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Posts Tagged ‘climate change’

Happy Thanksgiving? Not if climate change has anything to say about it

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , on November 25, 2010 |

Climate change could change Norman Rockwell's classic "Freedom from Want" into anything but

Freedom from Want? With climate change, Thanksgiving could be anything but

As families attempt to reunite for the holidays, we are awash in bad weather across the US.  And while we are enjoying wonderful weather down here in Texas at the moment, the rest of the country is not so fortunate.  My friends in the Pacific Northwest are dealing with snow and ice, and the same storm is causing blizzard conditions from Reno to Denver.  One of my friends in Utah referred to their blizzard as the “Snowpocalypse.”  Much of the Midwest is faring as badly, with delays at some of our biggest hub airports– Chicago, Denver, and Atlanta, etc– because of weather.

Wait, wait– I thought we were talking about “global warming”– you know? Shouldn’t that mean that that in Seattle and Portland they should be wearing shorts and sipping frozen beverages instead of battling frozen roads?  Au contraire, mon frere.  A warming Arctic has pushed colder air south to the US and Europe, and warmer oceans are putting more water vapor into the atmosphere, causing more extreme weather. (more…)

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TCEQ Sunset Town Halls – Victoria

Posted in Air Quality, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, Sunset, TCEQ, Texas Legislature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 23, 2010 |

Texans living around the Victoria region attended a town hall in September to express their concerns about the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on a number of different issues, including the proposed White Stallion coal plant in Bay City. On the panel were Sunset Commission Chairman Sen. Glenn Hegar, former TCEQ commissioner Larry Soward, the regional administrator of TCEQ for that area, and a lawyer with Blackburn & Carter who often take on environmental cases.

[vimeo=17100424]

This town hall was one of a series of events held to provide the people of Texas a way in which to voice their concerns to TCEQ. The official Sunset Commission hearing on TCEQ is scheduled for December 15th in Austin. For more video footage of these town halls check our archives and stay tuned to TexasVOX. For more information on the ongoing Sunset review of TCEQ check out Alliance for a Clean Texas.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We arePublic Citizen Texas.

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Congressman Bob Inglis on Climate Change

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , on November 19, 2010 |

Congressman Bob Inglis (R-SC) attacks GOP on climate change.  Bob Inglis is the ranking member on the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/gRVlIT__w6A?fs=1&hl=en_US]

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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CALIFORNIA PUSHES BACK AGAINST TEXAS

Posted in Campaign Finance, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, green jobs, Renewables, solar, tagged , , , , , , , on October 27, 2010 |

Supporters of a California law designed to battle climate change are pushing back against money from Texas oil and gas interests that’s helping to fund an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot in the Golden State that would roll back some of the law’s provisions

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/Wo1wNpza2rM?fs=1&hl=en_US”]

Starring David Arquette – Written & Directed by Matthew Cooke – Produced by Gabe Cowen – Executive Produced by Peter Glatzer and Adrian Grenier.

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Judges Recommend Tenaska Coal Plant Permit Not Be Granted As Is

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Sunset, TCEQ, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2010 |

The Administrative Law Judges (The Judges) who heard the case against the proposed Tenaska Coal Fired Power plant ruled Friday that Tenaska’s air permit should not be granted as it stands!

“The Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) have concluded, based on their review of the evidence and applicable law, that Tenaska failed to meet its burden of proof to demonstrate that the emissions limits proposed in its Draft Permit will meet the requirements for Best Available Control Technology (BACT) and Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT).  The ALJs recommend that the Commission adopt more stringent emissions limits as indicated below.  Alternatively, the ALJs recommend that the Commission deny the Application or remand the matter for further evidence regarding BACT and MACT.”

While we all know there is no such thing as “clean coal” Tenaska claims that they would be one of the cleanest around, yet the judges recommended lower limits for almost every pollutant that Tenaska would emit.

The proposed Tenaska coal plant, if built, would be a 900 MW coal plant that would emit:

Citizens pack a town hall in Abilene - the majority are against the proposed plant.

Sulfur Dioxide: 2,183 tons/year; Nitrogen Oxide (forms Ozone):1,819 tons/year;Particulate Matter:1,092 tons/year;Mercury: 124 lbs/year.

We commend the Judges for following the law and working to make sure the Clean Air Act is followed.  The important thing to remember, folks, is that this is a “recommendation” to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), not a binding ruling.  So when the TCEQ commissioners make the decision on the Tenaska air permit they will have the opportunity to do the right thing for the health of Texans and deny the air permit!

We don’t need another coal plant in Texas.  Instead we should be investing in renewable energy technology like wind and solar which Texas is so ripe for!

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We arePublic Citizen Texas.

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TCEQ Proves Incompetent Once Again, Approves White Stallion Coal Plant

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, TCEQ, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 29, 2010 |

Today the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) continued their decades-long campaign of ineptitude and inadequacy as they approved the air quality permit for the White Stallion Coal Plant proposed for Matagorda County on the Texas Gulf Coast. Their ruling was unanimous despite the fact that the administrative law judges, who spent weeks presiding over and then deliberating the aspects of this case, recommended that this permit should not be issued. On top of that the TCEQ’s own staff at the Office of Public Interest Council (or OPIC) reiterated their position that this permit should be denied.

"Clean coal" is about as realistic and honest as this image.

It seems simple things like common sense and logic are completely absent from the regulatory fantasy world the TCEQ commissioners live in. It is their opinion that the thousands of tons of toxic pollution they have permitted this coal plant to emit are “acceptable,” even though they are likely to lead to the deaths of over 600 Matagorda County residents over the plant’s estimated lifetime, at a price tag of over $5.4 billion in health care costs (according to a report from MSB Energy Associates). Also “acceptable” to these TCEQ commissioners is an air monitor White Stallion used for their air modeling report (a vital part of the air permitting process), despite the fact that it is located outside of Corpus Christi, 100 miles downwind of the proposed site. They may as well have used a monitor in China, as the emissions from White Stallion would likely never head in that direction.

TCEQ commissioners have also completely ignored the fact that the EPA has set new standards for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and they are not requiring White Stallion to adhere to them, despite the fact that this plant would be on the doorstep of the existing Houston non-attainment region. In fact, once the new EPA ozone standards come into effect, Matagorda County is slated to be included in the Houston non-attainment region. By that time, however, thanks to the expedient and enthusiastic permitting approval by the TCEQ, White Stallion will be “grandfathered” and its effects on a non-attainment region will stand.

The most egregious assault on common sense and logic, however, is this plant is completely unnecessary and dangerous to all of Texas, and in fact the entire world. At a time when we need to be shifting our infrastructure and development to renewable and sustainable forms of energy generation, a CO2 and toxin-belching coal plant is the last thing we should be permitting in Texas. This plant represents not only an assault on the health of Matagorda County citizens, but a furthering of reliance upon these dirty, old methods of power generation. We have the technology now to be shifting to responsibly generated electricity. To fail in this is not just a failure by the TCEQ towards the people of Matagorda, but the failure of the state of Texas to lead this country in the direction we desperately need to go.

In the end, however, we can all take heart in the fact that the ultimate decision on whether this plant gets built or not is not only in the hands of the TCEQ.  That power lies in the hands of the people – both those who are opposing the project and those attempting to build it. This plant still requires a waste water permit from TCEQ, a water contract from LCRA, and another permit from the Army Corps of Engineers before it can operate. It is also expected that this decision from the TCEQ will be challenged at the state courts. Ultimately, as long as the people of Matagorda continue to say “NO” to this plant, and as more and more people rally to help them in their cause, this plant will be defeated.

Go to NoCoalCoalition.org for more information and to get involved in the fight against White Stallion.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Tar Sands Oil’s Devastating Legacy

Posted in Air Quality, Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, natural gas, Renewables, Tarsands, Toxics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2010 |

Tar sands oil makes conventional oil look clean by comparison, as it produces 3.2-4.5 times more the carbon footprint than conventional fuel. If that weren’t bad enough cleaner fuels such as natural gas, which otherwise might be used to generate electricity, are wasted in the process of creating more dirty energy from tar sands. Tar sands oil is a type of bitumen deposited in a semi solid form whose extraction is an extremely energy intensive project. For every third barrel of oil extracted one has effectively been consumed by the process. The process of tar sands oil extraction has left vast tracts of land barren with little vegetation as it is strip mined; while only 10%, of what is excavated, is oil. While some water is recyclable, the remaining toxic water is diverted to the euphemistically named “tailing ponds”. There are 2.5-4 barrels of water dumped into these toxic lakes for every barrel of oil extracted. These toxic “ponds” are actually very large; some are even visible from space.

Needless to say these pools are quite harmful to surrounding ecosystems as well as ground water supplies. The land left behind from tar sands extraction is a barren wasteland lacking vegetation and dotted with these toxic waste pools. Not only is the devastation comprehensive, it is widespread. Tar sands extraction in Alberta, Canada is set to affect an area the size of Florida.

Pipelines bringing this dirty oil to the United States have already been built, but TransCanada, an extractor of tar sands oil, has proposed to expand the pipeline system. Part of the proposed expansion will link to a current pipeline in Oklahoma and extend it into East Texas and the Houston Bay Area so that it might be refined there. These refineries will require expensive additions to handle this heavy crude. The planned route crosses through Texas and Oklahoma over rivers, through national forests, and across private land. Landowners have been threatened with eminent domain if they do not comply with Keystone’s demands. Keystone XL clearly places finance over environmental safety as they applied for (then temporarily withdrew) an application for exemptions to the rules that would allow them to make the pipe thinner in rural areas and yet pump at above currently permissible levels. However, they may reapply for this “special permit” later as they seek lower costs at the expense of the public. We cannot allow this to happen. The social costs of tar sands oil production is far too high and the benefits far too small. The expansion of this extremely dirty energy undermines what progress has been made in cleaning America’s energy consumption. While we should be cultivating clean energy production, the dirtiest energy production is being expanded.

Keystone XL needs a presidential permit to build this international pipeline. This is a point of vulnerability. Throughout the summer Public Citizen has been organizing individuals and groups to attend various meetings, hearings, and conferences. The U.S. State Department has held public hearings on its Draft EIS and we have urged others to take the opportunity to raise their voice.

Our efforts at getting such groups together continue as we move further down the proposed pipeline into the Houston area, reactivating allies and making new ones as we work together to stop a pipeline that is proposed to travel near sensitive areas such as the Big Thicket National Preserve. This pipeline only adds to Texas’ clean air problems and by stopping it in Texas we can change the momentum on a rapidly growing dirty industry. Future infrastructure development should be dedicated to renewable, clean energy – not dirtier energy than what we already have.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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An idyllic vacation hotspot doomed by global warming

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , on September 23, 2010 |

In an article by Concierge.com, a travel focused online publication, they selected seven beach destinations around the world in danger of disappearing forever due to forces such as erosion, pollution, rising sea levels, reckless overdevelopment, and sand mining, with a caution that there are hundreds more.  If we don’t curb global warming, insist on sustainable development, and protect the world’s beaches against pollution and mismanagement, the idyllic shorelines we cherish will be preserved only in memory.

Of the seven, the beaches of the Maldives are the most imminently threatened by rising sea levels as a result of global warming.

The Maldives
With postcard-ready beaches, unblemished coral reefs, and some of the world’s most luxurious resorts, the Maldives are for many a once-in-a-lifetime destination. But the island nation’s own lifetime may itself be cut drastically short: Rising sea levels all but doom this string of 26 low-lying atolls in the Indian Ocean, unless the rest of the world acts — quickly — to curb global warming.

With an average elevation of just four feet, the Maldives may, according to some scientists’ models, be submerged before the end of the century. Other coastal geologists believe that the islands, which are composed principally of coral, can regenerate more quickly than the water level rises, and that wave action can build up the islands. But rising ocean temperatures — another symptom of global warming — inhibit coral growth, and few Maldivians seem prepared to sit back and take that chance. President Mohamed Nasheed has committed the Maldives to becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral nation by 2020, by building a wind farm to meet 40 percent of the electricity demand; installing 5 million square feet of solar panels; recycling agricultural waste as fertilizer; and asking foreign visitors to buy carbon credits. Valiant as these efforts may be, they are unlikely to stem the (literal) tide, so Nasheed is also searching for a new homeland in case the entire population is forced to relocate.

If you go: The Marine Lab at the Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru resort does serious scientific research on marine ecology, coral recovery, and endangered species. Guests can visit the lab and join biologists on dives.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Report Shows Dangers of Coal Ash Waste Sites Throughout the US

Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Toxics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 27, 2010 |

In Winter of 2008 a coal ash slurry pond in Tennessee broke its damn, contaminating miles of downstream waterways and people’s homes with deadly carcinogens and other toxic substances. At the time it was called the worst environmental disaster since the Exxon Valdez and brought  a wake up call to the EPA that this waste product was entirely under-regulated. EPA now stands poised to set new regulations on coal ash waste, but the coal industry is lobbying strenuously against it, advocating for a much weaker standard that will do little to change the status quo.

The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) has just released a report called In Harm’s Way which takes a look at groundwater contamination surrounding coal ash waste sites throughout the country. The report showed that contaminants at 39 coal-waste sites across 21 states have leached into the groundwater. Many coal ash sites did not have enough data available to show any meaningful results, particularly here in Texas, but the Fayette coal plant (which Austin is a partial owner in) showed considerable contamination beneath their site. Adam Engelman, Environmental Analyst with EIP, stated that:

At every one of the coal ash dump sites equipped with groundwater monitoring wells — concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic or lead exceed federal health-based standards for drinking water, with concentrations at LCRA’s Fayette Power Project reaching as high as 4 times the state standard for selenium and twice the state standard for arsenic.

The report shows that coal ash itself is a disaster simply by existing, regardless of catastrophic events like what happened in Tennessee almost two years ago. EPA must not give into industry lobbyists and pass weak regulations that will fail public health and the environment. Visit Sierra Club’s Coal Ash website for information on an EPA hearing near you, and to sign up to speak at the hearings. If you cannot make the hearings you can also submit online comments here – be sure to ask EPA to adopt the strictest regulations possible.

In order to make a profit, coal companies rely on making the public pay for the damage they cause. We should no longer have to bear the cost of their mistakes and irresponsibility.

You can see the EIP report here and you can see the press conference that was held Thursday in Austin here:

Press Conference, Sponsored by Berman, Leo – Sierra Club on Coal Combustion Waste

or by going to the Texas House of Representatives video archive and clicking on the link dated 8/26/10 with the same title.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Could Texas’ Continued Defiance of EPA on Regulation of Greenhouse Gases Be Costly Posturing?

Posted in Coal, Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2010 |

A lot of hot airPublic Citizen Calls For A Moratorium On Permitting All New Sources
Of Greenhouse Gases Until Texas Gets Plan In Place

EPA issued proposed rules today that will require Texas to modify its state implementation plan to cover Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG).  If Texas does not, then EPA is proposing a federal implementation plan (FIP) that would apply in any state that is unable or unwilling to submit a plan to permit greenhouse gasses.

We are calling on Texas to put a moratorium on permitting of any new sources of greenhouse gas emissions until Texas gets its permitting plan in place and approved.  Governor Perry’s policies and the decisions of his appointees to not regulate global warming gasses will let millions of tons of hot air escape through permitting loopholes that will cost Texans billions of dollars to close. 55 million new tons of CO2 emissions will have been added to Texas overheated skies by the 8 additional coal plants permitted by Perry’s appointees. Three more plants that could emit nearly 22 million tons a year are in the permitting stage, and a moratorium could stop adding hot air and higher costs to the consumer.

No more wailingThe first rule of holes is to quit digging. Rick Perry needs to drop that shovel. It’s time for the Governor to stop complaining and picking fights, and get down to the actual work of governing. It’s easy to blame others when Rome is burning: it’s another thing entirely to be throwing gasoline on the fires.

Texas leads the nation in emissions of greenhouse gasses, and could be leading the nation in economic development from efforts to reduce these emissions. Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions through efficiency programs and leading the country in the development of wind energy has provided jobs for 84,000 Texans, and cheaper, cleaner electric bills for folks when we need it most. Public Citizen calls on both candidates for Governor to quit ducking this issue and disclose their plans for reducing global warming gasses.

Perry and his appointees have known this day is coming for nearly 20 years.  The Texas legislature gave TCEQ the authority to regulate greenhouse gasses in 1991. Since then 37 other states have made plans to reduce global warming emissions, but not Texas. Since 1990, global warming emissions in Texas will have increased by 25 percent.

Perry and his appointees have blocked any attempts to even get early credit for the approximately 42 million tons of emissions reductions resulting from the renewable energy we’ve put on line, or the energy efficiency we’ve installed. This short-sightedness will cost Texans billions to make additional reductions. These are costs that could have been avoided if Perry’s appointees had acted when EPA called for early submittal of pre-existing emission reductions.

This rule would apply to new major stationary sources and major modifications at existing major stationary sources. Those sources must obtain a PSD permit outlining how they will control emissions. The new permits will require facilities to apply best available control technology, which is determined on a case by-case basis taking into account, among other factors, the cost and effectiveness of the control.

EPA intends to finalize this rulemaking action on December 1, 2010, and give states a deadline of 12 months thereafter to submit their plan.

In an earlier dispute with EPA over other issues with Texas’ permitting rules, a lobbying push by oil giants resulted in a bipartisan group of Texas legislators asking state environmental regulators to quickly solve a permit dispute with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that has left some of the nation’s largest oil refineries in operating limbo.  This letter, signed by 46 legislators, is the latest indication that while Gov. Rick Perry and his Republican supporters are ready and willing to wage war with Washington on everything from environmental regulation to education spending, some battles are wearing on the industries that have helped Texas weather the recession.

Let’s move Texas forward along with the rest of the nation in making sure our regulation of pollution ultimately benefits all Texans and harms none.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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What’s the frequency, Kenneth? In this case it’s 60.000 cycles per second.

Posted in Coal, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, natural gas, Renewables, solar, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on August 10, 2010 |

Come close together, cats and kitties, and gather ’round, while the Powerman gets his story-telling hat- the one with the fine white brim- slips it on and talks about what’s going down with a happening riff:, with a tip o’ the hat to Lord Buckley for those yet to be hip to the flip, we are not talking bout sound. 60.000 cycles per second 60 hertz or one sixtieth of a second, precisely, exactly, over and over, up and down, positive to negative and back again, round and around. You- over in the corner, the group that seems in tune, go ahead and hit an Ohm- I know that you want to. Now don’t that sound mighty fine, but take it down real low, just a hum, the cats might have to carry this tune ’cause it’s down kinda a low, around 60 cycles or so. Now there’s a Ohm that’s fine to hear and hum that travels, it’s nice and it’s clear, and kitties don’t worry if the tone hunts around, that’s fine, it’s how it works, now I’ll tell you what’s going down.

Back in the day, not so long ago, there were wizards walked the earth mighty and proud. They worked with lightning, electricity we say, with sparks and bolts that could knock you down, pick you up and smack you around and kill a cat if you didn’t know the rules, it wasn’t nothing to play round with now, can you dig it? I knew that you could. (more…)

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Netroots Nation Wrap-Up

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, green jobs, Renewables, tagged , , , , , , on July 30, 2010 |

Check out our final vlog on our visit to Las Vegas and Netroots Nation!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxH4TNl6NV4]

[vimeo 13744992]

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We arePublic Citizen Texas.

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Netroots Nation Day Dos

Posted in green jobs, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2010 |

Melissa Sanchez of Public Citizen Texas tells us about karaoke last night, Van Jones, and lots of good panels today.

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

Links:

Van Jones Breakfast Keynote this morning

Speaking in Tongues movie site

Se y’all tomorrow for our final update from Vegas.

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CBO says climate bill would cut deficit by $19B

Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 7, 2010 |

A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the climate & energy bill currently stalled in the Senate would reduce the federal deficit by about $19 billion over the next ten years.  The CBO is responsible for providing Congress with nonpartisan analyses of economic and budget issues, and lawmakers rely on it for guidance.  This is the second positive analysis of the bill by a government agency in a month.  A  similar report was issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in June.

Many senators have said they flatly oppose legislation that adds even a penny to the federal deficit, and these two reports should force them to look anew at this initiative which will actually reduce it.

In its report Wednesday, the CBO said the energy bill would increase federal revenues by about $751 billion from 2011 to 2020, mostly though the sale of carbon credits in a cap-and-trade plan to be applied to utilities and other sectors of the economy. (more…)

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Climate Activist Ted Glick Sentenced

Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, Renewables, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 6, 2010 |

Ted Glick,  policy director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network was just sentenced for his demonstration on September 8.

I am on one year’s probation, I need to pay an $1100 fine, I need to do 40 hours of community service in D.C. and if I’m arrested over the next year I automatically go to jail for 30 days on each of the two misdemeanor counts I was convicted of.

What was Ted’s heinous crime? He hung two banners saying “Green Jobs Now” and “Get to Work” in the Hart Senate Office Building. (more…)

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