Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bill white, brains and eggs, bryan, burnt orange report, chamber of commerce, college station, dallas, democrats, EPA, eye on williamson, health care, homeowners insurance, lakeisha rogers, left of college station, lewisville, louis gohmert, march madness, off the kuff, phillip martin, proposed ozone standards, public hearing, republicans, rick green, Rick Perry, school districts, school finance, south texas chisme, tax dodging, tea bagger, Teddy, Texas, texas progressive alliance, Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round, texas supreme court, texas-mexico border, texaskaos, txsharon on March 22, 2010 |
The Texas Progressive Alliance’s weekly blog roundup will reach 32 million more Americans regardless of their pre-existing conditions.
Last week, TXsharon made a video statement at the EPA Public Hearing on the proposed ozone standards.
Who Needs a Proctologist when you have former State Representative Rick Green running for the Texas Supreme Court?
This week on Left of College Station, (more…)
Posted in Global Warming, tagged action, Coal, EPA, Global Warming, Lisa Jackson, Mining, mountain top removal, mountaintop, mtr, obama, protest, RAN, Texas on March 18, 2010 |
Activists are risking arrest by demonstrating outside EPA national headquarters in make-shift tripod stands. They say they won’t go away until EPA administrator Lisa Jackson promises to make a fly-over of the Appalachian Mountain Top Removal coal mines to see first hand the destruction it is causing.
Despite the Obama administration making claims they would crack down on MTR mining, the EPA has been slow to act and has actually granted some new MTR mining permits. It is only through continued pressure and media exposure that this horribly destructive practice can finally be stopped.
Civil disobedience and direct action are one of the most effective means of fighting injustice and tyranny. These activists are putting their freedom and their safety on the line to non-violently oppose one of the most irreversibly and violently destructive industries in history. Please help support their actions by posting at RAN and by contacting Lisa Jackson and asking her to go to Appalachia and take action against MTR.
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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.
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, tagged EPA, governor perry, governor rick perry, Massachusetts v EPA, Texas on March 11, 2010 |
Governor Perry sent a letter to Congressional leadership and the Texas delegation asking them to strip the EPA of the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, which they were told to do by the Supreme Court in 2007’s Massachusetts v. EPA.
Governor Perry needs to check his facts a little more carefully.
He stated in the letter “Texas is aggressively seeking its future in in alternative energy through incentives and innovation, not mandates and overreaching regulation.” Gov Perry is correct, in one sense– we have cut our CO2 emissions as a state, but the primary driver of those cuts was the expansion of wind energy that created thousands of new jobs. And how did we accomplish that? Through a Renewable Portfolio Standard, or, a fancy term meaning a government mandate.
What Perry should be doing is begging the Federal government to impose a nationwide RPS, which would mean renewable resource poor states would come to Texas to buy our renewable energy the same way they’ve counted on us for our oil and gas in the past.
Further, Perry tries to induce fear by saying EPA regulation would affect “every small business, farm, rancher and family” when the EPA earlier this week said they would only begin regulating tailpipe emissions this year, moving on to power plants which emit more than 100,000 tons of CO2 within the next 2-3 years, then on to other facilities which emit more than 75,000 tons (large facilities like cement kilns or refineries). This would never affect any small business or church or school…. unless, of course, you go to Carbon Burnin’ High, home of the Flaming Smokestacks!
Governor Perry needs to focus more on bringing these clean energy jobs to Texas and a little less to railing against “the Man” in DC.
Posted in Coal, Energy, Toxics, tagged al armendariz, arlington, clean air act, dallas, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, governor perry, mayor cluck, north texas, ozone, patrick cox, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on March 8, 2010 |
Join us for an important public hearing at Arlington City Hall, 101 W. Abram St, Arlington, TX. For more info check out http://www.cleanairtexas.org
Texas has the potential to be at the forefront of the green economy and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed new ozone pollution standard would clean up our air, protect our health and improve our quality of life. A stricter ozone standard would put Texas on the path to a cleaner, greener future.
The final decision by the EPA will affect the quality of the air we breathe for decades to come and it is a decision that depends on your input and your support. Your voice can influence the outcome. (more…)
Posted in Global Warming, tagged asbestos, Barnett shale, bay area houston, benzene, bluedaze, bob perry, brazos county, democrats, denton creek watershed, drilling reform, EPA, eye on williamson, health care, kay bailey hutchison, left of college station, lewisville isd, mccain, off the kuff, poll, primary day, republicans, Rick Perry, south texas chisme, teabaggers, Texas, texas a&m, texas cloverleaf, texas liberal, texas progressive alliance, Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round, texas supreme court, williamson county on March 1, 2010 |
The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for Primary Day and reminds all of you to vote if you haven’t already. Here is your Primary Day roundup.
From the Barnett Shale, TXsharon announces a new “Watchdog” for drillers and her SOS to EPA about benzene and other dangerous toxins in the Denton Creek Watershed was heard. The EPA has responded! Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS
After the latest prevarication on her date of departure from the Senate, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs opines: “Kay Bailey, won’t you please GO HOME?!”
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme shows the Texas Supreme Court flipping the finger to Texans, yet again.
Bay Area Houston highlights yet more hypocrisy from Rick Perry with his I Came and Took it! teabagging campaign.
At WhosPlayin the recent discussion has centered around equity in the Lewisville ISD. It looks like the district may be taking a big step by considering a tear-down and rebuild of the district’s oldest high school after costs for asbestos remediation and fire sprinkler installation in the old building went too high. Construction is not equity, though, and there are still issues to be addressed.
Over at McBlogger, Mayor McSleaze takes a look at the Republican HD 47 primary fight and finds it almost as entertaining as an old-fashioned pie fight.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison changes her story again about when she might leave the Senate. Off the Kuff has lost count of how many times this has happened.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson has a round up of the campaign cash and who’s giving in Williamson County, Bob Perry looms large in Williamson County GOP House races.
The Texas Cloverleaf looks at the early voting turnout in Denton County and the GOP surge.
This week on Left of College Station, Teddy makes the case for Brazos County Democrats to vote in the Republican primary, and releases the Left of College Station Democratic primary candidate endorsements. Left of College Station also covers the debate in the Texas A&M Student Senate over the anti-discrimination policy.
Pollchecker , over at TexasKaos calls out McCain on using Texas health care as an example of “success”. And he wonders why he is not president?
Neil at Texas Liberal offered up his 2010 Democratic Primary slate. Neil also noted that Texas Liberal passed one million page views. Thanks to everybody who has read the blog.
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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.
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, tagged Carbon Dioxide, clean air, Dallas Morning News, Energy Efficiency, EPA, governor perry, green jobs, lawsuit, solar panels, Texas, weatherstripping, windmills on February 26, 2010 |
This editorial from the Dallas Morning News is a little bit old news, responding to Governor Perry’s lawsuit against the EPA’s endangerment finding about carbon dioxide, BUT I really like the message that clean air vs. jobs is a false choice. Because everything we would have to do to create a new clean economy, is a JOB. Windmills don’t manufacture themselves, solar panels aren’t going to get up on the roof unless someone bolts them there, and weatherstripping isn’t going to take it off without an audience protect your house from air conditioning leaks unless someone gets in there and give you an energy audit. So, better late than never: read on!
Editorial: Clean air vs. jobs is a false choice
Sure, it buttresses his campaign theme, casting him as the protector of Texas jobs against employment-crippling federal environmental mandates. And Perry is right when he says Texas has a lot a stake.
But his approach is troublingly shortsighted. The lawsuit relies on thinking about the state’s past, not its future, and it falsely pits jobs against clean air. Instead of opposing the tougher air quality rules, Austin would be wise to focus instead on how best to be a leader in a less carbon-dependent economy.
Our state emits up to 35 percent of all greenhouse gases released by industrial sources in the United States, and the state’s energy sector remains a prominent generator of jobs. So it’s vital that Texas work on two tracks simultaneously – clean air and clean jobs.
Efforts to buck the shift won’t save jobs, but rather will tether Texas to 20th-century jobs in the 21st century and, thus, have considerable negative consequences on the state’s long-term economic health. Dirty air endangers health and also kills jobs, as California learned the hard way.
Texas’ legal gymnastics also are odd because the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases has already been decided. (more…)
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Air permit, air pollution, ana hernandez, asthma, bay city, Coal, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, harris county, houston, houston chronicle, jessica farrar, kristi thibaut, matagorda county, ozone, Public Citizen, ryan rittenhouse, smog, south texas, state office of administrative hearings, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, white stallion on February 22, 2010 |
Anybody catch this article last week in the Houston Chronicle? An important issue to think about: how coal plants will not only affect the surrounding air quality, but that of communities down wind. If the White Stallion coal plant is allowed to be built: Houston, we will have an even worse smog problem. Look for Ryan’s quote to close it out!
City’s smog concerns may choke power plant
Pollution near Matagorda could drift to Houston
By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
A proposed coal-fired power plant in mostly rural Matagorda County, 90 miles from the traffic-choked freeways and smokestacks of Houston, has moved to the center of the debate over the big city’s air.
Some federal regulators, Houston lawmakers, and environmentalists say the proposed White Stallion Energy Center would only exacerbate the city’s stubborn smog problem as tougher nationwide limits for the widespread pollutant come into play.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for one, wants Texas regulators to prove that pollution from the coal plant would not make Houston’s smog worse before issuing permits. Critics also want the state to require the power company to consider new technology that might slash emissions of smog-forming pollution.
The push comes amid a review of the proposal by the State Office of Administrative Hearings, which will soon recommend whether the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality should grant the plant’s air permit.
The plant would be built less than 20 miles from the boundary of the eight-county Houston region that was long in violation of federal limits for smog or ozone. Rules on industrial pollution — in particular, new sources — are tighter inside such areas than outside, even though smog ignores county lines. (more…)
Posted in Global Warming, tagged climate, climate change, endangerment finding, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, forrest wilder, Global Warming, governor perry, greg abbott, lawsuit, Texas, texas observer, Todd Staples on February 19, 2010 |
If I had a nickel every time we put out a statement saying something along the lines of “Governor Perry is blowing hot air about climate change”…I could probably only really buy a candy bar. Or a coke — a Mexican coke in a bottle, preferably, to be drunk as I eat a fried avocado taco on a Friday afternoon (mmm, thanks Perry).
But this week our dear Gov was at it again. Tuesday morning he joined Attorney General Greg Abbott and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples to announce a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s(EPA) endangerment finding for carbon dioxide. We had plenty to say about it, which has already been posted this week, but I think that I like the way Forrest Wilder over at the Texas Observer put it best:
Perry is up to his neck in pseudo-scientific gobbledygook and he’s bringing Attorney General Abbott and Ag Commissioner Todd Staples along with him. The (“frivolous“) lawsuit today is neither a legal nor scientific document. It is a political one: poorly-reasoned, poorly-sourced and containing enough tin-foil hat conspiracies to block a Mexican border blaster.
Check out his blog post for the nitty gritty on the legal brief (“filled with footnotes, giving the appearance that it’s been carefully researched. But on closer inspection many of the references are to rightwing blogs, “studies” by armchair climate analysts, and obscure anti-climate groups like the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.”)
Luckily we heard about Perry’s press announcement with just enough time to sweep in and have the last word. Officing 3 blocks from the capitol does have its perks. Along with Sierra Club, we were able to stake out a good spot outside the Governor’s Press Room and hold an impromptu reaction press conference by the West Trashcan. With members of the press gathered around, Smitty (our director, of course!) and Eva Hernandez from Sierra Club gave statements crying foul on the Governor’s tomfoolery, and even issued a symbolic “citizen’s citation” to Perry for endangering the health of Texans and the climate. Perry didn’t come out to accept it himself, but did send a policy aide in his honor. Good thing too; we were worried we’d have to slip it under his locked and barred door (not exactly the climactic press moment we were looking for). Check out the video though, editing courtesy of our newest media intern Patrick! Don’t worry, you’ll get to meet him soon enough.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY50xHfOFTE]
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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.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged andy dessler, brad johnson, Carbon Dioxide, cia, climate change, co2, endangerment finding, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, George W. Bush, Global Warming, governor perry, greg abbott, ipcc, john nielsen-gammon, National Academy of Sciences, state climatologist, Texas, texas a&m, Todd Staples, USDA, wonk room on February 18, 2010 |
You may have seen the political bloviating earlier this week when Governor Perry announced he would sue the EPA over their endangerment finding on CO2. Or that Attorney General Greg Abbott signed on, as did Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples, who all ended up calling the science behind climate change flawed, saying:
The state’s legal action indicates EPA’s Endangerment Finding is legally unsupported because the agency outsourced its scientific assessment to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has been discredited by evidence of key scientists’ lack of objectivity, coordinated efforts to hide flaws in their research, attempts to keep contravening evidence out of IPCC reports and violation of freedom of information laws.
You may have also seen our response. If you’re a regular reader here, I hope so!
Perry, Abbott, and Staples claim that the science is flawed on climate change, citing recent controversy surrounding the IPCC (a-hem, that’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, gentlemen. Maybe the legal brief should be thrown out due to citation of a ficticious panel? We’ll call it INTERNATL-PANELGATE! We’ve really got ’em now!). Too bad the controversy hasn’t affected the main thrust of the underlying science, only some of the claims. Too bad the conclusions of the IPCC have also been independently adopted and verified by the US National Academy of Sciences and the collected opinions of 13 US Gov’t agencies (like those liberals at the CIA and the USDA), collectively put together in the US Global Change Research Program. Despite its problems, the main conclusions of the IPCC’s report, that temperatures were increasing and climate was changing due to greenhouse gas emissions, remains intact.
Too bad Perry, Abbott, and Staples (or maybe more accurately Larry, Moe, and Shemp?) didn’t seek the advice of…oh, actual scientists, like maybe the Texas state climatologist? Didn’t know we had a climatologist? (Maybe Governor Perry didn’t either?) Well, we do, and before you dismiss him as some granola-chewing-Austin-based-hippie-liberal, he’s actually anything but.
Meet Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, of the Texas A&M Department of Atmospheric Sciences, appointed to the position of State Climatologist by noted liberal and hater of greenhouse gases George W. Bush. (hope you caught the irony there).
In a sweeping interview with Brad Johnson’s Wonk Room blog, he fired back against Perry’s allegations that the endangerment finding is flawed: “Anthropogenic increases of greenhouse gas concentrations clearly present a danger to the public welfare, and I agree with the EPA’s findings in that sense.”
To be fair, Dr. N-G also specifically added a caveat to his comments, “Just to be clear, I do not “utterly dismiss” the Texas petition. I have contributed to pointing out errors in the IPCC reports in my own blog, and it is appropriate for the State of Texas to inquire how much of the IPCC findings will ultimately be called into question. Nor would my considered scientific opinion constitute adequate independent grounds for an EPA finding.”
Wow. A reasonable climatologist, but one who supports the broad scientific consensus. What scientific consensus is that, you ask? Well, as a result of this interview, Dr. Andy Dessler (who we have long been a fan of here at TexasVox) and the entire A&M Dept of Atmo Sciences released the following statement:
Dr. Andrew Dessler, a climatologist at Texas A&M University and author of The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change, tells the Wonk Room in an email interview that the entire Department of Atmospheric Sciences agrees with the IPCC:
“I, along with all of the other faculty in the department, agree with the main conclusions of the IPCC.”In 2007, the Texas A&M Department of Atmospheric Sciences issued a statement that global warming from emissions of greenhouse gases risks “serious adverse impacts on our environment and society” — the key basis for the EPA’s endangerment finding:
1. It is virtually certain that the climate is warming, and that it has warmed by about 0.7 deg. C over the last 100 years.
2. It is very likely that humans are responsible for most of the recent warming.
3. If we do nothing to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases, future warming will likely be at least two degrees Celsius over the next century.
4. Such a climate change brings with it a risk of serious adverse impacts on our environment and society.When asked if the latest attacks on the IPCC affect their stance, Dr. Dessler responded that “the Department stands by its statement. You can quote me on that.”
You can read the entire interview here. But, when it comes to this one right here, it’s Science 1 – Perry, Abbott and Staples 0.
Or maybe no one is keeping score, and we just chalk this up as more election year posturing?
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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.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged air contaminant, Carbon Dioxide, climate, climate change, Coal, Coal Plants, coal rush, endangerment, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Global Warming, governor perry, greenhouse gas emissions, Public Citizen, public health, Sierra Club, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on February 16, 2010 |
Statement from Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas Office and Ken Kramer, director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club
This morning Governor Perry attempted to show Texas voters that he is bigger than both Texas and federal law by enacting a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s(EPA) endangerment finding for carbon dioxide, but instead just further highlighted his failure to protect Texans’ health and the safety and long term stability of our economy and climate.
Instead of suing the EPA, Perry should be taking proactive steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build up our clean energy economy. Our governor likes to brag about all he’s done to promote wind and energy efficiency and the emissions Texas has avoided as a result, but at the same time he is hammering through a second Texas coal rush that will negate all that hard work and add 77 million tons of CO2 to Texas’ already overheated air.
Perry’s blustering behavior has actually caused Public Citizen to file a lawsuit against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for its failure to regulate global warming gasses. Texas law clearly requires that “air contaminants” be regulated, and defines contaminants as follows:
“‘Air contaminant’ means particulate matter, radioactive material, dust, fumes, gas, mist, smoke, vapor, or odor, including any combination of those items, produced by processes other than natural.” Tex. Health & Safety Code § 382.003(2).
Perry has proudly demonstrated willful ignorance of this portion of Texas law time and time again, and has ordered state agencies such as the TCEQ to ignore it as well. For this reason and his actions today we are issuing our Governor a Citizens’ Citation to cease and desist endangering the health of breathers, the economy and the climate in Texas by continuing to permit coal plants and other large sources of CO2.
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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.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Air Quality, al armendariz, ana hernandez, asthma, bay city, beaumont, clean air act, coal plant, colorado river, compliance, environment, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, galveston, health, houston, jessica farrar, kristi thibaut, matagorda county, nox, ozone, ozone standards, parish coal plant, Public Citizen, ryan rittenhouse, smog, state office of administrative hearings, sunset review, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Legislature, Tom "Smitty" Smith, ttc, white stallion on February 10, 2010 |
Public Citizen and Area Legislators Urge State to Deny Air Pollution Permit
HOUSTON – Area legislators joined Public Citizen this week in urging environmental agencies to deny the White Stallion coal plant its air permit because if built, the facility would degrade air quality in Houston. The emissions from this proposed power plant would exacerbate the problem of smog in the Houston-Galveston-Beaumont region, which already is in violation, or “non-attainment,” of federal ozone standards and may soon have to meet higher standards as the result of a new proposal to strengthen the federal ozone rule
“The proposed White Stallion coal plant would harm the health of the people of Matagorda County, degrade the environment, and stifle economic development and tourism throughout the region,” said Ryan Rittenhouse, coal energy analyst with Public Citizen’s Texas office. “We are pleased to see Texas legislators step up to protect our citizens, the environment and Texas’ economic future.”
White Stallion’s air permit hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings begins today and will last through Feb. 19. That office will make a recommendation to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
The air pollution permit is the first step; the project still will need a wastewater permit from the TCEQ and an additional permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.
If granted an air permit, White Stallion will increase emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), the principle component of ozone, by more than a third in Matagorda County, where the plant will be located. That translates to more than 4,000 tons per year of NOx that would blow into the Houston area, dramatically increasing ozone levels in the non-attainment region.
“The proposed White Stallion coal plant will be less than 17 miles from the Houston/Galveston non-attainment region. Coal plants such as this one are one of the largest, individual sources of smog-forming pollutants,” said State Rep. Ana E. Hernandez (D-Houston). “Particularly in light of new EPA ozone standards, why should we allow a coal plant to be built on our doorstep? It will only make it that much harder for us to clean up Houston’s air pollution.”
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that the TCEQ has not been adhering to the Clean Air Act in its issuance of new air permits, but the TCEQ has failed to change its permitting process.
For this reason, Texas legislators, including Reps. Hernandez, Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) and Kristi Thibaut (D-Houston), sent appeal letters this week to Dr. Al Armendariz, regional administrator of the EPA, urging the agency to step in and provide much needed guidance and oversight to the TCEQ. Their letters asked that the White Stallion power plant not be given an air permit to begin construction until the EPA ensures that constituents will receive the full public health protections of the federal Clean Air Act.
“I urge TCEQ and the EPA to deny the permit authorizing the White Stallion coal plant to be built in Matagorda County. Texas’ air quality must be improved for the good health of every Texan. The goal of clean air and clean water can be obtained by a commitment to reducing air contaminants,” Farrar said.
Despite the fact that a new coal plant could hinder Houston’s ability to meet federal regulations, the TCEQ refuses to predict or consider air impacts that are outside the non-attainment region. In fact, the TCEQ executive director filed legal briefs arguing that evidence showing White Stallion would contribute to ozone problems in the Houston area is irrelevant to the decision of whether to grant the White Stallion air permit. The TCEQ similarly refuses to consider cumulative impacts when granting an air permit, such as the fact that the 30-year-old Parish coal plant is only 50 miles northeast of the White Stallion site and also within the Houston/Galveston non-attainment region.
White Stallion would also pull 36,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River every year. Increased activity from the two barges required to deliver coal every day would contaminate the water with toxic runoff and erode the embankments.
The proposed plant would be located along a 100-year floodplain and would store coal ash waste on site. In the event of extreme weather, that toxic waste could easily wash into public waterways.
“The proposed White Stallion coal plant would dump thousands of tons of toxic pollutants into our air and water every year, when this region is already in non-attainment for clean air,” Thibaut said. “Furthermore, construction of this plant would remove 36,000 acre-feet of water each year from the Colorado River, which serves many drought-stricken areas of our state. As the elected representative for thousands of my constituents who would be affected, and as the mother of a small child, I cannot stand by as our air and water quality are further eroded.”
If the project is granted its air permit, advocates still have a chance to challenge the permit in state court and to reform the TCEQ through the sunset review process.
“The TCEQ is one of a number of state agencies that are about to undergo sunset review at the Texas Legislature. The sunset commission has the power to reform this agency and insist that any permits issued in the future adhere to the Clean Air Act,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas office. “With this process, Texas has the opportunity to ensure that the health of Texans and their environment are protected more than the profits of energy corporations.”
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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.
Posted in Toxics, tagged aaron smith, Air Quality, american lung association, asthma, Bob Malina, clean air, clean air texas, dr neil carman, dr. bonnie new, environmental defense fund, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, galveston-houston alliance for smog prevention, ghasp, Health Professionals for Clean Air, houston, janice nolen, Kids for Clean Air, matagorda county, matthew tejada, mothers for clean air, no coal coalition, ozone, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, public health, public hearing, republican party, respiratory disease, ryan rittenhouse, SEED Coalition, Sierra Club, Texas, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Wendi Hammond, white stallion on February 5, 2010 |
Earlier this week the Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing on a newly proposed rule to strengthen federal ozone standards. A coalition of environmental and public health advocates called Clean Air Texas rallied in support of the new rule, which would improve air quality across the state and make our communities healthier. Over a hundred citizens presented their comments to the EPA in support of the new, stronger rule — more than the EPA has seen at a public hearing in years. Public Citizen was on hand to give comments and capture the stories of concerned citizens that came to the hearing, check out the videos below to hear what folks had to say!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfiNk_19tgk]
Also check out this video of the press conference to hear what matters most about the ozone rule from activists with Kids for Clean Air, Public Citizen, the American Lung Association, Health Professionals for Clean Air, Sierra Club, and the Galveston-Houston Alliance for Smog Prevention. The lead image is acting a little funny, but the video will still show up, I promise
[vimeo 9206598]
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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.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Air Quality, american lung association, asthma, bronchitis, clean air texas, emergency room visits, emphysema, environmental defense fund, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, galveston-houston association for smog prevention, houston, matthew tejada, ozone, ozone levels, Public Citizen, public health, Sierra Club, smog, Texas on February 2, 2010 |
Check out the video and op-ed below by some of our Clean Air Texas coalition partners about the hearing in Houston tomorrow on the EPA’s new proposed rule to strengthen ozone standards. I’ll be at the hearing tomorrow, along with Ryan Rittenhouse, to represent Public Citizen and interview folks from around the state who’ve come to speak up for clean air. If you plan on attending the rally, look for us and tell us your stories!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iCUHsJA4as]
It’s Time to Weigh in on Smog Limits
Imagine this conversation between a mother and child:
“Mommy, can we go outside and play?”
“Not today, dear, it’s just not safe.”
Most of us growing up in Texas didn’t wait for our parents to check an air quality report before venturing outside in the summer. But things have changed. Today, we know that rising temperatures bring rising ozone levels and as summer arrives we’re forced to restrict outdoor activities to limit harmful exposure.
Still, no matter how hard we try, we just can’t hide from poor air quality. We’ve got to clean it up.
That’s why we are encouraged that the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new limits on ozone “smog” pollution to protect human health. On Tuesday, the EPA hosts an all-day public hearing at the Houston Hobby Hilton to get your feedback on these proposed stronger standards.
Why should you care about ozone? Ground-level ozone triggers asthma attacks, sends children to the emergency room and can even kill. It’s a serious health threat — especially in states with warmer climates like Texas. When our abundant sunlight and heat “cook” our equally abundant emissions from traffic and refineries, it forms — you guessed it — too much ozone. (more…)
Posted in Toxics, tagged austin texas, coal industry, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, houston, ozone pollution, Texas on January 28, 2010 |
Right now the EPA is accepting public comments on proposed new ozone standards that will make the air we breathe cleaner and our communities healthier, but they are facing fierce opposition from the coal industry and its allies. The Houston EPA hearing on new ozone standards is one of only three across the country (the other two are in Virginia and California), so this is a big deal!
Can you join us for an important EPA public hearing on hazardous ozone standards in Houston on February 2nd?
The final decision by the EPA will have an impact on our air quality for decades, but they need to hear from you.
Who: The EPA and you, your friends, family and neighbors. There will be carpools from around the state.
What: EPA public hearing on proposed revision of the ozone standard which would improve the air quality in Texas
Where: Hilton Houston Hobby Airport, Moody Ballroom, 8181 Airport Boulevard, Houston, TX 77061 (map)
When: Tuesday, February 2, from 9:30am – 7:30pm (or later if there are still people waiting to testify!)
– 10:45am: Morning press conference/rally
– 6:30pm: Evening rally with speakers
Texans deserve standards that follow the law and abide by the Clean Air Act. There are twelve new coal plants proposed in Texas, and we already have 17 coal plants up and running (some of the dirtiest in the country). We deserve better.
Thanks for all that you do!
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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.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged big polluters, clean air act, copenhagen, duke energy, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Senator Lisa Murkowski, southern company, Texas on January 19, 2010 |
With climate legislation held up in the Senate and the Copenhagen climate talks’ failure to produce a binding, international agreement, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has emerged as the critical agency in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Through application of the Clean Air Act, the EPA has the authority to curb climate change. Unfortunately, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and lobbyists for some of the biggest polluters in the country have other plans for the Clean Air Act.
Tomorrow, Senator Murkowski is planning to introduce an amendment that would halt the EPA’s implementation of the Clean Air Act and undermine one of our most important environmental laws.
We know that big energy likes the amendment, since they helped draft it. In the Washington Post, a lobbyist for energy giants like Southern Co. and Duke Energy, Jeff Holmsted, admitted to working with Murkowski’s staff on the exact language of the amendment.This is after Senator Murkowski received more than $124,500 from Holmsted’s clients.
Don’t let Big Energy write the law to pollute more! Tell your Senator to protect the Clean Air Act.
The Murkowski amendment seeks to reverse the EPA’s critical finding that greenhouse gas pollution endangers public health. The endangerment finding triggers the Clean Air Act and prompts the EPA to take the first step toward curbing climate change pollution.
Murkowski’s attempt to eviscerate our best existing tool for reducing greenhouse gas pollution not only threatens our ability to reduce the carbon in our atmosphere, but also serves as another shameful example of the role Big Polluters are playing in stalling climate change action.
Thank you for all you do!
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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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