Electoral success for pro-environment candidates may seem hard to come by in the current political climate, but in the recent municipal elections in Dallas and San Antonio, pro-environment candidates proved to be quite popular with voters. Time will tell whether or not these latest results will show the beginning of good things to come, but for now, the future looks bright at the local level in at least two of Texas' largest cities.
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To "start at the beginning" of the story of our victory against ExxonMobil, you'd have to go back more than seven years. To explain why it matters, you'd have to go back decades, because the pollution that makes people sick in the Houston area has been around for a long time. It is not often that legal victories like this occur, especially ones that illuminate the environmental injustices that many communities face. That's why we published a deeper dive into how we beat ExxonMobil. There's more to the story than just the $20 million fine for violating the federal Clean Air Act. The U.S. EPA is under attack from the inside and, unfortunately, that means so is the health and welfare of the American people. While the Paris Agreement has been getting most of the headlines, another action by EPA head Scott Pruitt and Donald Trump will have a much more immediate impact on our lives: the freezing of Obama-era methane regulations on oil and gas drilling. Scott Pruitt is proposing a two-year delay on the methane regulations despite an EPA assessment that found that unchecked methane emissions had a particularly negative effect on children. In Texas, specifically, there are more than 5,000 wells that would "benefit" from not having to do pesky things like having a leak detection and repair program in place.
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Texas hasn't seen its Governor veto this many bills since 2007. This month, Governor Greg Abbott vetoed a flurry of bills and shot his total for the 85th Legislature up to 51. By comparison, during the 84th Legislature, his first as Governor, he vetoed 44 bills. In Rick Perry's tenure, spanning seven legislative sessions, he vetoed more bills only twice - 56 in 2007 and 83 in 2001. On Monday, June 12, Abbott also cut funds from important low-income and clean air planning programs, as well as brackish groundwater research, using his line item veto power. He also went after a common sense used tire bill and several pieces of water legislation.
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While water in the Colorado River remains fairly clear, the Lower Colorado River Authority's management of that water seems to be getting increasingly murky and less transparent all the time. LCRA is constructing a $225 million off-channel reservoir - Lane City - adjacent to the Colorado River in Matagorda County. LCRA has yet to explain how the reservoir will be operated, even though the state has committed loan funds and issued a permit amendment; the federal Corps of Engineers has given approval; and construction is well underway. That lack of an explanation is not the result of a shortage of requests from us and others to LCRA. Why does this matter? The water proposed to be captured in the reservoir represents freshwater that otherwise would be headed to Matagorda Bay. The future health of the Colorado River and of Matagorda Bay is at risk. Adequate fresh water is needed to maintain water quality in the river and the health of the bay. The river provides essential nutrients and sediments to the bay and moderates its salinity, making estuaries like Matagorda Bay among the most productive habitats in the world.
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If there was any question as to what "America First" meant when it came to the subject of climate change, the world got its thumb-in-the-eye answer on June 1 when Trump announced plans to extricate the United States from the hard-won Paris Accord, a voluntary agreement in which 200 nations committed to solve the global climate crisis together. The afternoon of that announcement, concerned San Antonians started making calls. "Is there a protest tonight?" "Is anyone going downtown?" As with people all over the world, residents of the nation's seventh largest city were in distress. Here's what happened next.
The Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter welcomes our newest communications interns, Madison Holloway, Courtney Naquin, and Nina Faidley. Madison, Courtney, and Nina will be writing original content for our website, supporting our social media platforms, and lead media monitoring, among other duties. We feel humbled and blessed that this roster of talented and passionate people sought us out to make a difference. If you are interested in an internship with us, please see our volunteer and internship page and send us your application! Read more
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"The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark." -John Muir. An incredible sunset shot by the lovely @geococcyx
Time To Celebrate Environmental Champions! Mark your calendars to join us on Saturday, July 22, 2017, to honor all of this year's Lone Star Chapter Environmental Award winners at a special banquet in Austin! This year's event will be held in a private room at Chez Zee in midtown Austin. This is a time for us to look back at the previous year and recognize the great work of our volunteers, staff, and other individuals with special awards to show our appreciation for their dedication to the environment and beyond. Join us for a terrific night of celebration as we honor the award winners and SierraClub's 125th anniversary! You will receive a special email within the next few days with a link to buy tickets. Going with a group? Please consider sponsoring a table! Contact Evelyn Merz at (713) 644-8228 or elmerz@hal-pc.org if you or your organization is interested. |
