This was too funny not to share.
Courtesy of Gardner Selby at the Austin American Statesman’s Postcards blog:
Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, leader of the House Democratic Caucus, stunned observers at a hearing this afternoon by lining up what looked like shots of whiskey on the members’ dais in the hearing room and then gulping down several to buttress a point about the cumulative impact of air pollution.
But rest easy, Temperance League.
Dunnam said after shot three that the brownish liquid in the shot glasses was iced tea.
This is such a beautiful analogy. Chairman Dunnam made this point while explaining HB 2495, “AN ACT relating to the consideration of the cumulative effects of emissions from proposed facilities in actions by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on applications for certain air contaminant emissions permits or permit amendments.” With a total of 9 lines and less than 200 words, this was very simple.
When permitting new coal-fired power plants, current TCEQ policy does not consider the cumulative effects of the emissions from those plants. That means that if eight coal stacks were to be built within one county, as they were in McLennan county in 2007, then TCEQ can consider each of the proposals only as an individual entity and its potential to cause harm to health and quality of life. As Rep. Dunnam illustrated, the effects are cumulative, whether you drink one shot in Waco, one in Houston, one in San Antonio, etc. (more…)
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!)
Senator Van de Putte was then called up to champion CPS Energy’s new distributed energy commitment and her own solar in schools bill, 
The nominee, Lisa Jackson, told members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that she would “send investigators and samplers out to verify the extent of the problem” and “mobilize” agency efforts within 30 days of her confirmation. Parents, she said, “have a right to know their children are safe when they are in school.”
