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The Results Are In: Cleaner Air Does Save Lives

December 13, 2012 by kaibawhite

Fine particles in the air (particularly those smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) cause a multitude of health problems, ranging from difficulty kid with asthma inhalerbreathing and asthma to heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.  The question has been whether or not cleaning the air any further makes a difference.  This type of air pollution has decreased substantially since 1980, but only smaller gains have been made since 2000.

A new study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health shows that even the modest gains made in reducing particulate matter between 2000 and 2007 are adding years to people’s lives.  Life expectancies were shown to increase .35 years in 545 US counties.

Not everyone is equally impacted, so some demographics are reaping larger benefits through cleaner air.  The young, the old and those who exercise outdoors are most likely to be negatively impacted by fine particles in the air.

In Texas, our port communities endure especially high concentrations of particulate matter.  Public Citizen is working to force the Port of Houston clean up.  Replacing or retrofitting the old, highly polluting trucks that haul goods from the port to nearby warehouses would do a lot to improve the health of surrounding communities.  The Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) provides funds for just this purpose.  Those investments are saving lives, but are often underutilized by truck owners.

Posted in Air Quality, Diesel | Tagged , , , |

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Ditches ALEC

December 3, 2012 by kaibawhite

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has taken a step that any self-respecting supporter of renewable energy should do – ditched the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).  This relationship looked a lot like the fabled one between the scorpion and tortoise.

Despite members such as the SEIA and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), ALEC has decided to make a nationwide push to roll back renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS) that have been enacted in many states.  The RPS sets a percentage of electricity consumed that must be derived from renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar.  The Texas RPS, passed in 1999, has helped propel the state into its role and a wind industry leader.  At one point last month, the ERCOT electric grid (which encompasses most of Texas) was getting 26% of its power from wind turbines.

congratulationsIt pleases me to see good organizations such as SEIA leaving the backward notions of ALEC behind and I hope that other well-meaning organizations, businesses and elected officials will take a hard look at the facts and do the same.  ALEC has perverted the legislative process to suit its needs.  Model bills are developed behind closed doors to fit certain member industry desires and are then pushed for adoption in as many states as possible.  Of course, as SEIA has likely discovered, not all members are equal and its the big boys that get to make the rules of the game.

Numerous polls and studies show widespread support for renewable energy, but nothing speaks so loud as money.  Only when the coffers at ALEC dry up will they stop pushing this kind of backward legislation.

It remains to be seen whether ALEC’s effort to repeal the RPS will gain any traction in Texas.  Here’s to hoping that saner heads prevail and send ALEC packing.

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, renewable portfolio standard, Renewables, solar | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

Koch Brothers Exposed Screening with Progress Texas

November 29, 2012 by kaibawhite

Our partners at Progress Texas are hosting a special screening of the documentary Koch Brothers Exposed at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar on Monday, December 3rd at 6:30 PM.  They have already sold out more than half the theater – be sure to reserve your seats now before they sell out!

From director Robert Greenwald (Outfoxed, WalMart: the High Cost of Low Price), comes a terrific documentary film on Charles and David Koch—two billionaire brothers who have bankrolled a vast network of organizations that work to undermine middle class interests on issues ranging from Social Security to the environment to civil rights. This film uncovers the Kochs’ corruption—and points the way to how Americans can reclaim their democracy.

After the screening, Progress Texas will host a 30-minute discussion and Q/A with invited speakers Texas State Representative Garnet Coleman, Austin Chronicle Political Reporter Richard Whittaker, and others.

Purchase Ticket

The price per ticket for a non-sustaining donor is $20. This includes entry for the movie AND a $10 credit towards the purchase of any food or drinks.

As always, Progress Texas sustaining donors get in free, but space is limited. To make sure you have a seat you will need to reserve your ticket for $10. That $10 will be put directly to a food and drink credit. If you are a current sustaining donor and interested in attending this event or have questions, please contact mark@progresstexas.org for more information.

Check out the trailer below and make sure to get your reserved seat ticket today!

Koch Brothers Exposed

Posted in Campaign Finance, Good Government | Tagged , , , |

New Sea Level Rise Study Indicates the Impacts of Sandy Could Become the Norm Sooner Than Expected

November 28, 2012 by Citizen Carol

In a new peer-reviewed scientific study, experts said satellite data show sea levels rose by 3.2 millimeters a year from 1993 to 2011 — 60 percent faster than the 2 mm annual rise projected by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for that period, however  the IPCC was just about spot on with its predictions for warming temperatures.

The IPCC has estimated that seas rose by about 7 inches over the last century, and estimates a range of between 7 and 23 inches this century.  This is enough to worsen coastal flooding and erosion during storm surges and if the impacts of Hurricane Sandy is any indication, will dramatically impact the dense coastal populations around the world.

The most recent IPCC report did not factor in a possible acceleration of the melt of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and “assumed that Antarctica will gain enough (ice) mass” to compensate for Greenland ice loss, the new study’s authors noted, but more recent studies have shown that “the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are increasingly losing mass.”

When the next IPCC report comes out in March 2014, we should expect a more quantitative understanding of ongoing sea level rise — and an entire chapter on the topic —given the impacts on the densely populated coastal regions of the world.

Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming, Water | Tagged , , , , , |

Texas Renewables Conference 2012

November 27, 2012 by Citizen Carol

I want to alert you to a unique opportunity this December.  It’s a special conference and video-taping called Renewable Energy and The Unified Energy System. And it’s going to be at the Lost Pines Resort just outside of Austin on the way to Bastrop.

Renewable Energy has truly come of age.

Solar modules are below a dollar/watt and distributed solar is about to blast through the proverbial roof.  Texas Coastal wind now competes with base load fossil plants in price, yet performs like a more expensive gas peaking plant.  Just as important, large scale solar plants can now compete with natural gas peaking units in price.  Plug-ins and all-electric cars are becoming commonplace on our streets.  Rules for storage facilities are finally written.  Advanced thermostats and controls and other smart grid developments  are providing new avenues in demand side energy management for both homeowners and utilities.

Our cars, buildings and the electric grid are becoming unified and Renewable Energy will be the big winner in an energy horizon where energy sellers become buyers, buyers become sellers, and renewable energy competes with oil in the transportation sector.

Texas Renewables 2012 is designed to address this transition and highlight the accomplishments of the Pecan Street Project where 200 of the 600 energy efficient smart homes are fitted with solar PV and 100 of the homes will support a plug in vehicle. The conference will provide a solid understanding of the forces at play to further the vision of a “Unified Energy System” and discuss strategies to sustain continued growth for the renewable energy sector.

You may even want your company or agency to be an exhibitor.

Click here to register.

There is only room for about 500 folks, so be sure and act now to reserve your place. We can’t think of a better place to be on 12/12/12.

Posted in Renewables | Tagged , |

Stop Keystone XL Pipeline in Nebraska – protect the Ogallala Aquifer

November 26, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Submit a comment to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on how risky the Keystone XL pipeline route is for the Nebraska Sandhills and the Ogallala Aquifer. Help us get over 1,000 comments submitted.  Click here to send a comment to the Nebraska DEQ.  If you are not from Nebraska, change the comment and let them know how this affects you.

The Ogallala Aquifer is part of the High Plains Aquifer System.  It is a vast, yet shallow, underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world’s largest aquifers, it covers an area of approximately 174,000 square miles in portions of eight states.  These include South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.

 

Posted in Tarsands, Water | Tagged , , |

NRC MAINTAINS HEIGHTENED WATCH OVER NUCLEAR PLANTS IMPACTED BY SANDY; THREE SHUTDOWNS AND OYSTER CREEK PLANT IN ALERT

October 30, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Update:  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said an alert at the Oyster Creek plant in Forked River, N.J., ended early Wednesday, October 31.

According to an NRC press release, three reactors (Nine Mile Point 1 in Scriba, N.Y., Indian Point 3 in Buchanan, N.Y.; and Salem Unit 1 in Hancocks Bridge, N.J.) experienced shutdowns as Hurricane Sandy pounded the East Coast.  Another plant, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, remains in an “Alert” due to high water levels in its water intake structure.

NRC says, “Nine Mile Point 1 underwent an automatic shutdown at about 9 p.m. Monday when an electrical fault occurred on power lines used to send power to the grid. It is likely a storm-related event, but the plant’s operators are still evaluating the cause. All plant safety systems responded as designed and the shutdown was safely carried out. Meanwhile, Nine Mile Point 2 experienced a loss of one of two incoming off-site power lines as a result of the fault. One of the plant’s emergency diesel generators started in response to generate power usually provided by the line. Nine Mile Point 2 remained at full power.”

NRC continued, “Indian Point 3 automatically shut down at about 10:40 p.m. Monday in response to electrical grid disturbances caused by the storm. . . the unit was placed in a safe shutdown condition.” And, “Salem Unit 1 was manually shut down by plant operators at about 1:10 a.m. Tuesday as a result of circulating-water pumps being affected by high river level and debris in the waterway.”

Finally, but perhaps of most concern, Oyster Creek had an declared an “Alert” at approximately 8:45 p.m. on October 29th  preceded by an “Unusual Event” at about 7 p.m. when the water level first reached a minimum high water level criteria. The water level rose due to a combination of a rising tide, wind direction and storm surge. While the water level has dropped since peaking earlier today, the Alert remains in place until the level is below the specific criteria for the intake structure, which is where water from an intake canal is pumped into the plant for cooling purposes.

The alert came after water levels at the plant rose more than 6.5 feet above normal, potentially affecting the “water intake structure” that pumps cooling water through the plant.

Those pumps are not essential to keep the reactor cool since the plant has been shut for planned refueling since October 22. Exelon however was concerned that if the water rose over 7 feet it could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool, potentially forcing it to use emergency water supplies from the in-house fire suppression system to keep the rods from overheating.

Exelon also moved a portable pump to the intake structure as a precaution in case it was needed to pump cooling water.  The water levels reached a peak of 7.4 feet — apparently above the threshold — but the pump motors did not flood.  As of 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday the water level was down to 5.8 feet, but they will need the water level to stay below 6 feet for a while before the alert status is taken off.  When the water level falls below 4.5 feet, the plant could then be taken off the unusual event status.

Fortunately for everyone, Oyster Creek, the oldest nuclear plant in the nation, was shut down for a refueling and maintenance outage prior to the storm and the reactor remains out of service.

Posted in Nuclear, Radioactive Waste | Tagged , , , , |

Public Utility Commission Ignores Texans’ Cries for Clean Energy, Shirks Duty to Implement Law

October 25, 2012 by kaibawhite

Even Support from Businesses Like IKEA Is Not Enough for PUC

AUSTIN, TX – The Public Utility Commission delivered a slap in the face to the more than 6,000 Texans and 70 businesses and organizations  who have actively called on the Commission to implement and expand the non-wind renewable portfolio standard (RPS).  The non-wind RPS would establish a market for electricity from solar and other renewable energy resources in Texas, just as the State’s overall RPS did for wind energy.  The non-wind RPS was passed into law in 2005, but has yet to be implemented by the PUC.

Democracy and the rule of law may be important tenants of our society, but they are utterly lacking at the PUC, where Commissioners refused to engage in even a single minute of public discussion on the matter before striking it down today.

Instead of gathering current information on the price of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and other renewable energy technologies, the PUC staff recommended denial based on data that is more than two years old.  This illustrates a shocking lack of due diligence, given that solar prices have plummeted over the past two years and are now competitive with traditional energy sources, especially when demand is high.  David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy, told participants at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, “Solar is so cheap today that unless you tell me that you did a solar analysis yesterday, not last year or last month, then your analysis is out of date.”

The Commission appears to be committed to willful ignorance on this issue, but we’re not giving up.  This is too important to the future of our state. The solar industry is going to continue to grow regardless of what the PUC does; it’s just a matter of whether it will grow in Texas and bring good jobs to Texans or if we will let other states and other countries leave us behind.

While misconceptions about the cost of solar energy persist, businesses and individuals who look at current prices have found an opportunity for energy savings by investing in solar.  IKEA, a major international retailer, supports implementing and expanding the non-wind RPS in Texas.  “While utilizing renewable resources for generating energy allows us to reduce our carbon footprint, it[s] also is good business since it significantly reduces operational costs,” states the company in its comments that they filed with the PUC.

Posted in Energy, green jobs, renewable portfolio standard, Renewables, solar | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Solar Backers Rally as Public Comment Period Ends

October 22, 2012 by kaibawhite

Advocates fault PUC for turning a blind eye to industry as Texas falls behind

Solar energy backers rallied outside the Texas Public Utility Commission [last] week seeking enforcement of a seven-year-old law that would boost electric generation from geothermal, biomass and the state’s ample supply of sunshine.

Public comment [ended Friday]on proposed rulemaking at the PUC, which has been reluctant to embrace the non-wind portion of the so-called renewable portfolio standards passed by the Texas Legislature in 2005. With those standards calling for generation of about 500 megawatts of renewable power from non-wind sources by 2015 and 3,000 megawatts by 2025, the Clean Energy Works for Texas Campaign sent petitions to the PUC urging it to carry out the law’s provisions. The group estimates that more than 6,000 individuals across Texas and 50 businesses or organizations lent their signatures in support.

“Why aren’t we seeing the clean energy we’ve demanded from our legislators? Why aren’t we seeing the thousands of new green jobs, new energy businesses and new tax revenues for our underfunded schools?” asked activist Dave Cortez of the Texas BlueGreen Apollo Alliance. “Four words: The Texas Public Utility Commission – a government agency run by unelected commissioners who have the power to take state law and misinterpret it, sit on it, lambast it, everything but implement it and ultimately say, ‘No, sorry. We don’t like it.’”

The PUC’s stand, as articulated by Chairman Donna Nelson, stresses the fact that wind power’s success has eclipsed the minimum renewable standards set in the law many times over. And, she argues that the law’s instructions on non-wind energy are not mandatory, a point of contention with solar backers. Moreover, she has said propping up solar power would increase electric bills and that the commission is not in the business of favoring one type of energy generation over another.

Executives from two Austin-based solar companies who attended the rally said each had respectively grown from only two employees to at least 25. And, with the business climate unfriendly to solar in Texas, they said, both companies are making upcoming expansions in a state more hospitable to their interests.

“The bad news is we’re in the process of opening a second office, and the second office will be in California,” said Tim Padden, founder of Revolve Solar. “I would rather be in Dallas, San Antonio or Houston, but the reality is California has taken a stand to support the development of the solar industry seriously by setting statewide goals and local support for their solar companies. I want to see this happen here in my home state. These could be Texas jobs.”

Stan Pipkin of Lighthouse Solar, an Austin-based solar design integration firm said his own company has shown an almost identical job growth and will also be opening offices in California.

“I’m deeply concerned that Texas is not taking advantage of the energy resource we have in most abundance,” he said. “Texas is currently 10th in solar capacity. This is absolutely confounding given our solar resource, our electric demand and our shortage of reserve capacity. It just doesn’t make sense.”

By Polly Ross Hughes

Copyright September 14, 2012, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved.  Reposted by TexasVox.org with permission of the Texas Energy Report.

The PUC has put the non-wind RPS on the agenda for its open meeting this Thursday.  We need you to be there to show your support for moving forward with the rulemaking process.  Please email kwhite@citizen.org if you are interested in attending.  The meeting will be in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room on the 7th Floor of the William B. Travis building at 1701 N. Congress Ave, Austin.

Posted in Energy, geothermal, Good Government, green jobs, renewable portfolio standard, Renewables, solar, Utilities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , |

PRICELE$$ – the movie

October 11, 2012 by Citizen Carol

From the Fourth of July to the halls of Congress, PRICELE$$ is a filmmaker’s personal journey across America to answer a burning question: why are some of our government’s most basic policies, like food and energy, so out-of-date, and can anything be done about it? Sharing the suspicion of fellow-citizens, including a class of young civics students, that campaign money is involved, the filmmakers set out on a spellbinding—at times hilarious—ride from rural America to the halls of Congress to learn more, because democracy is a precious resource, PRICELE$$ even!

PRICELE$$ airs on November 4 in Austin, TX @ 9:30 pm on KLRU-Q.  The award-winning documentary is a FUN and compelling film about the need for a new way to elect lawmakers without the help of billionaires, lobbyists and SuperPACs.  A winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival PRICELE$$ has received big thumbs up from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are fed up with the money chase and the entanglements. 

[vimeo=38125159]

Check out the trailer above and watch the full film on Sunday, November 4th before election day.  And check out the reviews from elected officials below.  If you live in other parts of the country, contact your local PBS station to see if they intend to air it in the near future.

The USA is the greatest nation in world history, but it is not as good as it could be.  This film tells us how we can be all we should be, simply, but not simplistically.

-Former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo (D)

I would urge every single Member of Congress (or their fine staff!) to watch this movie. It’s high time that our leaders bring an end to the corrupting and stifling influence of special interest money on our democracy.  This just isn’t about right and left.  It’s really about right and wrong.

-Former Senator Alan Simpson (R)

Posted in Good Government | Tagged , , |

Rally for Clean Energy and Good Jobs – Thursday, October 18 at Noon

October 9, 2012 by kaibawhite

We are taking our Clean Energy Works for Texas campaign to the doorstep of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) next week.  We hope you will join us for a rally on Thursday, October 18 at 12 p.m. in front of the William B. Travis building at 1701 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701

We are urging the PUC to create rules to enforce and expand the non-wind renewable portfolio standard (RPS). Passed into law in 2005, the non-wind RPS has languished at the PUC, thanks to pressure from certain lobby interests not to enforce the law. 7 years is too long to wait.

The PUC needs to hear that the people of Texas are ready to get to work building 21st century energy economies. With more solar potential than any other state, Texas should be an epicenter of the solar industry. Our workers should be supplying solar panels, inverters and other equipment to the rest of the country and the world. Enforcing the non-wind renewable portfolio standard will send a message to investors that Texas is open for business.

http://www.facebook.com/events/186701511465498/

For more information on the campaign and to sign on in support, visit www.CleanEnergyWorksForTexas.org.

Contact kwhite@citizen.org with any questions.

Posted in geothermal, renewable portfolio standard, Renewables, solar | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Breaking: Daryl Hannah joins tar sands blockade

October 4, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Actress Daryl Hannah has been arrested along with Winnsboro ranch owner Eleanor Fairchild, 78, while staging a protest against Keystone XL construction on Mrs. Fairchild’s farm. The duo where defending Mrs. Fairchild’s home and business, Fairchild Farms, a portion of which has been expropriated by TransCanada, for its toxic tar sands pipeline.

More details on their blog: http://tarsandsblockade.org/darylandeleanor/

Posted in Tarsands | Tagged , , , , , |

Bill McKibben speaking in Austin, TX

October 2, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, and technical adviser to the Texas Drought Project, will appear Thursday, October 4th, at 7 PM at the Belo Center for New Media Auditorium (BMC 2.106), at the northeast corner of Dean Keeton and Guadalupe, University of Texas, Austin, TX.

McKibben is known for his provocative books, Eaarth: Making Life on a Tough New Planet, The Global Warming Reader, and Deep Economy, among others. He is considered by Time Magazine to be “the planet’s best green journalist” and by the Boston Globe as “the country’s most important environmentalist.”

As the founder of the grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, he has helped to co-ordinate over 15,000 rallies in 189 countries. He is also a leader against tar sands oil.

Don’t miss it!

The event is sponsored by the University of Texas School of Journalism and the Third Coast Activist Resource Center. It’s free and open to the public, and seating is limited on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming | Tagged , , , |

Texas House Committee on Environmental Regulation takes up federal air quality standards

September 26, 2012 by Citizen Carol

The House Committee on Environmental Regulation held a public hearing today to take invited testimony on an interim charge before the 83rd legislative session starts in January of 2013.  They examined the federal eight-hour ozone standard under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards program and its impact on the State Implementation Plan.  They were also looking to identify counties expected to be in non attainment, the state’s proposed designations of those counties, the time lines for meeting the applicable standard, and the status of the state’s ability to attain the standard.

  • Click here to see the presentation that went along with the testimony of Public Citizen’s Texas office director, Tom “Smitty” Smith.
  • Click here to watch the archived video of the hearing.
  • Click here to see the presentation that went along with the testimony of the Lone Star Chapter of Sierra Club’s interim director, Cyrus Reed.

Posted in Air Quality, Texas Legislature | Tagged , , , , , |

Unlimited and undisclosed money is pouring into our elections and threatening our democracy

September 26, 2012 by Citizen Carol

The controversial 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United – that gave corporations untold influence in our electoral system and said “money” is “speech” – has created an environment in which millions of dollars in corporate cash is drowning out the voices of Texans.

It is time for Texans to demand the end of unlimited money in our elections and take action on a local level.

We are proud to support a homegrown Texas grassroots movement called Texans United to Amend in their efforts demanding local governments across the state of Texas pass resolutions supporting a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and declare that only human beings are entitled to rights under our constitution.

We are joining Texas United to Amend to ask for you to make a difference in your community and sign this petition urging your local government to pass a resolution that seeks an amendment of the U.S. Constitution that firmly establishes that money is not speech, and that only human beings, not corporations are entitled to constitutional rights.

Sign the petition today and call on your local government to pass a resolution.

You might be asking – why local governments? Isn’t this a federal issue?

Social change has always come from grassroots groups, with speeches and marches in the street. This has been true of both the direct election of Senators (17th Amendment) and Women’s Suffrage (19th Amendment). The movement for a constitutional amendment to remedy Citizens United is, at its core, a grassroots one. It is driven by real concerns about the health of our democracy that reverberate in each and every community in Texas.

Passing local resolutions at the local level in Texas is the necessary first step toward restoring free and fair elections to the American people, both locally and nationally. Your work, along with coalitions like Texas United to Amend, can make a difference.

Click here and join Texans United to Amend in calling on your local government to pass a resolution that seeks an amendment of the U.S. Constitution that firmly establishes that money is not speech, and that only human beings, not corporations are entitled to constitutional rights.

Across the country, ordinary citizens like you are making their voices heard.  Nine states have already passed resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, and many more states are considering the same. If you want to do more, let us help you set up an organizing meeting the week of October 8.  This will be an exciting way to begin planning for the third anniversary of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling and to prepare to gather petition signatures on election day when millions of potentially interested voters go to the polls.  Click here to get more information and sign up.

Posted in Campaign Finance, Good Government | Tagged , , , |

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