The incredible snowstorm that swept across the east coast yesterday was a bit of a surprise to the thousands of people that flocked to Washington, DC for Powershift 2009. While it did not stop the enviro-activists from protesting dirty energy sources such as coal, some blog noise today indicates that the snowstorm may have blurred the whole message of Powershift. Several (shortsighted) bloggers wrote that the snow debunks the whole threat of global warming. This only demonstrates that some people still don’t truly understand the effects of global warming.
“Global Warming” has become a jazz word over the past decade, but it can misconstrue the environmental effects of the general “warming” of our atmosphere. If you’re reading this blog, you are probably familiar with the fact that an increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere (hacking cough, coal plants, cough) has caused an increase in the average temperature of the air and ocean. But don’t be fooled into thinking that this means that every day will get just a little bit hotter. The rise in temperature has drastic effects in the meteorological dynamics of the earth, and causes more storms and other abnormal weather events.
We don’t need science to tell us that this is occurring—we all remember the THREE major hurricanes that hit the Texas Coast in 2008 — and don’t need a radar to show that Texas (along with so many other parts of the world) is getter hotter and suffering from drought. So just remember, global warming is not just about heat, it’s about tornados and hurricanes and droughts…oh my!
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged atmosphere, climate change, extreme weather, Global Warming, greenhouse gas, meteorological, powershift, snowstorm, storm, temperature, Texas |
Just a reminder that the Austin City Council will have its final vote on the proposed 30 MW Webberville Solar Plant at a meeting this Thursday, March 5. The Council meeting is of course open to the public, so please come by City Hall starting at 10 a.m. to show your support for the plant! There are kiosks in the main hall where you may sign in and register to testify if you so choose. Even if you cannot stay to observe the proceedings, you can still sign in at the kiosk to document your support for the solar plant, which will be Item 16 on the agenda. Remember “Item 16” because you must know the agenda item number to register your support at the kiosk.
For background information on the plant per the council’s February 13th meeting, jump back to the post City Delays on Solar Plant Vote.
Also, Burnt Orange Report has just run a really excellent series on the plant. I cannot recommend it enough. Phillip Martin at BOR provides analysis and a full overview of the project, as well as two full interviews with council members (and mayoral candidates) Lee Leffingwell and Brewster McCracken — both of whom have come out in support of the project!
And of course, stay tuned this Thursday for a full report from the City Council meeting — you know I’ll be there!
Posted in Energy, Renewables | Tagged austin city council, Brewster McCracken, burnt orange report, city hall, item 16, Lee Leffingwell, phillip martin, renewable energy, solar plant, Solar Plant Vote, solar power, Texas, webberville solar plant |
Powershift 2009 officially begins today, and I am so jealous I can’t be there. If you haven’t heard of Powershift, here’s a brief description from their website:
In the middle of our new administration’s first 100 days, Power Shift 09 will bring 10,000 young people to Washington to hold our elected officials accountable for rebuilding our economy and reclaiming our future through bold climate and clean energy policy.
From February 27th to March 2nd, 2009 young people from across the country will converge on Washington D.C. to take a message of bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action to Capitol Hill.
This is an incredibly exciting event, and several of Public Citizen’s own will be there to experience Powershift in all its green glory. For a better idea of what will be going on, check out this video featuring Jessy Tolkan, executive director of the Energy Action Coalition (EAC) — the organizers of Power Shift 2009. In it, she explains why the White House has asked for daily updates from her, and how America’s youth are trying to bring about social justice through climate change action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFBZuYUihXQ]
I’ll be there in spirit.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged brief description, climate change, energy action coalition, jessy tolkan, power shift, powershift, powershift 09, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, social justice, Texas, washington dc |
Corpus Christi residents stirred up quite a stink at the Las Brisas preliminary hearing last Tuesday. Four hundred residents showed up to make their feelings known about the coal plant, which if built will be clearly visible from Town Hall.
Originally the hearing was to be held in a 50 person capacity room, which was not expected to fill up. Little did they know that countless locals and a bus load of grade school kids from Smith, a nearby town, would show up to voice their opinions about the hearing.
“I don’t want this plant because I already live by six large refineries and I’ve been affected by the air pollution,” Jean Salone, who lives in the Hillcrest area, told KRIS-TV. “My concerns are air pollution, the effects on my health and dangerous situations like gas entering my home,” Salone said.
Public and environmental health issues were raised by several Corpus residents.
“I’m very concerned about my health. We are the 84th most polluted county in the country right now based on the tri data,” Dr. Melissa Jarrell said to KRIS.
“It might cause adverse affects to myself, to my neighbors, to wildlife, to fish in the bay,” local resident Bill Reeves told KRIS.
Having to balance the droves of fired up citizens and capacity issues, the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) judge who was presiding over the hearing decided to rotate the groups 50 people at a time in order to give everyone a chance to be heard.Apparently though, having so many people in one place with limited capacity is a fire hazard – or at least it is according to the Corpus Christi Fire Marshall, who required the hearing to be moved for safety reasons.
The Judge heard the rest of the people that were in the room, and any individuals who could not come back at a later time. Then a recess was called until the afternoon to reconvene at the Del Mar College Center for Ecological Development.
Even with all the commotion, the hearing was still a great success. Several organizations were granted standing, including the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, Clean Economy Coalition, as well as many individuals form the local community. “Standing” means that individuals are uniquely affected parties and will actually have status in the hearing process.
The next hearing is expected to be held sometime in August. This meeting will give organizations and individuals who were granted standing the opportunity to present their case.
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Toxics | Tagged clean economy coalition, coal plant, corpus christi, del mar, environmental defense fund, environmental health issues, fire marshall, Jean Salone, kris-tv, las brisas, preliminary hearing, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, smith, soah, state office of administrative hearings, state office of adminstrative hearings, Texas |
The Reality Coalition has a new ad up on their website directed by none other than Joel and Ethan Coen. Check it out, short and sweet:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFJVbdiMgfM]
Also, according to the Reality Blog, a new spin ad by the coal industry tries to dress up a cartoon-y hunk of coal in sunglasses to make it seem “cool” as well as “clean”…. how very Joe Camel of them.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged air freshener, clean coal, Coal, coen brothers, cool coal, joe camel, joel and ethan coen, reality coalition, Texas |
A federal appeals court yesterday ordered the EPA to reconsider its standards for pollutants, particularly particulate matter (PM). Fine particulates, such as soot, have been linked to premature death, asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease. Furthermore, black carbon soot is a major greenhouse player, as it absorbs and then radiates massive amounts of heat back to earth when it is in the air.
Reports the New York Times,
Researchers have drawn direct and immediate links between ambient levels of fine particulates and hospital admissions and deaths. By some estimates, tens of thousands of Americans die each year from exposure to airborne particulates.
Among other sources, fine particulates come from diesel engines, power plants, certain industrial processes and even fireplaces. Perhaps one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair, they can make their way deep into the lungs and in some cases even into the bloodstream.
The EPA last approved PM standards in 2006, when scientists from within the agency itself argued that they were too weak. Scientists argued that acceptable levels should be lowered to 12 to 14 micrograms per cubic meter of air instead of 15, but (surprise, surprise) then-chief administrator Steven Johnson said that not enough evidence linked PM to detrimental health effects.
The article continues,
The case decided on Tuesday also involved coarse particulates, like dust, and particulate contributions to haze… and it said the E.P.A. must act to reduce the role of particulates in haze.
The court’s ruling may mean that cities notorious for smog– such as Houston – will have to start doing even more to clean up the air. If pollutant standards are fixed at lower levels that will actually protect public health, these cities may find themselves even closer to non-attainment.
Reports the Houston Chronicle,
For Houston, which is already struggling to meet the EPA’s standards for smog-forming ozone, the designation would mean another deadline, another costly pollution-fighting plan and another threat that federal highway dollars will be withheld if the air doesn’t get cleaner.
“This comes at a really good time because there is concern that the state and federal agencies will take their eye off the ball when it comes to fine particulates,” said Matthew Tejada, executive director of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention. “It will force use to look at this important issue in a timely manner.”
Its pretty nice to have an EPA that is serious about Environmental Protection Again.
Posted in Coal, Global Warming, Toxics | Tagged appeals court, diesel engines, EPA, federal appeals court, galveston-houston association for smog prevention, ghasp, houston chronicle, matthew tejada, New York Times, particulate matter, PM, power plants, soot, steven johnson, Texas |
Two new groups, the local American Federation of Teachers union and the League of United Latin American Citizens Council No. 1 (LULAC) have joined the coalition formed in opposition to Corpus Christi’s proposed Las Brisas Power Plant, reports the Caller-Times.
At a membership meeting last week, 38 members of the teacher’s union voted unanimously to oppose the plant.
Referring to the area’s air quality, union president Juan Guerra said:
“We already think we have a problem,” Guerra said. “We just can’t support something that could push us more over the edge.”
LULAC has sponsored a new billboard, located at a prime location on the Crosstown Expressway,which accuses the proposed plant of environmental discrimination.
It’s no secret that these types of facilities get built in poor neighborhoods, meaning that the poorest people have to breathe the dirtiest air. Historically underprivileged groups such as racial minorities and residents of economically disadvantaged areas bear an inequitable burden of environmental impacts, yet
Kathleen Smith, managing partner of the plant’s parent company, Chase Power, said company officials are…unclear on what environmental discrimination means.
I think it means, Miss Kathleen, that Chase Power would never dare to build this kind of dirty facility near a wealthy, predominantly white neighborhood like Preston Hollow (where the Bushes are moving into in Dallas) — because they know they’d never get away with it. Though I really wish they would try — if more sectors of the population felt the threat of living near a coal-fired power plant, we could more quickly move towards a reality where coal plants aren’t acceptable in anyone’s backyard. Environmental justice tends to be the elephant in the room that no one wants to offer a chair, but to feign ignorance of “what environmental discrimination means” is flat out insulting.
Three cheers to LULAC and the American Federation of Teachers union for joining the fight.
Posted in Coal | Tagged american federation of teachers union, chase power, corpus chrisit caller times, corpus christi, crosstown expressway, environmental discrimination, juan guerra, kathleen smith, las brisas power plant, league of united latin america citizens council, lulac, Teachers Union, Texas |
Last Friday two administrative law judges refused to hear testimony on the impact of carbon dioxide emissions during the permitting process for the NRG Limestone coal-fired power plant. The contested case hearing for NRG’s air quality permit application will be going on all week long, but testimony on the proposed plant’s contribution to global warming will not be allowed. The judges decided that the TCEQ has adopted clear policies that they would not consider testimony on the issue, even though the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 (EPA vs Massachusetts) that the EPA had the authority to regulate CO2 as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. If built, the plant will emit 7.4 million tons of carbon dioxide every year.
NRG has acknowledged that climate change is a serious environmental issue, and has agreed to offset a portion of its greenhouse gas emissions from the proposed new plant. Yet, lawyers for the company maneuvered to strike all references to CO2 or climate change from the week-long hearing.
In protest, local environmentalists gathered for an 8:30 a.m. protest Monday Feb 22 outside the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Groups supporting the protest included: Public Citizen, SEED Coalition, Environment Texas, Clean Water Action, Re- Energize Texas, and the Texas Climate Emergency Campaign.
Some of the protest’s participants made the following comments in a press release: Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Global Warming | Tagged Bonanza, Carbon Dioxide, clean air act, Clean Water Action, co2, coal plant, environment texas, EPA, epa vs mass, Global Warming, greenhouse gasses, Karen Hadden, luke metzger, nrg limestone, permit application, Public Citizen, reenergize texas, SEED Coalition, soah, state office of administrative hearings, TCEQ, Texas, texas climate emergency campaign, Tom "Smitty" Smith |
If you missed the Alliance for a Clean Texas lobby day last week, you missed out on a great opportunity for some face time with your representatives and their staff members. But that doesn’t mean that your chance to catch your legislator’s attention has passed. Here’s some advice from our lobby day training session for next time:
If you’re meeting your representative in person, dress nicely. It may be square and an outdated standard, but your rep is more likely to take you seriously in a collared shirt than that old Metallica tee. Stinks, but hey – that’s politics. Niceties go far.
Speaking of niceties, Be Respectful. Is it that surprising that you’re more likely to get a positive response from your rep if you are polite than if you enter the room in attack mode? Regardless of your legislator’s stance on the issues, they were, in fact, democratically elected and for that at least deserve some respect (at the very least, try not to cuss them out). Plus, you know the phrase… you catch more bees with honey.
It is also a good idea to research your rep a bit before you make an appointment or call. How have they voted on your issues in the past? If they helped pass a good bill last session, take the opportunity to thank them for it. Continue Reading »
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alliance for a clean texas, lobby day, lobbying, representative, representatives, Texas |
A while back we reported on the Austin City Council’s decision to delay their vote on the proposed Webberville solar plant.
Local environmental groups are working now to rally public support for this plant. This is the time to show the council that Austin wants more solar power, Now!
Go to Environment Texas’s internet action site here to contact the Mayor and City Council and show them your support for the proposed project. It should only take a few seconds to fill in your information, but the impact of voicing your support for solar could have reverberations that last years into the future. If this plant gets voted down and you were too busy standing in line for Watchmen to contact your council members… won’t you feel terrible about it? Guilt, guilt, guilt! Go do it!
And join the facebook group!
Posted in Renewables | Tagged austin city council, environment texas, public citien, solar plant, solar power, Texas, the watchmen, Webberville |
To prevent Texas Vox from being flooded by pictures of all the cool stuff we’re up to, Public Citizen Texas has created a photostream on Flickr. Check it out. We’ll keep you updated as we make new additions.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged flickr, photostream, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, Texas, texas vox |
This sweet little British girl KNOWS WHAT’S UP. Check out a gorgeous video, created by The Big Ask campaign:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kRP5x2MsAw]
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged big ask, climate change, Global Warming, Texas |
With the announcement of the Texas Legislature Committee rosters, I thought that some light should be shed on the 2009 Legislative Recommendations as posted by the Alliance for a Clean Texas. You can read the full reports here, but here’s a quick-read version for renewable energy and energy efficiency issues:
- Diversify our Renewable Energy Mix. Its no surprise to most of us that Texas is in first place for renewable energy resources. Legislation has historically supported wind energy, but so much of our potential has not been tapped. Studies have shown that that our potential for solar is even greater than that of wind.
- Incentives for Solar Roofs and other On-site Renewables. Instead of relying on power plants to supply our energy, wouldn’t it be great if we could have our power sources closer to home? On-site renewable technologies would be cheaper considering the spike in energy costs during high-demand season, and of course would help to improve air quality. Solar power is especially efficient, with new technologies that can be installed directly on the roofs of buildings. However, the current cost of a home or commericial system is still not cost-effective without government incentives. Solar power is estimated to reach parity with traditional electricity sources within the next five years. By getting a jump on it ahead of time, early investment will allow Texas to benefit economically as demand increases.
- Raise the Energy Efficiency Goal. Texas should aim to decrease both energy demand and energy usage. ACT recommends that the Legislature should raise the goal to 1.0 percent of peak demand and energy use by 2015 (equivalent to 50 percent load growth by 2015). By contributing only a small percentage of revenue, utility companies can invest in energy efficiency programs that will decrease peak demand of energy usage. In 2007, the legislature unanimously approved a 20% decrease in load growth by 2009, and a research study required by the legislation also supported our ability to cut load growth by 50% by 2015. Continue Reading »
Posted in Efficiency, Renewables | Tagged ACEEE, alliance for a clean texas, american council for an energy effient economy, appliance efficiency standards, committee assignments, energy demand, Energy Efficiency, incentives, LoanSTAR, renewable energy, Renewables, retrofits, solar, systems benefit fund, Texas, utilties code, wind, wind energy |
We had a meet a greet after the Texas Energy Future conference yesterday, and Boy Oh Boy was it a rip-roaring good time. Here are a few pictures of last night’s festivities. Look for yourself if you were there, and if you missed out… be jealous, and next time, Get Your Butts Over Here! Public Citizen knows how to party!
More embarrassing photos after the jump!
Continue Reading »
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Public Citizen, Texas, texas energy future |
We’ve said before that if Texas adopts a policy goal of 2,000 MW of distributed solar by 2020 (the equivalent of solar on 500,000 homes), the state will be able to create as many as 21,500 jobs, stabilize energy prices, and avoid 29 million tons of climate change pollution.
But wait, there’s more!
At the Texas Energy Future conference yesterday, keynote speaker Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower Corporation (manufacturer of the world’s most efficient solar panels and cells) said that if Texas adopted a 2000 MW goal, that would be enough of a capacity commitment to justify the capital costs needed to build a new manufacturing plant here.
Roger Efird, President of Suntech America (the leading world manufacturer of solar panels and cells) also said that he wants Suntech to be the first company to export jobs out of China and into Texas. He concurred that a 2,000 MW goal would be enough of a state commitment to locate new manufacturing facilities right here in the Lone Star State. Suntech’s solar cells themselves are already produced in Pasadena, and the aluminum is locally made as well — but then shipped off to China, where the glass is made and final assembly occurs. That’s a pretty inefficient process — shipping heavy containers out to China, and then shipping back every heavier and more fragile solar panels back again for installation in the United States. Suntech would much rather be able to do all of their business in-state, but right now the economics just aren’t right for that to happen. Time for the Texas Legislature to get cracking on an aggressive solar committment and incentive program!
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged China, Pasadena, roger efird, solar, solar cells, sunpower, suntech, Texas, texas energy future, tom werner |
« Newer Posts - Older Posts »
