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Posts Tagged ‘climate change’

ReEnergize Texas Interviews Texas US Senate Front Runners

Posted in Global Warming, Nuclear, Renewables, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2009 |

Looks like our friends over at ReEnergize Texas have scored a couple interviews with two 2010 Senate race hopefuls, Democratic Mayor of Houston Bill White and Republican Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams.

Trevor Lovell, Statewide Director for ReEnergize Texas, reports:

We are not joining the throng of cable news reporters more concerned with the 2010 election than with fixing the country in the meantime. But we did score big with two interviews that could help shape the midterm US Senate race here in Texas.

The US Senate race in Texas has a slightly funny story. Longtime US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is expected to step down and throw her hat in the ring to become the next Texas Governor. The spot she may vacate (but has not yet vacated) is already being contested by a number of potential candidates, the most notable being John Sharp and Bill White on the Democratic side, and Michael Williams and Florence Shapiro on the Republican side.

Check ’em out:

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Read on for Lovell’s analysis of the interviews! (more…)

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San Antonio Rep. Charlie Gonzalez Wants CPS to Get a Free Ride

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 24, 2009 |

According to a Bloomberg article this morning, San Antonio Representative Charlie Gonzalez has joined

a group of Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee (who) want to give utilities free permits for all their existing carbon emissions, according to people familiar with a plan sent to the committee’s chairman.

The article continues:

Representative Rick Boucher of Virginia sent the four-page list of recommendations to Henry Waxman, the committee’s chairman and the author of draft climate-change legislation that some of his fellow Democrats are seeking to temper, said the people, who declined to be identified before the plan is made public. Courtney Lamie, Boucher’s spokeswoman, didn’t respond to e-mail and phone messages.

Waxman’s measure would establish a cap-and-trade system of pollution credits designed to cut carbon dioxide 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. He needs to win the support of Boucher and the other Democrats pushing for changes in his plan because no Republicans are likely to vote for it, Representative Gene Green, a Texas Democrat, said yesterday.

“It’s all about the consumer,” said Representative Charles Gonzalez of Texas, whose San Antonio-area district has oil and gas operations. “It’s also the economic interests of a member’s district or region.”

Charlie Gonzalez just doesn’t have his facts straight on this one.  If you’re really concerned about consumers, giving away pollution credits for free is about the worst way you can write this bill.  Giving away allowances would force customers to pay for industry and utilities’ right to pollute without even cutting carbon emissions.  There is a right and a very wrong way to write a good climate change bill, and Charlie is supporting the wrong way.

EPA’s most recent analysis say that giving away pollution credits is “highly regressive”, meaning it hurts low-income families the most.  At best, this is a bailout and a free ride for the polluters.  At worst it will create windfall profits for huge energy companies at the expense of every lower and middle income family in Texas.  However, an auction fixes these problems.  EPA continues:

“Assuming that the bulk of the revenues from the program are returned to households, the cap-and-trade policy has a relatively modest impact on U.S. consumers. . . . Returning the revenues in this fashion could make the median household, and those living at lower ends of the income distribution, better off than they would be without the program“

A good climate change bill will create billions of dollars of revenue by charging large polluters for the dangerous pollutants they’ve been emitting for decades.  This money could then be returned to taxpayers, particularly low-income households, to protect them from any price increases that energy industries may try to pass through to consumers.  Another portion of the money could also be used to pursue aggressive energy efficiency programs, so that citizens can save even more money by using less electricity.  Every dollar spent on energy efficiency will then also help reinvigorate local economy by putting people back to work doing energy audits and retrofitting inefficient homes.

Congressman Charlie Gonzalez needs to hear that what consumers really need is energy efficiency, renewable energy, lower electric bills and less pollution — not more industry giveaways.  So far, it looks like he’s only heard from the lobbyists for the big polluters.  We’ve heard that  Congressman Gonzalez will cast a deciding vote on whether Texans will be given the tools to forge a new, green economy, or left unprotected from the worst effects of extreme weather and high energy prices.

Congressman Charlie Gonzalez is the swing vote on this issue.  Please pick up the phone and call him.  The phone number for his DC office is (202) 225-3236 and his office in San Antonio is (210) 472-6195.  You can also email his office from his website

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EPA’s Declaration that Greenhouse Gas Emissions Endanger Public is Long Overdue

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 20, 2009 |

shockingNEWSFLASH!  Carbon Dioxide emissions may represent a threat to public health or welfare.

Shocking, I know.  But what is old news to the rest of us, released in the form of a proposed endangerment finding by the EPA, is actually a really big deal.  Environmentalists and concerned citizens alike have been waiting years for this announcement.  In 2007, as a result of the landmark Supreme Court case Massachusetts v. EPA, the court ordered the EPA administrator to determine if greenhouse gas emissions could “cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.”  The Bush Administration delayed reacting to this order, but Friday EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson signed a proposed endangerment finding which identified six global warming gasses that pose a threat to human health.

The finding will now enter a 60-day comment period, and have no immediate regulatory effect, but could give the EPA power to regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act.

According to the EPA’s official statement,

Before taking any steps to reduce greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, EPA would conduct an appropriate process and consider stakeholder input. Notwithstanding this required regulatory process, both President Obama and Administrator Jackson have repeatedly indicated their preference for comprehensive legislation to address this issue and create the framework for a clean energy economy.

After years of global warming being the elephant in the room that the government would not address, the EPA’s proposed finding finally gives the agency the ability to take action on climate change — though as stated, everyone would rather Congress take care of business.  Hopefully, this finding will light a fire under cap-and-trade negotiations.

Its kind of like when my mother used threaten that she’d clean my room herself if I didn’t get cracking — which I knew meant she would just come in with a trash bag and clear everything out.  The EPA could straight up regulate carbon dioxide — but few people would really be happy with the result, most environmentalists included.  By creating new policy, Congress is simply better equipped to deal with our greenhouse gas emissions than the EPA.

So sorry Congress — no more reading the comics you found with the dust bunnies under the bed.  Go clean up, or Mom’s going to start vacuuming.

But don’t take my word for it.  Andy Wilson (Citizen Andy, if you will), Global Warming Program Director here at the Texas Office, wrote a statement on how this finding relates to the big picture, and Texas specifically.  Check it out!

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Too Much Fun this Week

Posted in Coal, Global Warming, Toxics, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2009 |

social-calendarThere is too much fun going on in the next few days… I can’t handle it.  I wish I could be multiple places at once… and influence climate change legislation by sheer will power.. and attach documents to e-mails telepathically.  Ah well, if wishes were horses, I’d have gotten that pony when I was six.

Here’s a quick breakdown of all the good stuff going on over the next couple days:

Old Settler’s Music Festival, Thursday March 16 – Sunday March 20

Old Settler’s Music Festival is a nationally known music festival featuring the best in roots and Americana music. The festival is held in the gorgeous Texas hill country, at the height of the Bluebonnet and wildflower season. Old Settler’s Music Festival offers great music and activities for the whole family.

The Festival is held at Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch, just minutes from Austin, located 11 miles south of Highway 290 West on Farm Road 1826.

Public Citizen is an official sponsor of the event, so keep your eyes out for our table, banners, and slide-shows in between sets.  We hope to live blog the festivities, so be on the lookout for artist interviews and sneak peaks of shows.  And don’t forget your sunscreen, that hill country sun can be brutal!

Fighting Goliath screening, Thursday April 16

When: Thursday, April 16 at 7:00pm

Where: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, 14311 Wellsport Drive (one block west of the Wells Branch exit off of I-40).

Narrated by Robert Redford and produced by The Redford Center at the Sundance Preserve and Alpheus Media, FIGHTING GOLIATH: TEXAS COAL WARS follows the story of Texans fighting a high-stakes battle for clean air. The film introduces the unlikely partners-mayors, ranchers, CEOs, community groups, legislators, lawyers, and citizens-that have come together to oppose the construction of 19 conventional coal-fired power plants that were slated to be built in Eastern and Central Texas and that were being fast-tracked by the Governor. (34 minutes)

Public Citizen’s Ryan Rittenhosue will do a short presentation on Texas’ current coal threat and have a Q&A session afterward.

Environmental Justice & the Multicultural City: The Transformative Role of Urban Planning City Forum, Friday, April 17

People of color and low-income communities have disproportionately suffered from the environmental burdens generated by consumption and production choices made by others. Responding to these injustices, neighborhood activists have been fighting for over 30 years for the right to live, work, and play in healthy environments. In this City Forum, the panelists will share their insights from research and activist work, and discuss the potential role of planning educators, students and practitioners in addressing environmental justice concerns. (more…)

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As Antarctic Wilkens Ice Shelf Shatters, Scientists Conclude Both Poles Are Warming

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2009 |

It has been accepted for a while now that the Arctic and the Antarctic Peninsula have been warming, at least partly due to anthropogenic warming. However, recent scientific studies have concluded that the entire continent of Antarctica is warming and is clearly linked to the worldwide warming trend. Based on recent studies and recent events, scientists are extremely concerned that the melting in the Arctic and Antarctic are warming much faster than was previously expected.

One of the most alarming events occurred when an ice bridge that was previously anchoring the Wilkins Ice Shelf to the rest of the Antarctic Peninsula shattered. To use the words of British Antarctic Survey glaciologist Professor David Vaugha, “the ice sheet has almost exploded into a large number, hundreds of small icebergs.”It is also important to note that this ice sheet was formerly thought to be relatively stable, at least for the foreseeable future. This ice bridge was thought to be a critical barrier keeping the rest of the ice sheet in place. Now that it has collapsed, there is nothing to prevent this enormous ice sheet from disintegrating.

Parts of the ice shelf are now beginning to resemble shattered glass.

Parts of the ice shelf are now beginning to resemble shattered glass.

But this type of phenomena is not a singular occurrence. In fact, the U.S. Geological Survey recently released a report concluding that the “Wordie Ice Shelf, which has been retreating in the past 40 years, is completely gone.” The same study also stated that the Northern part of the Larsen Ice Shelf has also disintegrated. However, it is important to acknowledge that these and other sea based ice shelves will not contribute to any substantial rise in seas level. Instead, the melting of these sheets opens the door for further melting which will very likely affect sea levels in the future.

But scientists now have evidence that this warming trend is not solely represented in the Antarctic Peninsula. In fact, a new scientific report has concluded that, on average, the entire continent of Antarctica has been warming over the past half century. This report disproves the former belief that the Eastern Part of Antarctica has actually been cooling over the past century. The dispute on the warming in this region of the Arctic was largely due to the lack of weather stations in the interior of the continent. However, with the help of satellite images over the past 25 years and several unmanned weather stations in the interior, scientists were able to conclude that the eastern part of the Antarctic is, in fact, warming. The scientists concluded in the study that anthropogenic green house gas emissions is almost certainly a primary cause of this warming trend.

But as well all know, Antarctica is not the only place in the world experiencing the effects of global climate change. On the other side of the world, scientists are predicting that the Arctic ocean may be nearly ice-free in only 30 years. This figure was reached after averaging six of the most specific models dealing with sea-ice released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The average of these six models was around 32 years, with one of the models estimating an ice-free arctic summer being only an mere 11 years away.

Based on these events and recent scientific studies, it is evident that global climate change is affecting both poles. The effects of global warming are being felt worldwide, on all 7 continents. The time for debate on this issue has passed, the time for action is now.

– Andrew Townsend, Global Warming Intern

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Lying Liars and the Climate Deniers

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2009 |

And so it begins….

We knew as soon as there was a draft climate bill that it would be falsely attacked and derided disingenuously as “an energy tax.”  But we had no idea to what extent the truth-stretchers would go to make their rhetorical points.

Did I say stretch the truth?  I meant break, beat, spit upon and then toss it into a cesspool to be feasted upon by worms and vermin, for as little as truth means to these lying liars.

Wednesday, Keith Olbermann named John Boehner his “Worst Person in the World” for his exaggeration lie about the costs of tackling carbon.  Watch this video for yourself:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lJWX_xmxco]

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  At least some people are willing to check their facts and talk about climate in a rational manner.  Look, a Press Release! (emphasis added is mine, not in original)

‘Energy Tax’ Rhetoric Ill Serves Debate on Climate Legislation

Republican members of Congress have taken to calling cap-and-trade legislation an “energy tax” or a “light switch tax” on American families and businesses.

Most recently, congressional Republicans misrepresented a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study analyzing cap-and-trade proposals. They distorted the study’s conclusions to exaggerate the costs of cap-and-trade legislation on individual households, by making faulty calculations based on erroneous assumptions and by ignoring a basic principle of economics – the time value of money.

Conservatives, of all people, should not ignore basic principles of economics. (more…)

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CPS and San Antonio: You can’t both be right…

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 2, 2009 |

Greg Harman at the San Antonio Current broke this story a few days back and I just feel like we have to comment:

As Washington strains under the weight of industry and environmental lobbyists seeking to influence the outcome of what would be our first national climate bill, CPS Energy has been quietly working the angles on Capitol Hill to keep the coal power the city has come to rely on cheap for consumers in the short term. So-called “cheap” power is the mandate the utility operates under, after all.

Too bad that mandate is now at odds with the survival of the earth as we know it and, quite possibly, our survival as a city and a nation.

…

Responding to an Open Records request submitted by the Current, a CPS Energy legal staffer wrote that the City-owned utility has spent $91,700 lobbying in the past year “in the attempt to influence U.S. climate policy.”

According to Zandra Pulis, senior legal counsel at CPS, the utility has also spent about $67,657 in membership dues to the Climate Policy Group, an industry group it joined in September of 2006 that lobbies Congress against limiting carbon emissions under cap-and-trade legislation. An effort that, to this point, has been remarkably successful.

…

All told, CPS has spent $2.56 million on lobbyists (since 1999) working the statehouse and the Capitol, according to Pulis.

That’s right — CPS has spent millions of YOUR dollars on lobbying, much of which has gone to try to argue climate change isn’t happening.

Look, I understand that CPS has a mission to produce inexpensive electricity for San Antonio residents and business.  That’s a good thing.  But the facts are these:

1- Climate change is happening.  But even if it wasn’t, everything we need to do to solve it is something that we would want to be to doing anyway.  We need to start living with the fact that political consensus has developed in Washington.  Sooner or later, we’re going to have to  start paying for our greenhouse gas pollution, so we’d better start figuring out how to get our energy from non-polluting sources. (more…)

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Clean Energy Rally and Lobby Day

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2009 |

Sponsored by ReEnergize Texas, the event will feature speeches by leaders in the student climate change movement, as well as a diverse group of Texas Representatives and Senators.

fund_future_rallyWhen: Monday, March 30th
Rally: 9:30am-10:30am
Lobby Appointments: 10:30am-2:30pm
Where: Texas Capitol (north of 11th and Congress)

Register at ReEnergizeTexas.org

Hundreds of youth from all over Texas will converge at a rally and a lobby day at the State Capitol for clean energy and climate justice! We will lobby for:

* Increasing distributed solar to 2,000MW of generation
* Stopping all new coal-fired power plants
* Creating programs that help disadvantaged youth stay on track to complete high school while improving energy efficiency in low-income homes

This promises to be a powerful moment in Texas grassroots politics. Join us 9:30am-10:30am for great speakers from the movement and the State Legislature including Senator Rodney Ellis, Representative Tara Rios Ybarra, and Public Citizen Director Tom “Smitty” Smith.

Lobby Day training will happen on Sunday, March 29th, 3:45pm-6:00pm. This training is crucial for those who want to play speaking roles during lobby visits. We will have materials, Q&A, and role play exercises.

The Texas Legislature only meets every 2 years. If we want a clean and just energy future for Texas, we have to go to the Capitol and make our voices heard. Join us!

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ReEnergize Texas Summit

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2009 |

summit_iconOver the past three years, our country has experienced a paradigm shift. All across the nation, diverse voices are beginning to rise to the climate challenge, and they are all calling for action. At this moment our generation has the opportunity to offer a bold new vision of our energy future.

On March 28-30 2009, at Huston-Tillotson University, one of the oldest Historically Black Universities in the state, will host the second-ever ReEnergize Texas Summit. Young people from across the state of Texas will converge in Austin for the largest youth climate conference ever held in Texas.

In the first two days of the summit hundreds of young people will be engaged by speakers, workshops, and panels addressing the many aspects of climate change. They will meet in regional groups to network for future actions, and they will hear political leaders discuss their positions on climate change. On Monday, March 30th, these young people will march from Huston-Tillotson in East Austin across Interstate 35, a long-recognized racial barrier in the city of Austin, and will walk to the Capitol Building where they will lobby the State Legislature for climate change legislation.

Keynote speakers include:

speaker_list

The summit is a primarily  youth-focused event, but people from all walks of life are welcome — especially to the Lobby Day Monday! For more information on ReEnergize Texas, the conference agenda, and to register, visit http://www.reenergizetexas.org/

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Coal Moratorium Press Conference and Testimony Yesterday

Posted in Coal, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2009 |

no-new-coal1Yesterday morning we held a press conference to highlight the importance of the proposed coal moratorium bill, SB 126, sponsored by State Sen. Rodney Ellis, and its companion bill in the house, HB 4384, sponsored by Rep. Allen Vaught.

SB 126 , which went into committee late Tuesday night, would put a temporary moratorium on authorizations for new coal-fired power plants that do not capture and sequester their carbon emissions.  If all of Texas’ 12 proposed coal plants were built, they would emit an additional 77 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  Top climate scientists, most notably James Hansen, have advocated for a coal moratorium as one of the top priorities to address climate change.

This legislation would also give Texas time to take a breath, see what federal carbon legislation will come down from Washington, and re-evaluate our energy plan.  We expect carbon emissions to be given a price as a result of a federal climate change bill, and this would make the energy from coal considerably more expensive.

Floor Pass, the Texas Observer’s legislative blog, reports:

Environmentalists support these bills, but some feel they could be stronger. Both bills grant exceptions to facilities that capture and sequester some of the carbon dioxide they produce. Vaught’s bill mandates that a minimum of at least 60 percent of the carbon dioxide must be captured and sequestered in order for the exemption to apply. Ellis’ bill does not specify the amount.

“We definitely would support 100 percent reduction of carbon dioxide,” says Karen Hadden, director of Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition. “We should not be adding carbon dioxide to our air at this point in time. It’s too risky in terms of climate change. Companies can do it, and they should.”

Representatives from communities currently fighting coal plants were on hand to discuss how this legislation will protect their families from dangerous health effects such as asthma and increased autism rates and improve local air quality.  It was really moving to hear community members telling their own stories of how proposed coal plants would affect their lives.  If you’re interested in hearing their stories, check out the video feed from the press conference. Look for March 25, Press Conference: Senator Rodney Ellis.  That’s us!

The story got picked up in a couple other media outlets.  All the news that’s fit to link:

“Foes take power plant fight to Austin” by Denise Malan, Corpus Christi Caller Times

“Texas coal opponents call for a temporary moratorium on new plants” by Barbara Kessler, Green Right Now

And if you STILL WANT MORE, check out our press release after the jump.

(more…)

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Busy day, a quick news roundup

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2009 |

Public Citizen will be testifying on nearly three dozen bills today during committee meetings in the House and Senate.  You can watch the action in the House or the Senate by going to the individual committees.  Be sure to tune in to our 10am Press Conference on a coal moratorium by clicking on the link to the Senate Press Room in the video feeds.  Links to the committees we’ll be testifying in all day today:

House Agriculture and Livestock 7:30 am

Senate Business and Commerce  8am  (where most of the solar bills will be heard)

Senate Natural Resources 1pm (including the coal moratorium)

House State Affairs 1pm

Also, if you’re looking for something to do today, come down and show your support for solar energy, the coal moratorium, or any of the other over 30 bills we’ll be testifying on.

For those of you interested in some light reading, I highly reccomend Forecast: The Global Conseqeunces of Climate Change by Stephen Faris.  As an international correspondant, he has seen how the conflict in Darfur began as a conflict over resources, and how the wildfires of Australia have decimated the countryside.  This is just a taste of things to come in a world of disrupted and rapidly changing climate.  The following excerpts are available:

Part 1: The Florida Keys are sinking

Part 1: Can insurance cover the costs of climate change?

Part 1: Who will be able to afford to live on the coast?

Part 2: Pathogens find new habitats

Part 2: Countries could backslide into poverty

Part 2: How disease relates to carbon dioxide

Part 3: Easier passage through the Arctic

Part 3: A scramble for control of the Arctic

Part 3: Opening the Arctic to damage

Also, for anyone who missed it, an article in today’s Washington Post about the EPA qietly delivering to Obama a finding that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant,(like we needed the EPA to tell us that) opening the door for states to regulate emissions standards for cars, permitting of CO2 in power plants, etc.

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Youth Storms US Congress at Powershift–Largest Lobby Day in Environmental History

Posted in Coal, Global Warming, Toxics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 12, 2009 |

In the fight for a greener future, America’s youth has and is continuing to be one of the strongest forces. Recently, I participated in Powershift 2009–the largest summit on climate and energy in United States’ history. Roughly 12,000 attended the conference, and the overwhelming majority of participants were students from high schools and colleges spanning across the nation!

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The conference began Friday, and provided endless opportunities for attendees to experience environmentally-geared panels, workshops, movies, speakers, and state breakouts until Sunday. The amalgamation of these informative and inspirational activities worked as a preface that ultimately led to Powershift’s climax that Monday–lobby day. Despite the untimely blizzard-like weather that stormed DC right before that Monday, thousands of youth still trudged through snow and sleet to capitol hill. That day, March 2nd, proved the be the largest lobby day for climate and energy in US history. Senators and representatives from all fifty states were successfully lobbied, with a total of 350 lobby visits! For any of you who are glad that some federal lobbying was completed for your interests, here is the platform that Powershifters presented to US senators and representatives:

1. Cut Carbon Emissions

  • Reduce global warming pollution by the targets science tells us are necessary: 25%-40% below 1990 levels by 2020; and 80%-95% below 1990 levels by 2050.
  • Set an aggressive cap on carbon immediately. If a cap-and-auction mechanism is chosen, 100% of pollution allowances must be auctioned. Any revenue generated from this cap must be used to address the climate crisis in a just and equitable way; none of this money should go to polluting industries.
  • Conserve and restore the world’s forest, ecosystems, and carbon sinks, which are the best natural defense in a warming world.

2. Invest in a Green Economy

  • Create 5 million new jobs through investments in clean energy.
  • Develop a “Clean Energy Corps” to create service, training, and job opportunities in the clean energy economy (1).
  • Train a generation of workers and volunteers to build our clean energy future and help communities adapt to the already changing climate.

3. Power Our Future with Clean Energy, not Dirty Fuels

  • We see a future powered by clean, renewable energy like wind, solar, and geothermal; 100% of our electricity should come from these sources, and we should invest in sustainable transit and energy efficiency.
  • End our dependence on dirty energy by enacting a moratorium on financing and development of new coal and nuclear plants, and oil shale and tar sands infrastructure.
  • Immediately begin phasing out dirty and dangerous energy sources and methods of extraction, while also ensuring a just transition for affected workers and communities.

4. Lead the World to a Clean and Equitable Energy Future

  • Work with other nations to reach a strong new global climate treaty in Copenhagen that puts us on track to reduce carbon below 350 parts per million.
  • Assist vulnerable communities and developing countries in the transition to low-carbon economies and with adaptation to the changing climate.

_________________

This was the type of rhetoric left at the nation’s capitol a week ago, and such requests likely still serve as hot topic points in DC. As a voice of Powershift, and the young environmentalists of this nation, this is the direction we want to see our federal government take now, and in the future. And let me assure you, the overwhelming feeling in Washington experienced by many of the Powershifters is that this direction is highly achievable, at least, more so than ever before in our nation’s history!

(1) The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP15 in Copenhagen.

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You Know What They Say About Big, Orange Feet: UT Releases Its Carbon Footprint

Posted in Efficiency, Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 9, 2009 |

DON”T FORGET:

The general public townhall meeting regarding the release of this audit will be held tomorrow from 6:30 to 8:00 in the Sanchez Building on the UT Campus.

After a long and grueling wait, UT is finally set to release an audit of its carbon footprint today. UT is having a student only event tonight and is planning a full fledged town hall meeting tomorrow that will be open to the general public. The university plans to announce results and analysis from a carbon audit that was conducted in 2008 and then to open up the floor for questions.

The student event begins at 6:00 p.m. today in Wagner Hall and the town hall meeting is tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. in Sanchez Room 104.

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The locations of both Sanchez and Waggener Hall can be seen below: (more…)

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Global Warming Causes More Than Heat

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 4, 2009 |

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.
hurricane2
“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!

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Powershift Jealousy

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 27, 2009 |

powershiftgreenjobsrallyPowershift 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.

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