizer for the Southwest Workers’ Union, where she helps lead a campaign calling for greener, more just energy policy in San Antonio. Born in Corpus Christi and raised in and around San Antonio, Marisol worked with local environmental and EJ networks around the PGA issue, which inspired her to study environmental justice issues as a graduate student at UC Davis. She recently completed her Ph.D. in Cultural Studies at UC Davis, and has returned to San Antonio to hopefully put her knowledge and passion to good use!
Arjun Makhijani
President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), holds a Ph.D. in engineering (specialization: nuclear fusion) from the University of California at Berkeley. He has produced many studies and articles on nuclear fuel cycle related issues. Most recently, Dr. Makhijani has authored Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy (RDR Books and IEER Press, 2007), the first analysis of a transition to a U.S. economy based completely on renewable energy, without any use of fossil fuels or nuclear power. IEER’s website is: www.ieer.org
Genevieve Rodriguez
is a grassroots community activist and labor organizer who has been working to organize students and young people of color in San Antonio around the nuclear issue. Genevieve works on campaigns addressing multiple issues of labor, poverty, reproductive health/ health care, queer issues, public space & sexism/racism /homophobia. Genevieve’s work includes moving and being moved through music, writing & art. She is part of many organizations including Esperanza Center, Planned Parenthood, LIPS (UTSA feminists) & the broader progressive, mujerista, music, and art communities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON NUCLEAR POWER, visit:
www.energiamia.org
www.nukefreetexas.org
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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 Arjun Makhijani, carbon free, climate justice, Energia Mia, environmental justice, esperanza peace and justice center, genevieve rodriguez, IEER, marisol cortez, no nuclear platica, Nuclear, nuclear free, nuclear fuel cycle, Nuke Free Texas, San Antonio, southwest workers union, Texas |
December 4, 2009 by Public Citizen Texas
By Kirsten Bokenkamp
From office paper, to toilet paper, paper towels, paper coffee cups, newspapers, paper bags, magazines and catalogs, notebooks, napkins, and packaging, we cannot escape our dependency on paper products. Check out some of these crazy facts related to paper manufacturing and use:
- Deforestation causes more global warming pollution than all forms of transportation combined. A single forest tree absorbs 26 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, an acre of trees can remove 2.4 to 5 tons of carbon dioxide per year, and there are 728 million forested acres in the United States that remove more than 1.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year.
- 50-75% of the pulp used to make toilet paper comes from old growth forests, which are valuable ecosystems and also play a huge role in absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere.
- Americans consume more paper than any other country on earth. Each American, on average, uses 741 pounds of paper per year. Furthermore, The United States is the largest market for toilet paper, and only 2% of sales are from 100% recycled toilet paper.
- In addition to contributing to the detriments of deforestation, the pulp and paper industry is the third largest industrial emitter of global warming pollution (coming in after the chemical and steel industries). To make things worse, CO2 emissions from the paper industry are expected to double by 2020.
- 36% of the average landfill is comprised of paper. Americans discard 4 million tons of office paper each year, which is enough to build a 12-foot wall from Los Angeles to New York City.
- The pulp and paper industry is the single largest industrial consumer of freshwater.
As last week’s blog recommended, there is a lot we can do to reduce our use of paper: reusing shopping bags, printing on both sides, refusing junk mail, using cloth napkins, reusing coffee cups, and by buying products with less packaging. But, sometimes, even when we are doing all of these things, it is still easy to forget the most simple of tasks: buying recycled paper products, especially toilet paper!
Sure, it is not as fluffy – but let’s not exaggerate – the recycled stuff does the trick and it is far from sandpaper. And, wouldn’t you rather have a future where we have curbed climate change, still have forests, and have clean water to drink? I don’t mean to sound extreme – but that is what we are dealing with. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: as consumers we have tremendous power to change the world. The day we no longer demand the plushy, soft, and tree-killing kind of toilet paper, the market will no longer produce it. So next time you are faced with the choice – make the earth friendly one. I’m sure your skin will forgive you. If you are having trouble taking the plunge, just think that if every household replaced just one roll (500 sheets) of virgin fiber toilet paper with a 100% recycled one, we would save 423,900 trees!
Buying recycled office paper is also important. Ask your manager to green-up the office! How much of a difference can it make? According to the Public Works Department of San Mateo County, California:
Every 20 cases of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 390 gallons of oil, 7000 gallons of water, and 4100 kwh of energy. It also eliminates 60 pounds of air-polluting emissions and saves 8 cubic feet of landfill space.
While it is not always the first thing on our minds as we strive to green-up our lives, buying recycled toilet paper is an important step. In addition to saving old-growth forests, it gives recycled newspaper and office paper an afterlife to look forward to. In addition to 100% recycled, also buy the brand with the highest percentage of post-consumer material and make sure the bleaching process is elemental chlorine free. Check out one of the many buyers guides here.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, 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 Carbon Dioxide, climate change, deforestation, forests, Global Warming, paper, post-consumer, pulp, recycle, recycling, Texas, toilet paper, trees, water |
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