Director's Message
Take Action: DAPL Pipeline Billionaire Kelcy Warren Has No Place on Parks and Wildlife Commission
The mission of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission is to manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas, yet Governor Abbott has appointed oil pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren, CEO of the notorious Energy Transfer Partners, to the Commission.
Kelcy Warren is the man behind the dangerous Dakota Access pipeline, as well as the destructive Trans-Pecos and Comanche Trail pipelines near Big Bend and the Rio Grande River. How can Parks & Wildlife do its job when Governor Abbott appoints oil and gas giants like Kelcy Warren to the Commission?
The next four years are going to require all hands on deck and we are proud to be part of the resistance efforts. Not only are more people coming out to march, more are staying on to volunteer, donate, and help bring others along.
As part of the ongoing efforts, the Beyond Dirty Fuels Initiative of the Sierra Club's Our Wild America Campaign is currently seeking applications for volunteer members of their Strategy Team. This team serves as the high-level, strategic thinking and decision-making body for the Sierra Club's ambitious efforts to keep fossil fuels in the ground and protect our communities and wild places. If you are interested, please fill out and submit this short application form. Completed applications are due by February 7.
In our own grand state, we are excited to announce that we are seeking a Clean Energy Conservation Organizer in San Antonio! This organizer will help build a diverse and sustainable movement toward more clean energy and climate action in the San Antonio area by recruiting, mobilizing and organizing leaders, and by working to influence city government, the utility, universities, and others. If this opportunity sounds right for you, apply here.
Saying Goodbye To One of Our Own
Terry Hershey, a Houston environmentalist who prevented Buffalo Bayou from being channelized and stripped of its natural beauty, has died. She was 94. Terry spent her life working for clean water, advocating for parks, and inspiring countless others to defend the environment.
We send our most sincere condolences to her family and loved ones and hope that we honor her memory for many years to come through our work to improve Texas for this generation and future generations.
Legislature Takes On Bathrooms and Budgets
Earlier this month, the Texas Legislature convened for the 85th time and, as always, it seems that we are in for an interesting ride. To kick off the session, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, with the help of Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, wasted no time in announcing one of this session's major discriminatory bills that would require people to use the bathroom that correlates with the gender they were born with.
With significantly less fanfare than the probably unconstitutional "bathroom bill," Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the state budget for the next two years. Arguably more important than regulating people's bathroom use, the Comptroller revealed that Texas has about $3 billion less to spend than was available before the last legislative session.
Our Newest Water Warrior On the State Legislative Waterfront
The Texas Legislature is not likely to see a flood of water legislation this session; but there will be more than a trickle of water bills. The Lone Star Chapter will be promoting the legislative recommendations of the state Water Conservation Advisory Council, supporting maintenance of funding for water programs in a tight budget session, and working to improve regional & state water planning and groundwater management.
As always, however, Sierra Club will have to dam up questionable pieces of legislation, like bills to limit public involvement in permitting the use of water in rivers and streams. The water "gridzilla" may resurface and need to be slayed. Fortunately, Sierra Club has an additional resource this session: Legislative & Policy Consultant Chris Mullins will be working at the Capitol with Chapter Water Resources Chair Ken Kramer and Chapter staff to channel water legislation in the right direction. Stay tuned over the next few months for more news and action alerts from the water front.
Join the Cooler, Greener Auto Club
Conserving Water... the SWIFT Way
SPEER Summit 2017 - Feb 7-8 in Austin
The South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource doesn't just have the coolest acronym in energy efficiency - SPEER - it is also the hub for knowledge and expertise on energy efficiency for utilities and energy providers in Texas and Oklahoma.
We're a proud supporter of SPEER. Have been since its beginning, and are excited to promote its annual summit in Austin in February.
Find out more
Join A Water Conservation Symposium
Regional Roundup
- The water fight has come to Texas and it's here to stay
. Check out these awesome #TxWaterProtectors.
- The women's march may have been the biggest protest in US history as an estimated 2.9 million march in cities all around the US and the world.
- In an incredibly embarrassing fiasco, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas General Land Office were scammed into approving an 'environmental' project by a known con-man. Was it a result of incompetence, the good-ol-boy system, apathy, agency capture, corruption, or hostility toward environmental regulatory obligations?
- Will Houston continue to face massive flooding and poor flood control because officials don't believe in overwhelming science?