From the Chapter Chair Although I have served as the Lone Star chapter chair for the past year and a half, this is the first time I have written a direct communication to our members and supporters in our newsletter. Fortunately, my reason for doing so is a happy one. Most of you know that the retirement of the chapter's original and long-serving director, Ken Kramer, was a big event in the chapter's history. As is possible with any significant change in leadership, it caused some turbulence in our organization, as the Executive Committee (ExCom) searched for, not a replacement, but a new director for the chapter that had grown over the many years of Ken's care. This unprecedented task was not an easy one for us, and late last year the chapter embarked on a thorough search. Actually, the first stage of that search was to find an interim director, so that the larger search had time to be done properly. If you have been reading this newsletter over the last few months, or received a thank-you note for a donation, you are aware that Reggie James was hired for that work. Now, after an extensive process carried out by the volunteers on the Search Committee, including interviews with many candidates that narrowed to three exceptional finalists, the ExCom has enthusiastically accepted the recommendation of the Search Committee (and the chapter staff) and Reggie has been hired as the new Director of the Lone Star Chapter. This is a time for great optimism about the chapter and our work in Texas. Reggie has more than 25 years of experience in the non-profit world; as former Director of the Southwest Regional Office of Consumers Union, he worked on legislative and regulatory advocacy for improved public and environmental health and safety. In the five months he has been with the Sierra Club, he has not only learned a tremendous amount about the organization, he has become committed to a vision of a vibrant chapter with greater impact for the good of Texans and the Texas environment. Please join me in welcoming Reggie and working with him for the Lone Star Chapter's future. Sincerely, Margot Clarke, Chair Lone Star Chapter Director's Message Scroll down to the bottom of my message, voila, see? No more "Interim." I'm doing the happy dance! I entered at the start of the legislative session with a vision that wasn't focused on the Legislature or my limited tenure. Even as interim director, I was looking beyond and beside the immediate and toward the necessity of wielding what I termed a "bigger club." Those efforts have been underway from the time I started, and as each day of the legislative session passed I became more and more convinced the real game isn't in the state capitol, but in communities across the state, where the rubber meets the road, where an injection well contaminates groundwater or disturbs a fault, where particulate chokes a child, where demand for renewable energy is growing and might be further nurtured. Yes, the Legislature affects each of these things, but despite smarts and dedication, we need more leverage going into next session and much can be done that doesn't depend on the Legislature. I am quite excited to have the opportunity to refine and implement an aggressive vision with an excellent staff, a dedicated Executive Committee, energetic volunteers within a bold and supportive national organization like Sierra Club. I am especially excited about working with the local groups across Texas: volunteers in San Antonio fighting wasteful and expensive water transfer schemes when conservation is the best and most cost effective strategy, volunteers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley fighting the impacts of liquefied gas farms and pipelines, in the Big Bend, volunteers are also battling pipeline incursions near natural wonders like the park, and of course in North Texas where a 92 year old grandmother was recently arrested for protesting fracking and the Legislature's pre-emption of Denton's fracking ban. These efforts may seem disjointed, but they have common threads that can be braided into a very strong rope connecting local concerns to statewide and even global concerns. To say I am excited about the opportunities to have much greater positive impact in Texas is an understatement and I would like to thank Sierra Club, the Lone Star Chapter Executive Committee, and the chapter staff for their confidence and this opportunity. Now lets get to work! Cheers,  Reggie James, Director Lone Star Chapter  Texas Legislature 2015June Update - It's Over But It's Not OverJune 1, 2015, was the official end of the 2015 Legislative Session… at least the regular session. There are always rumors of special session brewing. Here are some highlights from the perspective of the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter. Conservation Director Cyrus Reed reviews energy, air quality, and the budget. Water Resources Chair Ken Kramer lays out the ups and downs of water legislation, and Conservation Chair Evelyn Merz covers parks, wildlife, and recycling.  Buy Your Tickets Now for the Chapter Environmental Awards, July 18!We are less than a month away from our annual Chapter Environmental Awards banquet. Don't wait till the last minute to buy your tickets and make hotel reservations (if you're coming from out of town)! We have secured a discounted rate on a block of hotel rooms at the Hyatt House Hotel in Addison. Click here to reserve your room (special rate ends July 3!). Tickets to the banquet are $40. The event will be held at the Blue Mesa Grill in Addison, July 18, 5:30-8:30pm. Please join Sierra Club members, staff, volunteers, and supporters for a terrific night of celebration as we take a moment to look back at the previous year to recognize and celebrate the great work of our volunteers, staff, and other individuals!  We're on Instagram!Texas Sierra Club is on Instagram! We want to connect people to Texas beauty and Sierra Club events and outings. Instagram is a great place to show all the things we love to explore, enjoy, and protect in the Lone Star State. If you have photos that relate to our mission, please tag us on Instagram - we'd love to re-post your picture and share the love for Texas' natural wonders! Don't forget to follow us @texassierraclub!  Six Months Later: How Is Austin Energy Doing On Its Solar, Renewable, and Efficiency Goals?Six months after the adoption of Austin Energy's new generation resource plan, we're seeing some good progress! In particular, Austin seems well on its way to reaching its goal of 55% renewables by 2025 as we are already near 30% and expected to be at 35% next year. A new 150 MW solar plant in West Texas will be a good first step to achieving the goal of 750 MW non-local utility-scale solar by 2025, and proposals for solar firms are piling up. But what about large-scale energy storage and the independent assessment of a new natural gas plant (or other alternatives)?  La Loma: A Place Full of Memories - Tackling 50 years of Dumping on East Austin's Mt. BonnellThis past month, Sierra Club Outings and members of ATX Environmental Justice hosted a hike to the "Mt. Bonnell" of East Austin, Red Bluff in La Loma. Located west of Highway 183 and near Austin's new Walnut Creek Hike & Bike Trail, La Loma is a beautiful natural area that provides spectacular vistas. Even though this area has long been a treasure to the Austin East Side Community, the city has largely overlooked the space, and decades of neglect have led to the accumulation of hazardous waste and other garbage. Community activists are currently trying to get the city to act on the heinous dumping. If you'd like to see this special place and learn how you can protect it, join us for our next hike to Red Bluff on Saturday, July 11.  New Texas Law Improves Energy Building Codes for New Single-Family Homes, But What About Other Buildings?We are happy about the passage of HB 1736, a bill that will put more effective energy efficiency codes on new single-family homes. These new codes will lead to less overall energy use and lower peak demand in addition to saving new homeowners money, water, and natural gas. In a letter to Texas Comptroller Hegar (who also oversees the State Energy Conservation Office), Conservation Director Cyrus Reed expressed our desire to see the state go further with the new codes by extending them to commercial and other non-residential buildings. Reed suggested that Mr. Hegar should use the time between now and implementation of the new codes on September 1, 2016, to adopt new codes for other building types, a move that already has wide support.  We're Hiring! Water Resources Specialist - Lone Star ChapterThe Lone Star Chapter is hiring! We are seeking a Water Resources Specialist to work on the Texas Living Waters project - a collaboration between Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, and Galveston Bay Foundation. The Water Resources Specialist will conduct research on water resources, participate in stakeholder processes, and advocate at the local and state level to strengthen the work of the Chapter on environmental and natural resource issues. The Texas Living Waters project works to transform the way Texas manages water to better protect our springs, rivers, and estuaries to meet the water needs of the environment and people; both current and future generations of Texans. We have a great team and are working on many interesting water issues. The job description and application instructions can be found here. This job posting closes on Friday, July 17.  How to Start Composting in Your Backyard (from TCEQ)If more Americans composted appropriate materials, it could reduce our trash input to landfills by 30 percent! Composting creates healthy soil for our gardens, yards, and plants. It also saves money on lawn maintenance because it provides rich soil that can reduce the need for watering and the purchase mulch and other garden/lawn nutrition products. TCEQ just released this great how-to video on the basics of composting in your own backyard.  Outings Across Texas
 Regional RoundupBriefs from across the Lone Star state.
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The Lone Star Sierran - June 2015
July 1, 2015