Good morning, folks! I’m sitting in on the Austin City Council meeting this morning. Here at Public Citizen, we are largely concerned with two important items on today’s agenda:
Item 3: Will the City of Austin invest in the South Texas Nuclear Power Plant?
Item 16: Will the City invest in 30 megawatts of solar power from the proposed solar plant near Webberville?
Word on the street (and by street, I mean city hall) is that some members of the Council would like to postpone the vote on the solar plant. The big question here is how long the vote will be postponed. If the vote is pushed back a few weeks to give everyone a little more time to look at the impacts of this new project, that’s not really a problem… but if we are talking months here, the delay may actually be long enough to kill the project.
The Council will listen to citizen testimony before they decide to postpone (or not — though it is highly unlikely that the council will deny a request to delay the vote) and for how long (waiting with baited breath!).
Stick around, I’ll keep you posted!
Posted in Energy, Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged Austin, austin city council, city of austin, solar, solar power, south texas nuclear plant, South Texas Project, Texas, Webberville |
Just last night the House and Senate came to agreement: a $789 billion Stimulus Package with no traces of nuclear pork! The $50 billion in federal loan guarantees that could have been used by nuclear and coal industries have been carved out.
Thank you, Legislators, for finally seeing that the nuclear sector will not contribute to jobs, nor is it a better alternative for the environment!
Kevin Kamps from Beyond Nuclear says:
This monumental waste of money had to end. The nuclear energy industry cannot solve the climate crisis and fattening the nuclear calf has deprived real energy solutions like renewable energy and energy efficiency programs from essential support for decades.
And a double fist pump for all of the 243 environmental, consumer, and religious organizations that rallied together and sent a joint letter to Senators stating their “dismay and anger over the inclusion by the Senate Appropriations Committee of a provision in the economic stimulus bill to provide up to $50 billion in additional taxpayer loan guarantees that could be used for construction of new nuclear reactors and ‘clean coal’ plants.”
No more nuclear pork!
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged $50 billion, beyond nuclear, Congress, federal loan guarantees, house, kevin kamps, Loan Guarantees, Nuclear Pork, senate, stimulus package, Texas |
Ever wonder what Public Citizen is telling your Austin City Council members? Wish, granted!
Feb 11, 2009
Dear Council Member,
Will Austin remain a renewable energy leader or will it fade into the background as San Antonio, the Texas Legislature, and the Federal government move ahead to turn crisis into opportunity? Decision makers from all levels of government recognize that investing in clean energy projects will not only stimulate the economy but also combat climate change and localized pollution. Why would Austin pass this up?
We urge City Council to act now to approve the Webberville solar plant. We recognize the fact that the city faces an anemic budget this year due to reduced sales tax revenue. Since Austin Energy operates on a separate budget, it is in an advantageous position to keep its solar plans intact and on time.
Solar energy’s benefits far exceed its costs even during these uncertain economic tifcmes when you consider several factors: Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Austin, austin city council, Austin Energy, david power, economic development, Public Citizen, San Antonio, solar plant, Texas, Texas Legislature, Tom "Smitty" Smith, webbervile |
A message from our director, Tom “Smitty” Smith:
Today the House and Senate are working to reconcile their different versions of the long-awaited economic stimulus package. The stakes are now higher than ever for Texans, who stand to gain from billions that could go toward developing renewable energy and efficiency in the state, reducing pollution from diesel engines, and cleaning up abandoned nuclear waste sites.
But as much as the state needs that massive investment in our energy future, there is a troubling side to the senate version of the stimulus package: Senators amended the stimulus bill to include $50 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear plants in Texas and elsewhere in the nation.
If Congress needs a reminder why this is a bad deal, it should just ask Wall Street why it doesn’t loan money for nuclear reactors. According to the Congressional Budget Office, nuclear loans default at a rate of 50%. Banks learned long ago that these plants simply can’t be built on budget and aren’t viable without massive taxpayer subsidies. Texans are still paying for the last generation of over-budget nuclear plants each month in a hidden charge on their electric bills. Continue Reading »
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Nuclear | Tagged Congress, congressional budget office, economic recovery, Energy Efficiency, house, karnes city, kingsville, Luminant, Nuclear, nuclear loan guarantees, nuclear loans, nuclear waste, obama, Public Citizen, PUC, renewable energy, senate, senate appropriations committee, shovel ready, south texas nuclear plant, stimulus bill, stimulus package, Texas, Tom "Smitty" Smith, uranium mining, wall street |
Time to show your support for solar, and your opposition to new nuclear power!
On Thursday, Austin City Council will take up the issues of nuclear energy and solar energy. We can’t think of a better picture to illustrate the fork in the road we face when it comes to Austin’s energy future.
Item 3 on the City Council agenda: Austin Energy will appropriately recommend, again, that the City of Austin not invest in expansion of the South Texas Project. Austin Energy hired the pro-nuclear consulting firm Worley Parsons to examine the proposal, which concluded that Austin’s share of the proposed 3rd & 4th reactors would cost around $2 billion (that’s only 16% of the total, btw). Our solid credit rating would likely decline due to the large amount of debt the city would have to issue coupled with the high risk of cost overruns and schedule delays typically associated with nuclear power plants. Furthermore, the addition of 432 megawatts of baseload nuclear power does not fit with Austin’s projected electric demand forecast. This deal didn’t make sense in 2007 or 2008. It makes even less sense in 2009.
New nuclear power economics are frightening (several cost estimates put new nukes in a category by themselves), and it’s a down right nasty way to make electric power. Uranium mine sites plague groundwater sources, there is no plan in place to deal with the waste, and Texas can ill-afford to devote its precious water resources to running a radioactive water boiler.
We don’t need to go down the nuclear path again. We’ve learned from the mistakes of previous councils. Remember, Carole Keeton McClellan [Strayhorn] was mayor of Austin (1977-1983) when the city trapped itself in the boondoggle that was the first two units at STNP. Read the Austin Chronicle article from 2006 on her (scroll down to “Nailed to the Nuke”).
She is running for mayor again, which means this becomes a radioactive campaign issue. Where do Leffingwell and McCracken stand on the issue? Stay tuned.
Better options exist. Come out and voice your opposition to new nuclear power.
Item 16 on the City Council agenda: Austin Energy will recommend that Council approve a plan to invest in 30 megawatts of solar power from the proposed solar plant near Webberville. This project is a good start down the path toward a renewable energy future for Austin. The 25 year $250 million contract with California-based Gemini Solar Development Company will provide Austinites clean, renewable power from one of the largest photovoltaic arrays in the world. Solar beats new nuclear power on cost, environment and meeting peak demand.
Solar power may seem expensive, but compared to what it costs to run natural gas plants to cover the same peak period and its associated environmental impacts, it’s a winner.
Some have raised objection to the fact that the solar panels are not local. Buying local is always preferable, but it’s not always feasible. There are no Texas companies that can currently manufacture panels for this sized plant. And while a California company has gotten the first contract because of California commitment to solar, local contractors and products can be used to construct and maintain the facility. Austin will still own the land too. We hope that with more plants like this one, solar companies will get the message that Texas is open for business.
We expect a large pro-nuke/anti-solar crowd, so come out to City Council this Thursday, Feb 12, sign up to voice your support for solar power. Tell City Council you want more!
Council convenes at 10 AM.
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, Renewables | Tagged 30 mw solar, austin city council, Austin Energy, Brewster McCracken, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, City Council, credit risk, Lee Leffingwell, Nuclear, South Texas Project, Texas, Webberville, worley parsons |
During much of the debate over the stimulus in the Senate, the argument was made that it was simply too large and porky. I failed to see the logic of the stimulus being “too big” when the Senate Appropriations Committee strained at a few smaller points and then inserted big, porky $50 billion of loan guarantees for the nuclear industry.
Then the debate shifted and they started stripping more pieces out of the stimulus, including money for education and school energy efficiency retrofits.
Does that mean that that they robbed schoolchildren and gave the money to Mr. Burns?
You be the judge:
| Stimulus spending on: |
House
|
Senate
|
| Tax credits for Renewable Energy |
$13 billion |
$13 billion |
| Nuclear Loan Guarantees |
0 |
$50 billion |
| Energy Efficiency upgrades for homeowners |
$6.2 billion |
$2.9 billion |
| Energy Efficiency and modernization upgrades for schools |
$21 billion |
0 |
| Fossil Fuel R&D (clean coal) |
0 |
$4.6 billion |
| “Smart Grid” technology |
$11 billion |
$11 billion |
| Loan subsidies for renewable energy |
0 |
$8.5 billion |
| Advanced battery systems research |
0 |
$8.5 billion |
Source: AP
Posted in Nuclear | Tagged $50 billion, Loan Guarantees, nuclea, Nuclear, pork, senate, stimulus, Texas, wasteful spending |
UPDATE: With the passage of the stimulus bill through the Senate, now the joint conference committee will have to iron out the differences between the House and Senate bills. This is the last chance for Congress to strip this out of the bill. Does your Congressman know how you feel about nuclear pork?
Environmentalists are screaming but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s listening. So many articles are debating $50 million for this or that in the economic stimulus bill, but almost all of them seem to be ignoring the huge $50 BILLION slab of glowing pork, in the form of loan guarantees, for the nuclear industry slipped into the stimulus bill last Tuesday by Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah).
Sen. Bennett (R- UT) and Fictional Supervillain / Nuclear Power enthusiast C. Montgomery Burns
(A Washington Post article yesterday has some interesting background information. What they left out is why Bennett would be supporting nuclear pork. Anyone want to guess?)
Said Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder in a Press Release last Wednesday,
Senators are supposed to be fixing the economy but instead they’re offering the nuclear industry a $50 billion gift that will create virtually no near-term jobs. It’s unconscionable. Lobbyists are probably popping champagne corks as we speak.
With a long licensing and regulatory process, nuclear reactors are simply not shovel-ready.
Stressed Michael Mariotte, executive director of Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), in a January 30th Press Release,
This is nothing more than a pre-emptive bailout of the nuclear power industry. It would have no stimulative effect on the economy and would create no new jobs, since no reactors will be licensed or can even be started in the two-year period the bill addresses.
Even if this were not the case, the “Nuclear Energy Institute-infamous for overstating nuclear power’s alleged benefits-acknowledges it costs about $1.5 million per job created by nuclear power.” Continue Reading »
Posted in Nuclear | Tagged bailout, brent blackwelder, Congress, Department of Energy, economic stimulus bill, federal financing bank, friends of the eart, michael mariotte, nuclear information and resource service, Nuclear Pork, Nuclear Power, nuclear reactors, physicians for social responsibility, robert bennett, stimulus bill, Texas |
A week and a half ago I sat in on the first Carbon Management Caucus meeting of the 81st Legislature and listened to a professor from Penn State tell legislators, their staffers, and a few intrepid members of the general public that “we need coal, coal isn’t going anywhere, in China they’re using tons and tons of coal and opening a new plant every week, why should we drop coal if China isn’t, coal coal coal” … you get the picture. I paraphrase, of course. But essentially, a new twist on the China cop-out.
Yes, China uses lots of coal. LOTS. And China’s strategic decision to go crazy on coal plants has done much for rural electrification and providing electricity to populations that have never had it before. But China’s commitment to coal is also slowly killing its people, and they’re aware of it.
Reports Grist,
Every 30 seconds a baby is born with physical defects in China, partly due to the country’s deteriorating environment, state media said, citing a senior family planning official.
The figure, reported by the China Daily in its weekend edition, adds up to almost 1.1 million in a year, or about seven percent of all births in the world’s most populous nation.
Let me add emphasis to the fact that this information was coming from China’s state media (let me repeat, China’s STATE MEDIA, as in, the official government-sanctioned voice approved by the ruling commmunist party). I find this particularly shocking because it is very likely that, from such a highly regulated source, even this jaw-dropping figure is under-reported.
The article continues,
North China’s coal-rich Shanxi province, a major source of toxic emissions from large-scale chemical industries, has recorded the highest rate of birth defects, the China Daily said in its weekend edition.
“The problem of birth defects is related to environmental pollution, especially in eight main coal zones,” said An Huanxiao, the director of Shanxi provincial family planning agency, according to the paper.
Pan Jianping, a professor of the Women and Child Health Research Office under Xi’an Jiaotong University, warned that the increasing rate of birth defects among Chinese infants would soon become a social problem.
So there you go. Let’s quit coal — do it for the babies.
Posted in Coal | Tagged 81st legislature, birth defects, carbon caucus, carbon management caucus, China, china daily, Coal, coal plant, environmental pollution, grist, penn state, shanxi, Texas |
Throughout the global warming debate, I have often heard an argument I like to call “the China cop-out.”
It goes somewhere along the lines of, “Developing nations like China and India are growing so quickly, adding so many new coal-fired power plants, and emitting so much carbon dioxide that it isn’t worth it for the US to take action on climate change until they are on board as well.”
To which my response has always been, “Since when does America look to China to lead?”
Recent news shows that if America is willing to rise to the challenge of mitigating climate change impacts and become a leader once again, other nations will follow. To prove my point, this just in: Japan jumps on the green stimulus bandwagon.
Just as President Obama has been shepherding the stimulus package, loaded up with green goodies, through the House and Senate, Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan has announced his intention to draft a “Green New Deal” to counter both climate change and the global economic downturn.
Grist reports that Aso will “order a stimulus package focusing on slashing greenhouse gases at a meeting of his global warming advisory panel Wednesday.” At this meeting his government will also ” present various plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2020.”
If America commits to lead by example, who knows how many other leaders we may be able to influence?
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Barack Obama, Carbon Dioxide, China, climate change, developing nations, emissions, Global Warming, green new deal, grist, India, japan, leadership, prime minister, stimulus package, taro aso, Texas |
Remember last week, when solar power was ALL OVER THE NEWS? Check out this video of News 8 Austin’s news story from Monday (and look for Smitty, our director, proclaiming that “Now is the time to Wildcat the Sun!”):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcDHE-PS594&feature=channel_page]
Also, check out KXAN’s news coverage. The KXAN slant on the story was pretty interesting: they focused on how jobs lost in the semiconductor industry could be replaced by new solar manufacturing jobs.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uojCK7PyIv8&feature=channel_page]
Austin has long been a hub of the semiconductor industry because a generation ago, state legislators passed a package of incentives to lure silicon chip manufacturers to Texas. This created a high tech boom that has enriched Texans for over 20 years. But now thousands of those jobs are disappearing. The technologies involved to manufacture semiconductor chips and solar installations are very close, and business leaders believe that the semiconductor industry can actually be repurposed to produce solar. At the very least, the skill sets involved in one translate seamlessly into the other, so that individuals who lost semiconductor jobs are the perfect candidates for new solar jobs.
And in the Austin-American Statesman today, it turns out there really is credence to what we’ve been saying! It never hurts to have backup. A new solar energy start-up is moving to Austin, precisely because we’ve got all the ideal ingredients to be a solar power hub.
Said SmartSpark chief executive Ron Van Dell (former leader of semiconductor design company Legerity Inc. and chief executive of Primarion Corp., a mixed-signal semiconductor company),
[In Austin] You’ve got an excellent talent pool, a growing base of renewable energy companies and a local ecosystem that’s very supportive of high-tech startups.
…The skills mix in power electronics is very, very good in Austin, whether they’re technical people or marketing people.
…Clean energy is a sector that dovetails with the semiconductor industry, and we’ve got a lot of talented people with skills that are so well-suited for the next generation of technology innovation.
Public Citizen’s bet is that if the Texas Legislature can pass the right policies this session, we can attract even more solar manufacturing and installation companies like SmartSpark. We don’t want to make the same mistake we did with wind, where we created a huge renewable energy boom and created thousands of installation jobs (yay!), but moved too slowly and cautiously to attract the big manufacturing companies (boo). For more information on some of the solar legislation introduced this session, check out last week’s post “Could this be Texas’ Solar Session?”
Posted in Renewables | Tagged Austin, Austin American-Statesman, green jobs, kxan, manufacturing jobs, news 8, semiconductor industry, smartspark, solar, solar energy startup, solar power, Texas, wildcatting the sun |
Hey Look! A press release from SEED Coalition and Public Citizen:
60 Day Clock For Nuclear Opponents Starts Ticking;
Luminant Moves Forward Toward Expansion of Comanche Peak Nuclear Plant
Reactor Design Not Ready for Primetime
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission posted notice today on the federal register of Luminant’s application to build two reactors at the Comanche Peak nuclear plant site, southwest of Fort Worth. Citizens now have only 60 days to prepare and present their legal case in opposition.
The reactor design (US-APWR) has not been approved by the NRC and it has never been built anywhere in the world. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. submitted the US-Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (US-APWR) for design certification on December 31, 2007, but the review will take the NRC at least until 2011 to complete.
“This fast-tracked combined construction and operating license process was rationalized based on the assumption that new reactors would only use pre-certified designs, but the Comanche Peak reactor design is not approved yet. Not only does this put a huge burden on the public to quickly learn what’s happening and become involved within only 60 days, but it also puts pressure on the NRC to rubberstamp designs that should have extra scrutiny,” said Smith.
“The streamlined process is designed to cut citizens out and limit public involvement in the licensing of two reactors that could cost $22 billion before cost overruns,” said Karen Hadden, executive director of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition. “It makes the fast-tracking of TXU’s coal plants in Texas look slow.”
Comanche Peak Unit One ran ten times over budget and was years late coming online. An untested reactor design increases the likelihood of similar problems occurring again and soaring rate hikes that would result.
“If safety was a real concern, the three processes all occurring simultaneously would be take one at a time. This rush increases risks of safety oversight and problems from faulty design and construction” said Hadden. “Reactor designs should be analyzed first, and if and when the NRC deems them adequate, a construction license application should be allowed. If the plant has no major construction flaws after completion, then the operating license should be decided.” Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged bonnie raitt, comanche peak nuclear plant, comanche peak unit one, graham nash, Karen Hadden, Loan Guarantees, Luminant, Mitasubishi, NRC, nrc federal register, Nuclear, nuclear informationa nd resource service, Nuclear Power, nuclear regulatory comissision, paul winter, Public Citizen, rate hikes, reactor design, SEED Coalition, stimulus bill, Texas, Tom "Smitty" Smith, US-APWR |
Originally posted by Brad Johnson at the Wonk Room. Copied here whole sale:
The coal industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to get out the message of “clean coal,” through front groups like the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, campaign contributions, and an army of lobbyists. But the devastating December 22, 2008 coal ash slurry spill of the Kingston Fossil Plant in rural Tennessee broke through the cacophony of clean coal carolers. This ThinkProgress Wonk Room video is a stark reminder that in reality, coal isn’t clean.
Watch it:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4-HQrunDaE]
This week alone, the news of progress away from dirty coal has reached a fever pitch:
Monday: A new report shows high levels of arsenic and other toxins in rivers downstream of the Kingston coal ash spill. “TVA says no drinking water standards were violated, but tests done by the nonpartisan, nonprofit group Environmental Integrity Project say otherwise.”
A Montana electric utility decided to “scrap its plans for a $900 million coal-fired power plant east of Great Falls and turn instead to renewable energy to meet the needs of its 65,000 Montana customers.”
Tuesday: In Pettus, West Virginia, five Coal River Mountain activists were arrested and charged with trespassing after locking themselves to a bulldozer and a backhoe at a Massey Energy mountaintop-removal mine site — that could instead be a wind farm.
250 people in the towns of Prenter and Seth, West Virginia “with orange and black water in their taps, tubs and toilets are suing eight coal companies they believe poisoned their wells by pumping mine wastes into former underground mines.”
Saying, “Coal makes no sense in this day and age,” Georgia Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D) introduced legislation to “limit then ban” coal from mountain-top removal and “place a moratorium on new coal-plant construction in the state.”
In her State of the State address, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) called for “a near-moratorium on new coal-fired power plants and a major reduction in reliance on coal for electricity generation over the next decade.”
Green Inc.’s Tom Zeller Jr. notes, “The coal industry — which suffers from an image problem to begin with — has had a particularly rough few days.”
Posted in Coal | Tagged american coalition for clean coal electricity, brad johnson, clean coal, coal industry, Texas, wonk room |
At last! I can fill you in on Monday’s fantastic solar press conference at the capitol!
Senator Rodney Ellis and Public Citizen Director Tom "Smitty" Smith
Public Citizen, Environment Texas and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club hosted a statewide round of press conferences this week to roll out our solar report, Texas Solar Roadmap — which of course can be downloaded at www.cleanenergyfortexas.org. Our report highlights how a robust solar program would help put Texans back to work, reduce peak energy prices, curb climate change, improve air quality, and position the state as a world leader for solar production. The full report is a pretty good read, but if you’re short on time I suggest the condensed version, Wildcatting the Sun.
Our press conference in Austin was particularly exciting because we were in such great company. Senators Troy Fraser, Leticia Van de Putte, Kirk Watson, Rodney Ellis, and Representatives Mark Strama and Rafael Anchia all appeared and championed the solar bills they have introduced thus far.
Rafael Anchia’s HB 278 and Florence Shapiro’s SB 427 would require the state’s electric utilities to support the development of 2000 megawatts of solar and other on-site renewable technologies by offering direct incentives to consumers and businesses.
This is right in line with Public Citizen’s distributed solar goal, outlined in both Wildcatting the Sun and Texas Solar Roadmap . According to our report , such a standard could lead to installations on as many as 500,000 roofs in Texas by 2020 at a cost of about 98 cents per month per Texan (Polls have shown that 81% of Texas voters are willing to pay up to a dollar a month to encourage solar power. What about you?). This investment would create an estimated 22,000 jobs and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide emissions by 29 million tons, the equivalent of taking 4.3 million cars off the road for a year.
Anchia stressed that this should be Texas’ solar session because it would answer two of our major challenges: air quality, and global warming.
Senator Fraser was the first legislator to speak, proclaiming that this would be Texas’ solar session. Chairman of the Business and Commerce Committee, Fraser is well positioned to be an effective solar champion. As such, Fraser was particularly proud to forecast a sunny session for solar power. He joked that there are so many solar bills being filed this session, they are going to have to lay them all out at once and have a “solar day” where they can pick out the best bills and key components of each (this is the second time I’ve heard him say this though, so he may be serious. If so, you better bet I’ll be there with bells on!)
Fraser also said that he found the idea enumerated in Kirk Watson’s bills — that Texas was very successful in promoting wind power but missed out on manufacturing opportunities — particularly in need of our attention.
Fraser’s big solar bill is SB 545, which
would create a five-year program for distributed solar generation incentives offered through the state’s transmission and distribution utilities. The incentive program would be funded by a nominal monthly fee on residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Check out his press release from last week, when that bill was filed, for more information. Or if you’re feeling really geeky, read the bill. Watson has also filed SB 546, relating to the state goal for energy efficiency. This bill sets stepped goals for how much of the state’s growth in energy efficiency will be met by efficiency, culminating in a goal of getting 50% load growth through efficiency by 2015.
Senator Van de Putte was then called up to champion CPS Energy’s new distributed energy commitment and her own solar in schools bill, SB 598. This would set up a pilot loan program to retrofit public schools with PV panels and other efficiency measures. Solar on schools is a pretty smart idea, because during summer months when the lights are off and their electricity use dips way down, they could make a lot of money pumping of energy back into the grid.
Senator Watson, a member of the Business and C0mmerce Committee and my Very Own senator, has three solar bills introduced so far. Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Air Quality, andrew mccalla, Austin, business and commerce, Carbon Dioxide, climate change, CPS Energy, distributed solar, eliot shapiro, emerging technology fund, energy conservation office, Energy Efficiency, environment texas, green jobs, greenhouse gas, hb 516, jose beceiro, kirk watson, leticia van de putte, made in texas, mark strama, meridian energy systems, peak energy prices, peak power, Public Citizen, rafael anchia, renewable energy, Rodney Ellis, sb 435, sb 541, sb 542, sb 545, sb 546, sb 598, sb 603, senator rodney ellis, Sierra Club, solar legislation, solar power, Texas, texas center for sustainable business, texas solar roadmap, troy fraser, tx, wildcatting the sun |
February 4, 2009 by Citizen Carol
The promise by Obama to overturn Bush administration policies on energy is already being fulfilled. Today the Obama administration said it will cancel oil drilling leases on more than 100,000 acres in Utah and return $6 million in bids including those of activist Tim DeChristopher, who added an interesting twist to the Bush administration’s rush to sell oil and gas leases during their last weeks in office.
In December DeChristopher bid on and won several of these leases in protest, even though he didn’t have the money to pay for them. By early January he had raised $45,000 from supporters and promised if he didn’t have to use the money he would contact donors to determine what do do with the cash.
In the meantime, an alliance of conservation groups filed a lawsuit to try to stop the leasing, citing concerns it would pollute the air in the protected areas. They were granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Bureau of Land Management from moving forward with the leases.
These delaying tactics have proved to be most effective in light of this announcement.
So thank you Tim DeChristopher, for your unorthadox approach to good stewardship of some of our nation’s most precious landscapes in Utah. It took a lot of chutzpah to do what you did in the face of an administration whose motto has long been (as Sarah Palin puts it) “DRILL-BABY-DRILL” regardless of the consequences to environmentally sensitive areas.
And thank you Robin Cooley, the Earthjustice attorney who represented the conservation groups, for convincing the court that the one and a half hours of use we would get from the oil produced on these lands should be weighed more carefully against the impacts on our national parks and protected areas.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bureau of Land Management, bush administration, drill baby dirll, earthjustice, obama, Oil and Gas Leases, robin cooley, sarah palin, Texas, tim dechris, Tim DeChristopher, utah |
I’m embarrassed.
Greg Harman at the San Antonio Current beat me to covering my own press conference. And he did a way better job than I ever could have done.
The only explanation is that Greg Harman is Superman. Or, that I am one very busy media coordinator who needs to re-align her priorities (from now on, the internet wins!).
I’m so ashamed, it doesn’t even seem worth it to write anything myself.
Save me the effort, and go to his post at the San Antonio Current Queblog. Read about how within the span of two weeks, SA’s CPS Energy pledged to transition to a decentralized power model (ie, energy created on site rather than at a power plant). Learn how last Thursday, Mayor Hardberger unveiled his visionary Mission Verde Plan to make San Antonio a truly sustainable city. Proceed to Harman’s excitement over the sea change at the Legislature, such that fully 15 solar bills have been filed this session.
And then check out his fantastic video, photos, and audio clips. It almost feels like you were there! Watch our very own David Power, solar advocate, announce how the solar industry can provide Texas’ next big job boom! Smile as Bill Sinkin and his bow tie refer to solar energy as a full grown child no longer in need of coddling, but still looking for our support. And listen to County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson trumpet that Texas has reached a critical mass and perfect storm for extensive solar power in the state of Texas to finally become a reality.
Hey hey, looks like I can steal his video from youtube. I LOVE THE INTERNET.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDFfv9Scwfo]
You should still go to his post though, because it is wicked awesome and I can’t steal his audio clips. Or rather, don’t know how.
Also check out the San Antonio Express-New’s coverage: Nonprofits say boosting solar capability in Texas could create jobs. We don’t “say” so, we know so.
Ten “cool” points if you caught the Real Ultimate Power reference. And by cool, I mean totally sweet.
Check out our official press release after the jump. Continue Reading »
Posted in Energy, Renewables | Tagged bill sinkin, CPS Energy, david power, Greg Harman, mayor hardberger, mission verd, queblog, real ultimate power, San Antonio, san antonio current, san antonio express news, solar energy, solar power, superman, Texas, tommy adkisson |
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