Director's Message
Take Action: Keep Water Flowing In Texas
Pet owners never leave their pets without water, right? Why should we expect otherwise when it comes to fish and wildlife in Texas? The Texas Water Development Board is revising its rules on what needs to be in our state's regional water plans, but the new rules are not strong enough to ensure our environment and wildlife have enough water. Tell the Texas Water Development Board to adopt stronger rules for the health of our rivers, lakes, and streams and the wildlife that depend on them.What Sort of Water Warrior Are You?
Are you a water hero, a water hater, or somewhere in the middle? Take this quiz to find out!
It's Official! Austin City Council Approves New Austin Energy Rates
Setting a retirement date for a coal plant is good, but developing a real plan to make it happen is much more difficult. Thanks to the incredible work of our own Cyrus Reed and Public Citizens' Kaiba White the Austin Energy Rate case has come to a fantastic close. Not only will $5 million dollars will be set aside to by retire AE's share of the Fayette coal plant by 2022, residential, commercial and industrial customers will all see a slight decrease in rates. In a rare unanimous vote, Austin City Council approved the joint settlement among 20 parties and brought the long, hard fought negotiations to an end that all can be happy about.
We and the Bee - Joining the Fight to Save Food, Flowers, and Our Flying Friends
The rapid decline of honeybees is an environmental challenge that has been heating up over the last decade. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) - is being reported worldwide. The key suspect is a new group of pesticides called "neonicotinoids" (neonics for short). Neonics, synthetic-based chemicals made from petroleum, are estimated to be 1,000 times more toxic than DDT, according to French scientist Jean-Marc Bonmatin.
Honeybees are critical to food production and add $24 billion to the U.S. economy. Pollinators make possible an astounding 35% of global food production by fertilizing the flowers of several dozen species of fruits, nuts, and vegetable crops. Yet commercial beekeepers have been struggling in the U.S. to keep their hives healthy as CCD takes a rising toll, and many beekeepers have shut down due to devastating losses that are too costly to replenish. This is why we have joined a bee protection lawsuit to stop the use of neonics.
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Four of the Largest Urban Areas in Texas Have Unsafe Ozone Levels
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) announced its ozone designation recommendations for the updated 2015 ozone (smog) standard. These indicate where in Texas the air quality violates the new pollution standard and, unfortunately for us, they include four of the largest urban areas in Texas. These areas are the 11 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, eight counties in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area, San Antonio in Bexar County, and El Paso County.
Who suffers from ozone pollution? People like Dallas residents Misti O'Quinn and Trinity, her 10-year old daughter. Trinity explains, "You can start to feel when your chest starts to get tighter and tighter, and the coughing gets bad. This is a nebulizer. It opens me up a lot and helps me [breathe] better."
Driving Into the Future: It's Electric!
The world we want our grandchildren to enjoy relies on our divestment from fossil fuels. Unfortunately, no matter how much we theoretically value the future sustainability of Earth and its species, the reality remains that most of us have to use the dirty fuels available to us to make daily life possible. That's why we have joined Plug In America and the Electric Auto Association to bring you National Drive Electric Week 2016!
National Drive Electric Week, September 10-18, 2016, is a nationwide celebration to heighten awareness of today's widespread availability of plug-in vehicles and highlight the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more. They are fun to drive, are less expensive to fuel and more convenient than gasoline vehicles, are better for the environment, promote local jobs, and reduce our dependence on oil. Are you considering going electric? Come talk to owners who have successfully done so.
Click here to find an event near you!
Join the Galveston Bay Water Brigade!
Texas Living Waters (our partnership with Galveston Bay Foundation and National Wildlife Federation) have launched the Galveston Bay Water Brigade, an interactive campaign that wants you to take small steps to conserve water for the Bay. Every drop of water saved helps ensure Galveston Bay receives the freshwater it needs to maintain healthy populations of birds, oysters, fish, shrimp, and other wildlife. Taking action is as simple as taking shorter showers, reducing your landscape irrigation, repairing toilet leaks, or all of the above. Become a Brigade Member with a simple click! It's free. It's easy. It saves the Bay. Click here to select your goal and take your pledge!
Citizen Action Leads To Better SA Tomorrow Plan, But It's Kinda Weak Sauce... For Now
The San Antonio City Council has approved the SA Tomorrow Plan, which comprises sustainability, transportation, and comprehensive plans through 2040. The plans were drafted by the city's Office of Sustainability with more than a year of community involvement. Unfortunately, one week before its final approval by the city council, the city's Planning Commission gutted three major features of the plan following one-time testimony from the Real Estate Council of San Antonio. The real estate representative asked the commission to remove the sustainability plan's dark skies initiative, impermeable cover standards, and any use of the word "regulate."
When it came down to the final vote, the city council responded to the uproar from constituents (many of whom were Sierra Club members!) by supporting the dark skies and impermeable cover initiatives. Unfortunately, it chose to follow the wishes of real estate development interests on removing the word "regulation" in the plan. Instead, the Planning Commission had replaced the word "regulate" with "incentivize" wherever it appeared. This change fundamentally alters the intent of the plan by removing the city's ability to address non-compliance.
The Train Is Leaving the Station On the Texas Railroad Commission (Again)
The Railroad Commission (RRC) of Texas is proving, once again, to be a disappointing and defunct regulatory agency. For the third time in five years, the RRC is under review by the Sunset Advisory Commission. In theory, the recommendations of the Sunset Commission should evolve into a bill that affects how the agency functions, amends any shortcomings, and determines if it should be allowed to continue to exist. In reality, the Texas Legislature has failed time and time again to pass a bill that would reform the Railroad Commission. This fact speaks to the incredible power and monetary influence of the oil and gas industry, who engage in aggressive lobbying to protect their profits and the status quo. The commissioners themselves take millions of industry dollars and yet claim that the money does not compromise their regulatory capacity. Meanwhile, they frequently lobby against the very bills that would reform the agency.
Regional Roundup
- Some distressing news from the East Flower Garden Bank off the Gulf Coast. A mass die-off of invertebrates has NOAA recommending the public avoid all activities in the area.
- You might have heard about America's domination in the Summer Olympics this past week, but did you hear about another major win for the American people?
- How do Denton, Vladimir Putin, and the war on local democracy connect? Find out in this absolute must-read for all Texans.
- Ken Paxton is once again suing the federal government. This time over a methane rule that he says is an example of how regulators fail to consider the price tag for oil and gas producers to comply. Too bad Paxton never considers the health and environmental impacts his big oil and gas buddies have on Texans and the lands we love.
- Last but certainly not least, a great piece written by Sierra Club member Stefanie Herweck. LNG is not welcome in the Rio Grande Valley, writes Herweck. Especially if the spokespeople of the industry insist on deception and tricks to get their way.