You would think that the Veterans of the United States would be mostly outspoken about traditional war issues, such as pulling the troops out of Iraq or sending more of them to Afghanistan, but a few groups of veterans have decided to take a different route. Operation Free is the name of a veterans’ movement that has been touring the country to advocate about climate change and to support the passage of the climate change legislation currently being debated in Congress. They consider climate change a “national security threat” (consider that Homeland Security) and their mission is to “Secure America with Clean Energy.”
Here is a video of the group visiting Washington D.C.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3g1BPSS-fY]
Besides the organization’s concerns about the security of our food, health, and water, they tie a very interesting view on climate change to terrorism. Since climate change makes certain areas of the world inhabitable, the devastated people of such areas will be more prone to be involved with terrorist groups.
“Shifts in climates will result in shifts in populations as certain areas become more and more inhabitable. The bulk of these refugees will be sequestered away in squalid, wretched camps and largely denied education, medical care, and access to the opportunity of the outside world. This environment is for terrorists like a pool of stagnant water is for mosquitoes: a breeding ground.” – Drew Sloan Former Army Captain, Infantry OEF/OIF Veteran
Patrick Bellon, Western Regional Director of another veteran’s organization called VoteVets, told Public Citizen that when the public sees veterans advocating for such an issue it gives it more credibility, “But they are often surprised and curious to see veterans talking about it,” he added. Bellon thinks that the majority of people still can’t fully comprehend the threat of climate change, “when people hear that there will be three degree change in temperature, they don’t understand the impact of that.”
You can visit the VoteVets blog by clicking here
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Afghanistan, climate change, climate change legislation, Global Warming, homeland security, national security, operation free, Public Citizen, terrorism, Texas, veterans, veterans climate change movement, vets, votevets |
October 21, 2009 by Public Citizen Texas
By Kirsten Bokenkamp
Did you know that in the United States, the average person throws away around 100 pounds of food scraps per year? According to the USDA, “just over a quarter of the country’s food — about 25.9 million tons — gets thrown in the garbage can every year.”
But food is biodegradable, and decomposes in the same manner no matter where we throw it out, right? Wrong. While we should all try to throw away less food, composting what we do toss-out reduces the impact on the environment.
Any food scraps or leftovers that the dog doesn’t eat decompose in one of two ways. Due to the airtight nature of landfills, the food we throw away with the rest of our trash decomposes in an anaerobic manner (without oxygen). One of the bi-products from anaerobic decomposition is methane, which is a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. In the first 120 days in a landfill, every metric ton of food can generate .25 metric tons of methane. On the other hand, food that decomposes aerobically (with oxygen) in a compost pile generates carbon dioxide – which is 25 times less potent than methane. If the U.S. composted the 25.9 million tons of food we throw out each year, the effect would be as if we removed 7.8 million cars from the road!
Because oxygen is the golden ingredient, it is important to allow air to get to your compost through the use of a functionally designed container, through turning your compost, or by using worms as a way to ensure oxygen can do its job. Read more about the basics of composting here.
According to the Composting Council the largest benefit from composting is avoiding the production of methane. But, the benefits don’t stop there. When compost is used in agricultural practices :
• Irrigation needs decreases by 30-70%, due to improved water retention in soil;
• Fertilizer (expensive, and often harmful to the environment) needs decrease by 33-66%;
• Carbon sequestration of soil increases by 6-40 tons of carbon per hectare.
Okay, so for those of you who live in farmhouses – or at least have a backyard and a small garden – composting seems like an easy and beneficial practice. You barely have an excuse! But, this is more of a challenge for the 80% of us in the US who live in urban areas. Where do we put a compost pile, and what do we do with it? Thankfully, there are a few options.
First, you can do as my cousin Elizabeth does in New York City. She freezes her food waste, and brings it to the Union Square Greenmarket once a week, where a farmer she knows gladly accepts it for the wholesome treasure that it is. Next time you are shopping at your local farmers market – ask around! Similarly, you can find a composter that accepts food waste in your area, where you can drop off your compost.
A second option, especially if you have a bit more room, or any indoor or outdoor plants that will benefit from it, is to start a worm bin. Worms love to eat kitchen scraps, and the nutrient-rich castings they produce are great for soil. There are many resources on vermicomposting – a great one is cityfarmer.org, published by Canada’s office of urban agriculture.
The third way of urban composting, and possibly the most important way towards the institutionalization of urban composting, is to tell your city officials that you live in an apartment, that you want to compost, and that you think it is high time for them to implement a curbside composting program. If you don’t think your city is “green” enough to do such a thing, look for inspiration and practical advice from San Francisco – where starting October 21 , it will be illegal not to compost, or other cities including Seattle, Boulder, and Minneapolis-St Paul.
Finally, if composting at home just isn’t going to happen for you, (at least until your city starts providing curb-side composting), talk your employer into it. For instance, the National Press Club has just started to compost, and plans on preventing 2 tons of food per month from heading to the landfill. Some state facilities such as prisons and universities also compost – for example, the state prison facilities in Nashville composts leftovers, and uses the compost on its own 100-acre vegetable garden, and Iowa State University has a compost system that can handle more than 10,000 tons of waste per year.
As an introduction to next week’s Green-up your life! blog – getting children involved – talk to elementary and high school administrators about starting a community compost project. By throwing away less food, composting the food we do throw away, educating our community members, and getting state institutions involved, we will soon be en route to a true environmental revolution!
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Agriculture, climate, climate change, compost, food, garbage, Global Warming, landfill, methane, Texas |
With the Day of the Dead just around the corner, it’s the time of year to remember friends and family members who have died. That’s why we’ve decided to hold a demonstration at City Hall on Thursday at noon, wearing black, to recognize those who have died from complications related to living around the City of Austin’s coal plant.
Burning coal to create electricity has a high human cost. From childhood asthma to aggravated heart and respiratory problems, living downwind of a coal plant can take years off of your life. If you are a six year old or even a strapping adult with asthma and unlucky enough to live near a coal plant to boot, that is enough to send you to the emergency room on a regular basis. Individuals with heart conditions are in the same boat. And mercury emissions from the coal stacks that power our city find their way into waterways and are known to cause birth defects. A recently updated study by the Clean Air Task Force finds that our Fayette Coal Plant causes an average of fifty deaths each year.
City Council must take these considerations into account when planning our future energy mix. Why should others in the state of Texas die or live with crippling health problems when cleaner alternatives exist?
So come to City Hall at noon on Tuesday to show City Council your support for a clean energy plan that would phase out the coal plant as quickly as possible. Wear black in some way, and meet at 11:50 in the lobby so that we can coordinate. Parking at city hall is free on council meeting days. Please RSVP or contact Ryan Rittenhouse at 512-477-1155 with any questions.
Please also spread the word to similarly concerned friends and invite them to the “Austin has a dirty secret” facebook group so that they can be in the loop for future events or demonstrations.
Posted in Coal, Energy | Tagged asthma, Austin, Austin Energy, austin has a dirty secret, City Council, city of austin, clean air task force, Clean Energy, coal kills, day of the dead, fayette coal plant, health impacts of coal, quit coal, Texas |
October 20, 2009 by Public Citizen Texas
Do you need some extra cash? Then Rick Perry’s campaign is the place to “volunteer” these days. Governor Rick Perry of Texas is rewarding his volunteers in the governor’s race, not with the usual candidate goods or an opportunity to meet with the candidate, but with flat-out cash. Though not a common practice, paying campaign volunteers is
Rick Perry hungry for the Governor's seat
perfectly legal, as long as all the payments are disclosed in the campaign financial reports. But is it right? Does this type of campaigning encourage people to be more concerned with earning some additional cash than with Perry’s actual political platform?
Perry pays volunteers to sign up 11 other volunteers, who then again sign up to recruit 11 more volunteers, and so forth. Of course, Perry is not guaranteed the votes of the recruits, only their word that they will vote for him. Obviously, Perry’s only goal is to recruit as many voters as possible. But he is also taking a chance by paying his volunteers, because many people will campaign for money incentives, but may not actually vote for him in the primaries. So to encourage the vote, Perry has promised more money to the recruiters who turn out actual voters on Election Day.
But this whole scenario creates a bigger problem: It is very possible that people who are not necessarily usually politically active will now campaign and/or vote for Perry only because they will profit from it, which takes us back to the days of Party Bosses. Under party bosses, people were given money, jobs and other services from politicians essentially buying their votes.
To many people, this is perhaps not a shock coming from Perry, but even the governor’s Republican opponent Kay Bailey Hutchinson has openly criticized Perry’s campaign method. Her spokeswoman Jennifer Baker states: “Typical Rick Perry arrogance, when his failed record can’t earn him support, he’ll just buy it,” adding that Hutchinson’s campaign does not offer money to volunteers.
Ultimately, the problem with paying volunteers is that the process of campaigning, and the incentive for volunteerism and even voting can quickly become more about money than ideology and the meaningful issues at hand. Money for votes, therefore, can ultimately skew the interests of the constituency that the governor will represent. People who are not necessarily usually politically involved will now campaign and vote for Perry only because they will profit from it and not for the real reasons they should be involved in politics, or cast a vote.
Mysteriously, there is no mention of these paid volunteer positions on Rick Perry’s website, but the site states that anyone who signs up as a volunteer will receive “access to inside information.”
By H. Harrison
###
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 Campaign Finance | Tagged Austin, campaign, gubernatorial election, kay bailey hutchinson, money, profit, Public Citizen, Rick Perry, Texas, volunteers |
Did you doubt my magic? Think that we wouldn’t get any music for our 25th anniversary celebration and that you’d have to listen to Citizen Sarah muddle through Oh My Darlin’ on the baby squeezebox?
Lucky for y’all my lovelies, my nightly practice sessions have been for naught (not sure if that will be any consolation to my housemates). We have a headliner. And how! David Garza is going to play our show!
David (that’s DAH-VEED) Garza is a locally grown singer-songwriter who… what’s the word? Rocks. Out. Whoo!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdGHLwjwzx4]
Ohhhhhhh yeahhhhh. It’s gonna be a good time. If you haven’t been to Barr Mansion before, he’ll be playing in the greenhouse — a beautiful old building with a big wooden stage, killer acoustics, and a nice intimate setting with plenty of room for groovin’ and shakin’.
So save the date for November 6th! The show will start around 9, and tickets are just $19.84 in advance (since Public Citizen was founded in 1984, natch) or $25 at the door. We’ll have a bar set up for the beer of your choice.
If you’re feeling fancy, you’re also welcome to the dinner that we’ll hold before hand from 6-9. That will start out with a brief schmoozefest and cocktail hour, and then we’ll move in for dinner, speeches, and an awards ceremony for recipients of our Texas Outstanding Public Servant (TOPS) awards. Local dignitary and America’s #1 populist Jim Hightower will emcee, and you’ll also have a chance to meet our new Public Citizen president Rob Weissman. Dinner tickets are $75 per person or $125 for a couple and can be purchased at www.citizen.org/TXRSVP (tickets to David are included in that, you won’t have to buy an extra).
To listen to more David Garza tunes, check out his official website or listen to his artist playlist from ACL.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged acl 2009, Austin, barr mansion, benefit, citizen sarah, dancing, david garza, fund raiser, Jim Hightower, live music, membership, music, party, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, Rob Weissman, support, Texas, Tom "Smitty" Smith |
The Texas Progressive Alliance celebrates the start of early voting for the 2009 elections with its always on time weekly blog roundup.
Human tragedies are mounting in the Barnett Shale as study after study shows high levels of toxins in the air. The only ones who can’t seem to find anything wrong are the regulators. TXsharon asks, “Will the EPA intervene in Texas?” at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.
Why did the US forcibly detain a Mexican human rights advocate? CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know.
Bay Area Houston says Tort Reformers in Texas suck.
The Texas Cloverleaf presents the Kay Coward Bailey Hutchison plan for health care mediocrity.
Off the Kuff takes a look at Cameron Todd Willingham’s supposed confession, and finds the evidence for it lacking.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson states that no matter what you hear Transportation schemes are continuing, despite “death” of the TTC. EOW also had a guest post this week on the PEC, Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC): Who’s Electing Your Board Representative?.
“Other big names” may enter the Republican primary for governor if Perry and Hutchison can’t get their acts together, according to a right-wing talker in D-FW and passed along by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.
WhosPlayin posted an update on gas drilling in Lewisville, and also breaks the story that a local group is looking to ban smoking in public places in Lewisville.
refinish69 reopens Doing My Part For The Left with the latest installment of his series Homesless in Austin-An Insider’s View Part 7.
Mean Rachel got to see President Obama speak in College Station on Friday.
We have known for a long time that Governor Perry is a bottom feeder, but letting an innocent man die and then refusing to get at the truth about his execution? Well, I would not want that on my conscience. Let Libby Shaw bring you up to speed in his posting, All the Good Hair on the Planet Won’t Make the Cover Up Go Away.
Neil at Texas Liberal ran a picture he took this week of the confluence on White Oak Bayou and Buffalo Bayou in Downtown Houston. This spot, important in the founding of Houston, is still a place of connection. If connection could be found in the hot and Hell-like Houston of 175 years ago, we can find connection even in tough circumstances.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Barnett shale, bay area houston, buffalo bayou, cameron todd willingham, college station, couldbetrue, drilling reform, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, eye on williamson, governor perry, homelessness, houston, human rights, kay bailey hutchison, kbh, libby shaw, mean rachel, off the kuff, Public Citizen, refinish69, south texas, south texas chisme, Texas, texas cloverleaf, texas liberal, texas progressive alliance, texas vox, tort reform, trans-texas corridor, transportation, ttc, white oak bayou |
October 15, 2009 by Public Citizen Texas
Peabody Coal, presently the largest Coal Mining Company in the World
Take a quick look at this article/video. After the showing of a comedic political documentary, a speech is made about mountain-top removal mining and its ill effects. The crowd of enthusiastic movie-goers then canvasses the sidewalks of a nearby JP Morgan Chase bank with coal graffiti. It brings up an interesting point about who’s surreptitiously lurking behind the companies that deal with coal. In a word, banks.
Let’s reflect for a bit on the role of banks in (or rather behind) coal-related issues. For starters, it’s a tricky situation because the banks don’t actually do any of the polluting or emitting, they merely finance it:
One could take one of two extreme standpoints on the environmental impact of banks’ products. On the one hand, all pollution caused by companies who are financed by banks is the responsibility of banks. It is easy to make an estimate of the environmental impact in this sense: it would equate to almost the aggregate pollution of the whole economy in many countries. On the other hand, as the products of banks do not pollute, the users of those products—the clients—should take sole responsibility for the pollution they create. Of course, both standpoints are absurd. The truth lies somewhere in the middle
(taken from a paper on sustainable banking).
As usual, it’s that middle ground which is very hard to find in the real world.
The Rainforest Action Network has put together a very informative pamphlet concerning banks (particularly Citi and Bank of America) and their relationship to coal in the US. Here are just a few numbers taken from this publication:
- There are about 150 proposed coal-fired power plant sites in the US currently, with an estimated price-tag of approximately 140 billion dollars for the lot. This might be considered another ‘coal rush,’ and someone will have to finance all of this. You might think of this as adding 100-180 million passenger cars to US roads.
- Citi and Bank of America have both been major financiers of Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal mining company. Peabody has been involved in mining coal on the Black Mesa (Hopi Indian community land), where they have drained millions of gallons of water from the sole aquifer in the area and left behind a 273-mile coal slurry pipeline.
- Both banks have also underwritten numerous loans for other coal mining companies including Massey Energy, Arch Coal, and Alpha Natural Resources. Each of these companies is involved in mountaintop removal, a particularly destructive form of coal mining.
Citi Bank
The World Bank is not setting a very good example, either. The Bank has acknowledged that the developing world should not become locked into the same carbon-intensive infrastructure of the West, yet it still intends to help fund coal-fired power plants in several developing nations. It’s a hard line to walk, that between developmental and environmental issues, however there are more sustainable alternatives available and with the right planning and finance, these could become a reality.
Bank of America
But let’s step away from the blame game. No matter who is the most responsible – the bank or the polluter – the fact is that banks, with their abundant resources, should be clever and forward-thinking enough to see the non-sustainability of coal as an investment. Conversely, there abound investment opportunities in clean, sustainable energy. For example, Lord Browne, former head of BP, has urged the British government to direct government-controlled bank investment into renewable energy resources, such as offshore wind power. Germany has been a leader in sustainable energy investment; look at this report from the Deutsche Bank. In the US there have been proposals for a Green Bank which would, among many other things, help to drive much-needed capital investment into clean-energy technologies and infrastructure.
This isn’t just green tomfoolery, it could be money in the bank (literally).
J Baker.
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Renewables | Tagged banks, Carbon Dioxide, Coal, coal plant, corporate responsibility, Energy, Peabody Energy, Rainforest action network, renewable energy, Texas, World Bank |
It is blog action day! In case you don’t know, on this day, 15th of October of every year, bloggers from all over the world unite in writing about a common important issue. It started in 2007 by Collis & Cyan Ta’eed. Their first year, they recruited as many as 20,000 bloggers to write about the same issue which was the Environment for that year. It was a great success.
If you are a blogger and don’t think that you can’t be heard, you are mistaken. This year, we are united in writing about Climate Change. Don’t have qualms about it. If you don’t know much about the issue, it is 2009 and researching on google is more than easy.
So, get off the couch, log in to your blog and make you voice be heard, or read. Some of the participants of Blog Action Day are entities such as Google, Huffington Post, and Think Progress
Here are also a couple of local blogs that have to contributed “something to make this world a better place for the generations to come” as nicely put Dixie’s French Lique.
Coffee Muses:
Living in the deep south of the United States on the coastal plain of Texas just a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico, keeps you watching the weather with a more than casual eye. Changes in weather patterns, whether natural or manmade, can and will have devastating consequences. As last year showed in the southeastern US and this year has shown in southern Texas, shifts in rainfall patterns cause rapid loss of crops and livestock. The economic and social disruption these losses cause, trickle throughout the economy.
…Many people seem to believe that the whole climate change crisis is a hoax. The science is said to be fixed. It’s a conspiracy to allow for environmental regulations. My only answer is to invite them to move to the Gulf Coast. Try living in a hurricane target. Live through the increasingly more powerful threats each year as the Gulf of Mexico and the tropical Atlantic store more and more heat energy…Heat energy that is converted into the very storms that pound these shores. The Katrina’s, the Rita’s, the Ike’s…All of these storms in just a few years have added to greater and greater damages spread over a very wide portion of the Deep South. Add in the fact that this is the very same area where most of the country’s refining capacity is located and you have an additional threat.
Texas Clover Leaf:
Just like in World War II, we are in a fight. We need to stop pollution and greenhouse gases. And you need to do your part to sacrifice some of your lifestyle for the greater good. We are not saying up and turn completely Vegan and only ride a bike (although that is an option!). But making small changes help when hundreds or thousands of other people just like you make those same small changes.
this is life in austin:
Global Warming Wrecks All the Fun
Say Goodbye to French Wines
Wacky temperatures and rain cycles brought on by global warming are threatening something very important: Wine. Scientists believe global warming will “shift viticultural regions toward the poles, cooler coastal zones and higher elevations.” What that means in regular language: Get ready to say bye-bye to French Bordeaux and hello to British champagne. [LA Times]
Only In It For The Gold:
It’s Blog Action Day for climate change all around the blogosphere!
Of course it’s always Blog Action Day for climate change around here, so it’s easy for me to participate. Newcomers, please just look at the “best of” links over to the right.
Regulars, it would be a good idea to look around and see if any of the participants have anything new and useful to add.
To learn more about the Blog Action Day, visit the official website by clicking here.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged blog action day, climate change, coffee muses, french lique, Global Warming, google, huffington post, only in it for the gold, Public Citizen, Texas, texas cloverleaf, texas vox, think progress, this life in austin |
Haaa–aaaaaaaappy Birthday to US! Happy Birthday to US! Happy Biiiiiiiiirrrrrthhhhhhddaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy to UUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSS! Happy Birthday to us!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m44z-223UYE]
It’s our birthday! Our 25th Birthday! Or Anniversary, whatever. The important part is, we’re having a party. And you’re invited!
Come on out to the Barr Mansion in Austin, TX on November 6th for an evening of music, drinks, and delicious organic snacks. We’re going to have a TOP SECRET SPECIAL MUSICAL GUEST which won’t be a secret as soon as I know who it is (wink). If you trust my judgment and ability to make magic happen, go ahead and buy an advance ticket for $19.84… or wait if you must, but tickets at the door will be $25.
We’re going to have a blast no matter what though, and that’s what matters most!
Plus, there’s a 23% chance I’ll dress as Ladybird Liberty, our mascot. Wouldn’t want to miss that!
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged 25th anniversary, Austin, barr mansion, dancing, donations, fund raiser, ladybird liberty, party, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, support, Texas, Tom "Smitty" Smith |
I lived in New York City before I moved to Austin. NY is a city that glorifies walking. Almost everyone walked everywhere and having a car wasn’t considered that “cool.” When I told one of my friends from NY that I was moving to Texas, he said, “People in Texas, if they wanted had to go to a restaurant that was across the street, they would get in their car, drive it, make a U turn, and park at the restaurant.” His comment was a little exaggerated but I must say, I agree with him a bit. People drive a lot here and I am guilty of it too.
I don’t put the blame completely on Austinites, after all, Austin doesn’t have the same public transportation that New York has and the streets of Austin aren’t the safest for biking. But there is no reason why a city like Austin shouldn’t encourage walking or biking. It is not only good for the environment but it is also good for our health and pockets.
I was thrilled to learn about Austin Safe Routes to School Project. The project is managed by the Health and Human Services Department of Austin. It was started to ensure safe biking or walking to school.
The website for the project advocates walking and biking in general. It is very thorough. The website has tips on how to bike or walk safer to school. As I mentioned before, it is hard to bike in Austin’s streets being so narrow and crowded. If you are a driver, you have complained about that one biker that is made you go around him. Well, the website has a whole section for you. Besides drivers, there are sections for parents, and even educators. There are lesson plans for teachers so they can teach students and encourage them bike and walk to school.
You can also visit Austin on Two Wheels and Bike Texas, it is a great website to get you connected with other bikers, learn more about safe biking routes, and much more.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Austin, austin safe routes to school, biking, ibike, iwalk, new york, Public Citizen, public transportation, Texas, walk to school |
The Catholic Diocese of Austin states on its website that Austin’s plan to increase its dependence on renewable energy in providing electricity to the city will have a negative impact on the poor, “We support initiatives to preserving and protecting our environment, but not at the expense of those who can least afford it.” As written on Rep. Rodriguez’ website, “that’s especially disingenuous considering that the poor are disproportionately affected by the impacts of dirty energy.”
There’s no good reason that switching to a clean energy economy would disproportionately impact low-income communities. In fact, if done correctly (i.e. lots of energy efficiency and a localized work force to do audits and make those improvements), switching to a clean economy would actually be a boon for low-income folks in terms of lowered electricity use and bills, job opportunities, and lowered pollution levels. Still not sure what we’re getting at? Check out this video from Green For All to spell it out:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNszFwmSg2Y]
Church powered by wind turbine
In response, Rep. Eddie Rodriguez along with Texas Impact, a local advocacy organization have organized Going Green, a community forum where the issue of Austin’s Energy Plan will be discussed and the public concerns will be addressed. It will be followed by an open discussion with representatives from Austin Energy.
The event will be held on Thursday, the 22nd of this month from 5:00 to 7:30 at the Education Center of Cristo Rey Catholic Church. Food and beverages will be provided for the attendees.
Mark your calendar, tell you friends, and come join us supporting Austin in becoming more green.
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Renewables | Tagged Austin energy plan, Catholic Diocese of Austin, clean, green, Public Citizen, renewable energy, rep. rodriguez, Texas |
JOIN THE LARGEST COMMUNITY ACTION YET! Say NO to NUCLEAR
Community Demonstration!
Wed Oct 14th
4pm – 8pm
City Hall
{103 Main Plaza,78205}
..next to Main Plaza downtown SA
Come to the demonstration! BRING 3 people with you!
BRING: street theatre props & political costumes, signs, puppets, bikes, hats, banners, CPS suits, etc!
Download flyers and more information at www.esperanzacenter.org
Posted in Nuclear | Tagged city hall, community demonstration, CPS, Nuclear, protest, public citizen texas, San Antonio, South Texas Nucler Project, STP, Texas |
Texas only State in Nation with such a Deadly, Costly Coal Rush Advancing
(Austin) Attorneys for Sierra Club and a Goliad and Victoria county-based group, Citizens for a Clean Environment, plus Environmental Defense Fund began arguments today against one of a large number of proposed new coal plants that are in various stages of the permitting, appeal, or construction process in Texas.
“Nowhere else in the United States are citizens facing such serious public health and financial risks as we are facing in Texas because of the large number of proposed new coal plants,” said Eva Hernandez with Sierra Club.
“Texas is also the only state in the nation where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to reject the state agency’s air permitting regime. We are asking the EPA to take action and place a moratorium on new coal plant permits until the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) follows the law of the Clean Air Act.”
The Sierra Club is challenging five coal plant permit applications this Fall and Winter in Texas:
• NRG Limestone near Jewett east of Waco
• IPA Coleto Creek between Goliad and Victoria
• Tenaska in Sweetwater west of Abilene
• Las Brisas in Corpus Christi
• White Stallion near Bay City south of Houston
Today, attorneys for the Goliad and Victoria Counties-based Citizens for a Clean Environment, Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund are protesting the coal plant permit application of IPA Coleto Creek at the State Office of Administrative Hearings in Austin. The company is asking the TCEQ for a permit to expand an existing coal plant by a second unit. This week’s contested case hearing will consider proposed air emissions, while Sierra Club and the Citizens for a Clean Environment also have concerns about water usage and water quality.
“The existing coal plant at Coleto Creek has been dumping pollution and toxins on local residents for years, harming their health and property, using huge amounts of water. The Citizens for a Clean Economy are now rightly standing up to ensure that this destruction and injustice does not continue,” said Ryan Rittenhouse with Public Citizen Texas. “If this expansion is allowed, the environmental damage, health impacts, and lowered property values in the community will increase significantly. TCEQ can’t let that happen.”
Background Information
At a preliminary hearing in Sweetwater, Texas tomorrow, Sierra Club and the Multi-County Coalition a citizens group from Nolan and surrounding counties will request standing to challenge the Tenaska coal permit application.
Other upcoming hearings in what environmentalists consider the ‘second wave’ of the Texas coal rush are: Las Brisas coke plant contested case hearing, November 2 in Corpus Christi; NRG Limestone, TCEQ Commissioners Hearing and decision in Austin, November 18.
The Las Brisas contested case hearing on November 2nd is expected to be heavily attended due to extensive opposition to the permit from the Coastal Bend area Clean Economy Coalition, Sierra Club, and Public Citizen. The proposed urban coke plant would emit more air pollution than all of the existing gas refineries in Corpus Christi.
The TCEQ Commissioners decision on NRG Limestone on November 18th could signal the start of construction of this proposed coal plant in a region surrounding Waco with two new coal plants already under construction – Sandy Creek in Riesel and Oak Grove in Franklin.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged citizens for a clean environment, Coal, environmental defense fund, goliad, public health, Texas, Victoria |
Environmentalists may soon find a powerful ally in big business. Some of the United States’ top corporations are now rallying together in support of climate and energy reform, after finally realizing the severity of climate change and the negative effects of global warming on our society. Several Fortune 500 companies, including GE, Johnson & Johnson, HP, eBay, and the Gap, have joined together to form two core coalitions. The groups—armed with million dollar advertising budgets—plan to nudge Washington toward the passing of comprehensive climate change legislation. Participating business executives claim that “many businesses, and the overall economy, would eventually benefit from the new law.”
This week, an assemblage of over 150 entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and energy providers—under the banner of the We Can Lead business group—will march to Capitol Hill to show their support for energy legislation such as this year’s American Clean Energy and Security Act. The attendees will receive media training, go to policy briefings, and have the opportunity to meet and greet with key policy makers. The main message for the event? A climate bill is good for the earth, AND good for business.
Contrary to popular belief, not all businesses are alarmed by the alleged high costs of a new climate bill. Some 28 companies and green groups, including United Technologies and the Nature Conservatory, are paying a pretty penny in advertising to publicly voice their support of energy reform. The seven-figure campaign will be launched this Tuesday and, hopefully, other companies will take note and realize that there aren’t sufficient financial reasons to fear a climate bill.
Exelon Corp. is one such company participating in both the advocacy events on Capitol Hill and the allied advertising campaign. As the largest nuclear power company in the nation, Exelon made waves earlier this month when the company left the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The company claims the two bodies simply did not see eye-to-eye on climate change issues. Exelon is not alone in its flight from the Chamber. California’s PG&E Corp. and New Mexico’s PNM Resources also announced plans last week to disband from the national business alliance. Most recently, Apple pulled out and Nike relinquished its spot on the group’s board of directors. The latter also claims its views on climate change differ drastically from those of the Chamber; however the company plans to retain their membership and continue their efforts toward new climate change legislation. Much of this disapproval came directly after the Chamber publicly challenged positive findings from the federal EPA concerning the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by the Clean Air Act.
Built at the peak of a major Republican decade, some would say that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a mostly conservative, antiregulatory lobbying group. Now that Washington seems to be swaying to the liberal side—essentially becoming more populist and green, the major faces of big business are skeptical of being associated with institutions as such.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, the group hopes to promote five core principles in regards to climate change.
Any legislation or regulation introduced must:
- Preserve American jobs and competitiveness of U.S. industry;
- Provide an international, economy-wide solution, including developing nations;
- Promote accelerated development and deployment of greenhouse gas reduction technology;
- Reduce barriers to the development of climate-friendly energy sources; and
- Promote energy conservation and efficiency.
The group’s stance on global warming legislation is currently and constantly publicly disputed by various parties on the big business roster, including their former members.
From the We Can Lead two-day rally in Washington to the powerfully proclaimed ‘pro-climate bill’ advertising campaigns; from the recent exodus of corporate icons from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the overall vocal support for climate change legislation. It seems as if corporate America and the American public alike view climate change as a business worth investing in.
Posted in Energy, Global Warming | Tagged american clean energy and security act, Apple, big business, clean air act, climate bill, climate change, eBay, energy reform, environment, EPA, Exelon, GE, Global Warming, HP, Johnson & Johnson, legislation, Nature Conservatory, Nike, Texas, the Gap, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, United Technologies, washington, We Can Lead |
The Texas Progressive Alliance is enjoying the fall weather too much to think of a clever opening to this week’s blog roundup.
This week on Left of College Station, Teddy writes about what it is like to share a birthday with a war and how we have been unable to learn from the mistakes we have made during the last eight years. In the weekly guest column about teaching in Aggieland, Litia writes about the reasons why they are a teacher. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notices that Republicans running Texas agencies don’t care whether doctors are bad as long as you can’t sue.
WhosPlayin investigated complaints by parents that schools were allowing church groups on campus during lunch hour to proselytize, while preventing parents from accessing their kids.
Communities all across the nation are watching DISH, Texas to learn how natural gas drilling is threatening our health but TXsharon wants to be sure you don’t forget about the public meeting Monday, October 12th at 7:00PM.
Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about a 17th-Century book by Rhode Island founder Roger Williams that was ahead of its time in offering respect for Native Americans and women.
The Texas Cloverleaf watches as Denton County comes out for LGBT equality.
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog provides detailed coverage of the Houston Asian American Mayoral Forum.
Off the Kuff notes that at least some conservative candidates are not interested in learning from the mistakes of others.
Over at McBlogger, Captain Kroc takes a look at the latest GOP plot to make people think they actually care about the poor.
Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman announced her retirement, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs threw the names of a few Democratic and Republican potential successors into the rumor mill.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson TxDOT again says the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) is dead, but How many times will the TTC die?.
Over at Texas Kaos, libby shaw asks: Republicans Are On Board with Corporate Communism?. They can’t make up their minds, but it is sadly funny to read about.
Burnt Orange Report explores the value, or lack thereof, of proposing an opt-out of the public option as a strategy to pass the health care bill out of the U.S. Senate.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beverly kaufman, burnt orange report, democrats, denton county, dish texas, equality, harris county clerk, houston asian mayoral forum, left of college station, lgbt issues, native americans, natural gas drilling, off the kuff, public health, public option, republicans, rhode island, roger williams, south texas chisme, Texas, texas progressive alliance, trans-texas corridor |
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