Texas
Texas Currents | Winter 2011
texas currents
winter 2011 edition
Inside
is it dry enough for you?
Epic Drought: A Wake-Up Call for Conservation Planning
For more than two years now, Clean Water Action has been sounding the alarm about the looming water crisis. Continued population growth in Texas, a warming climate and fre-quent drought all prove the urgency of the need. Communities must ramp up water conservation programs now.
Austin and other Central Texas cities need to shift their spending on expensive new water treatment and distribu-tion infrastructure to smarter investments in using available water supplies more efficiently. Clean Water Action has made this case repeatedly in meetings with decision makers across the region.
Solar in Austin
austin, once a leader on solar power, has fallen behind other cities like san antonio.
Clean Water Action and our allies at Solar Austin support the Austin’s current goal of producing 200 MW of power from solar farms by 2020. But we also want to see the City add an additional 300 MW of solar on rooftops in the city of Austin. Here's why:
- rooftop solar does not require millions of gallons of water to produce energy like coal, natural gas and nuclear do -- a vital consideration in this time of record drought
- rooftop solar creates local jobs for solar installers
- rooftop solar builds wealth in the community by putting money back into the pockets of people who have panels installed on their homes and businesses
- rooftop solar saves the city money, since some of the up-front capital comes from the building owners themselves
- energy produced locally makes our city less vulnerable to brownouts and blackouts that can occur on hot summer afternoons, when solar panels are most productive
- energy produced locally avoids line losses that occur when moving energy over long distances, and avoids the costs associated with erecting and maintaining hundreds of miles of transmission lines
It's time for Austin to get serious about solar energy again!
Preventing Accountability
the dirty water amendment: helping polluters avoid accountability
Nine years ago, the Bush Administration broke the Clean Water Act. Following two confusing Supreme court decisions, Administration policy opened millions of acres of wetlands and thousands of streams across this country to pollution without accountablity. This policy has prevented the EPA from prosecuting polluters and put drinking water for 117 million Americans at risk. We've been working to reverse this and fix the Clean Water Act ever since.
Tell the Senate: It's time to fix the Clean Water Act, not weaken it!
Letters to Senators
it takes a broad movement
The Barrasso/Heller Amendment to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2354) is bad news. It would permanently bar the Army Corps of Engineers from restoring longstanding Clean Water Act protections to water bodies throughout the country. This undermines the common-sense protections that Americans expect to ensure clean water for drinking, swimming and fishing. We have to stop it - and we will.
Barrasso - Heller
barrasso-heller: the amendment that would put all water at risk
- Tell the Senate: It's past time to protect all water!
- A Broad Movement: Letters to Key Senators
- The New York Times on Barrasso - Heller
- Putting our water at risk
- Read the amendment
Wetlands and streams are a vital part of our water system. They feed into and clean rivers and lakes throughout the country. The Mississippi and Colorado rivers, San Francisco and Chesapeake Bays and every other body of water relies on small streams and wetlands across the United States. Wetlands also provide vital flood protection for cities, towns, and farmland - an acre of wetland can hold nearly 1 million gallons of floodwaters.
On the Hill
fighting for water on the hill
The Clean Water Act brought Lake Erie back to life, cleaned up rivers like the Cuyahoga and the Potamac, and made drinking water safe for nearly all Americans - we're not done yet. It's been 39 years since the Congress first passed the Clean Water Act. We were making steady progess until nine years ago.
Help us stop the Senate from passing the dirty water amendment today!
Fracking the Air
fracking & your air
- Find out more about EPA's proposal.
- EPA page on Oil and Natural Gas Air Pollution Guidelines
- For the Wonks: The proposed rule
- Testimony from Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director
- Recap: The Pittsburgh hearing
- Recap: The Denver hearing
- Recap: The Arlington Hearing
- Testimony from David Foster, Texas State Director
Oil and gas operations in the U.S. produce significant air pollution – everything from drilling to the production and processing of natural gas affects our air. In fact, the oil and gas industry releases millions of pounds of pollutants like methane, benzene, and sulfur dioxide into our air each year.
Gas Drilling Operations
These toxins pose a threat to our air quality and contribute to serious health problems like asthma, cancer, and neurological issues. Currently more than half of Pennsylvanians live in an area that doesn’t meet federal air quality standards for smog and nearly 800,000 suffer from asthma.
Federal air pollution standards for drilling are woefully outdated. In July the EPA proposed new safeguards to reduce air pollution from the oil and natural gas industry to get us back on track.
Texas Staff Profiles
Austin Office
1303 San Antonio Strete | Suite 100 | Austin, TX | 78701 p: 512-637-9482f: 512-284-9742
David Foster, Texas State Director
Kyle Amato, Outreach Coordinator
Finish Reforming the Pedernales Electric Co-op!
Pedernales Electric Co-op Members: Please vote for Kathy Scanlon and William D. Boggs in the 2011 PEC Board Elections!
Ballots have now been mailed to all member-customers of the Pedernales Electric Co-op, with on-line and mail-in voting ending on Friday June 10. Clean Water Action has endorsed Kathy Scanlon for re-election in District 3, and William D. Boggs for election in District 2.
Both Kathy Scanlon and William D. Boggs are champions of rebate programs for energy efficiency and distributed generation (such as roof-top solar) that reduce pollution, create jobs in Texas, help hold the co-op's costs in check and lower monthly bills for members. They have also pledged to continue the path of reform that the PEC has embraced in the wake of scandals that led to the criminal conviction of the co-op's top manager and the replacement of the entire board by new directors chosen in fair and open elections.
PEC members can vote online at the PEC website through Friday, June 10.
Clean Water Action Criticizes House Policy Riders
Washington DC – Clean Water Action is appalled that the leadership of the US House of Representatives appears willing to shut down the federal government in order to win passage of budget riders limiting the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and prohibiting funding for Planned Parenthood.
While recent press reports have indicated that the EPA restrictions may no longer be on the table, the House Republican leadership has brought the federal government close to the brink of shutdown over policy issues that should not be part of budget negotiations.
Published On:
04/11/2011 - 09:37
