Director's Message
Victory! Feds Pull Remaining Texas Acres From Upcoming Fossil Fuel Auction
Citing the need to further evaluate public feedback, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) withdrew all Texas acres from a federal fossil fuel auction slated for April 20 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The auction originally included more than 36,000 acres in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma, but was reduced to 2,306 acres. Responding to concerns raised by environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, and local governments about fracking impacts, the U.S. Forest Service in February withdrew 31,169 acres of national forest lands in Texas from the auction. The groups then submitted an administrative protest of the BLM's decision to auction the remaining 5,700 acres. The Texas parcels recently pulled from the April auction underlie municipal water supplies that serve the heavily populated areas of DallasFort Worth, Denton, Brenham, and Corpus Christi. A letter from environmentalists highlighted the potential for fracking beneath Lewisville Lake, Somerville Lake, Lake Conroe, and Choke Canyon Reservoir to contaminate drinking water for millions of people.
Historic Native-Led Action Against Coal Mine A Huge Success
On Saturday, April 16, nearly 200 native people and their allies gathered in the quiet town of Eagle Pass, Texas. They came drumming, singing, and praying in defense of the land. For almost nine miles, young and old marched from the international bridge on the Rio Grande River to the Dos Republicas coal mine. Opposition to the mine is overwhelming. More than 8,000 residents of Eagle Pass and Maverick County have signed a petition against the project - more people than voted in the last gubernatorial election. The coalition of native groups, including Pacuache-Coahuiltecan, Carrizo-Comecrudo, Lipan Apache, Cherokee, Mexica/Nahua, Kickapoo, and Comanche, is a historic unification of Texas tribes fighting the degradation of their lands-and it goes to show that the only people benefiting from the mine are those lining their pockets.
Valley Leaders Launch Save RGV from LNG Campaign
More than 70 people attended the Save RGV from LNG kickoff campaign on April 11 to learn more about the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals proposed for the Port of Brownsville and the negative impacts they could bring to the Rio Grande Valley. Highlights included Sierra Club member Stefanie Herweck presenting a dispatch from Lusby, Maryland, where people are fighting the Dominion Cove Point LNG export terminal (currently being litigated by Sierra Club). Stefanie visited the community last month and was able to interview many residents and activists, as well as see the terminal under construction. The event also highlighted RGV Organizer Rebekah Hinojosa, who facilitated breakout sessions focused on actions. The campaign kickoff was a great momentum-building experience for everyone involved, and it will be exciting to see what the next stage in the Save RGV from LNG campaign will bring.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Abbott to Give Chevron the Pink Slip
In 2014, Chevron committed to creating more than 1,700 jobs in Texas by 2020. In exchange, Chevron has received $3 million so far from the Texas Enterprise Fund. Instead of keeping that promise, this past October Chevron announced it has laid off an estimated 950 people in the Houston area alone. Let's invest in jobs and not giveaways. Please take this action from our friends at the Texas Organizing Project. Texans Deserve Better, Give Chevron the Pink Slip!
Lone Star Chapter Environmental Award Winners Announced
It is with great joy that we share with you the winners of the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter 2016 Environmental Awards! The honorees will be presented their awards at a special banquet this Saturday in Austin. Each year, we take some time to look back at the previous year and recognize the great work of inspiring environmental activists and innovators from around our state with awards to show our appreciation. The list is long, so you're just going to have to click on the link to find out who won!
Video: Pete Rivera Takes You on A Tour of Red Bluff
It's hard to imagine oil, metal, and barrels of trash strewn across Zilker Park or Mt. Bonnell, so why has Austin let Red Bluff, a green-space with a gorgeous view of the city become an abandoned dumping ground? One reason is the history of environmental racism and devaluation of communities of color in East Austin. We have recently reported this to District 3 Council Member Pio Renteria and hope to receive a positive response. It's time to push Austin to protect and restore Red Bluff to the glory it deserves. A special thanks to Austin Sierra Club ExCom Member Pete Rivera for raising awareness of Red Bluff's neglect. Pete is receiving the Environmental Justice Award for his work on Red Bluff. Special thanks also go to the producers of this video, Vanessa Ramos and Max Anderson, who won an Art in Service to the Environment Award for this fantastic video.
Clarke - On Continuity
Another Earth Day come and gone, marked this year by 175 countries officially signing on to the Paris climate change agreement. For me, Earth Day is an annual reminder of the never-ending nature of the David and Goliath battle conservationists engage in. As long as there is profit to be made from exploiting natural resources, as long as consumers continue to demand more, newer, and bigger ____ (fill in the blank - houses, smart phones, meals, cars, toys, etc.), the degradation of our planet's ecosystems - our living environment - will continue as well. And so must our efforts to achieve a sustainable balance between human needs, human desires, and our small blue-green world.
Regional Roundup
- If you get the sense that there are some awesome people in the Rio Grande Valley giving it to the fossil fuel industry, you're right.
- Ten billion pounds of chemicals have been pumped underground to frack 54,958 wells in Texas since 2011, according to a new report.
- According to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project, there are 65 Flint, Michigan-type water systems across Texas.
- Wanna end on good news? Let's end on good news! Turns out that some oil workers laid off from the slump are getting jobs in the solar sector.