Two weeks ago, BP America, Caterpillar Inc. and ConocoPhillips decided not to renew their membership in the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), an alliance of major businesses and environmental groups calling for federal regulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since then, there have been some wild assertions about the health of the movement for clean energy in America. A lot of people are looking at this like tea leaves, and trying to figure out what it means, so here's my reading.
Businesses in America are realizing that a clean energy economy is no longer a dream or a goal - it is a requirement. Businesses have a choice between obstinately clinging to the fossil economy (already dead) or reading the writing on the wall and getting behind the clean energy movement. Thousands of businesses and organizations across the country get it:
American Businesses for Clean Energy (ABCE), a group of large and small businesses that want Congress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; It already has over 2,400 companies -- all of whom joined ABCE in less than four months.
More than 80 groups signed onto the recent USCAP Ad in the Wall Street Journal.
We Can Lead, a group of more than 150 companies continues to gain ground advocating for policies that will generate an estimates 1.7 million good, American jobs.
This is the first time in world history that an international alliance of businesses and conservation groups have joined forces to address a planetary issue, and the support it has garnered is beyond anyone's expectations.
So does the loss of a few stuck to the status-quo mean that global enthusiasm to reduce carbon emissions is waning? Hardly.
On the one hand, with any coalition, let alone one as diverse as USCAP -- which includes environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Nature Conservancy as well as Shell Oil and Duke Energy -- there are bound to be difference of opinion and different priorities. Through education, negotiation and compromise, these differences get ironed out as members realize where their true priorities are and what they're willing to give up or wait for. You'll win some battles and you'll lose some, but by doing this, the key priorities of the coalition as a whole begin to emerge.
On the other hand, ConocoPhillips and cronies justified leaving the coalition with dubious, nit-picky excuses that range from complaining that more wasn't done for natural gas, to the ridiculous claim that USCAP had served its purpose and it was time for everyone to go their separate ways. Please.
If those three are so obsessed with their market share that they can't see that they are woolly mammoths sinking in a tar pit, then I suppose school children will study them someday long after they go extinct.
As this process comes closer to a finish line, it's only natural to find that some feel that they are being asked to compromise, while others may feel they are asking for more than they can get. The game we are playing here is one where winning means economic prosperity and losing means more of what we've seen for the past two years or worse. If your quarterly results matter more than that, the sensible thing to do is to agree to disagree and amicably part ways. While it's unfortunate to part ways with a partner, in a case like this hardly a tragedy.
I believe we are about to enter the last phase of this journey to revitalize our economy with a commitment to sustainable energy and the creation of millions of good jobs here in the US. And I'm excited to see who will be joining us. After all, America is known for its ingenuity and its innovative companies.
Last Thursday Austin Energy General Manager Roger Duncan briefed Austin City Council on the utility's Resource and Climate Protection Plan. This plan is the culmination of 18 months of input from the public, the creation of a generation resource task force of various stakeholders to review various energy plans and make recommendations, and support and input from both the Electric Utility Commission and the Resource Management Commission -- but it still isn't the end of the line for the plan. The generation plan will also be the subject of a city-wide town hall meeting February 22nd, and city council is expected to vote on some version of it in March.
The energy plan that Duncan (who will be retiring soon and we wish him the very best) presented sets Austin on a path to reduce our carbon emissions 20% below 2005 levels by 2020 and get a total of 35% of our energy from renewable resources. It will meet council's renewable energy goals, move Austin Energy towards becoming the leading utility in the nation in terms of clean energy and global warming solutions, and re-affirm the city's commitment to the Climate Protection Plan, which has the laudable goal to establish a cap and reduction plan for the utility's carbon dioxide emissions. It is a flexible, living document that will allow council to evolve and adapt as conditions change. AND it will reduce the capacity factor of our Fayette Coal Plant by 60% and gets the ball rolling on figuring out the best way to shut it down(which you know makes me happy). Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, doesn't it?
As we've come to expect over the years from our award winning utility, Austin Energy is taking an especially responsible and forward-thinking role with this new plan. I've formed this opinion for a few reasons:
They're adopting aggressive renewable energy and efficiency goals as part of a larger, smart business plan. Austin doesn't need a new generation plan because we're going to be strapped for energy by 2020; Austin Energy could rest on their laurels and do nothing for the next ten years and we'd be fine buying up excess energy on the open market as its power purchase agreements expire and gas plants age. But if they did that, by the time 2020 rolled around Austin would be way behind the technological curve and very likely be stuck with higher rates as a result. Austin Energy has picked up on the national trend that the traditional fuels we rely upon, such as coal, are quickly becoming financial liabilities even as solar and wind are becoming more and more cost effective. This plan will allow the utility to reposition itself for 2020 going forward so that in ten years we will have made the preparations necessary to take full advantage of the coming clean tech boom rather than be left scrambling and dependent on outdated energy sources.
Austin Energy and the task force that helped formulate this plan were very careful to balance considerations of reliability, affordability, and clean (in terms of the environment and human health). The city has the responsibility to make sure that everyone who lives here can afford their utility bills. It doesn't do any good to make the switch to a new clean economy if we do so on the backs of those that can least afford it. But that couldn't be farther from the case with this plan; this isn't green for some, this is green for all. Compared to other options, this plan will minimize the impact for those least able to pay their electricity bill, supports in-house economic development and the hiring of local contractors, and ensures that everyone will have a chance to play a role in moving our city and economy forward. There's been a lot of focus and attention on the utility's estimate that the plan will raise rates in 2020 by approximately 22% or $21 a month, but what's missing from that discussion is that even if Austin Energy doesn't do anything between now and 2020 rates will go up by 15% or about $14 a month. So do the math -- for an extra $7 a month in ten years, we can build up a clean local economy that minimizes impacts on low-income consumers and creates avenues to new employment opportunities, improves public health, AND puts Austin in a prime position to start lowering rates by taking advantage of cheap renewable energy. OR we can save families $7 a month compared to today on their utility bills but lose out on new jobs and leave every citizen in the city of Austin at the mercy of high fossil fuel costs and coming federal regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. Austin Energy is not only looking at what is most affordable now, but what is most affordable in the long term. Coal may be cheap and reliable energy now, but depending on it in the long term will get us into trouble in terms of cheap and affordable in 2020.
Austin Energy is not only reaching for the low fruit of emissions reductions and energy efficiency, they're building high-tech ladders to get at the really juicy stuff at the top of the tree. Let me explain. There are a number of ways Austin Energy could go about reducing emissions. The easiest of these would be to buy renewable energy credits, or RECs. RECs and offsets are in essence a mechanism for utilities, businesses, and governmental bodies to pay someone else to clean up and still get the credit for it. They're a good and have a positive influence on society at large because they do encourage clean energy investment and development, but not necessarily in a nearby community (in fact almost certainly not). It might be easier in the short run to pay someone else to be clean up, but then we miss out on all the delicious creamy gravy that comes along with renewable energy development. If you buy RECs you don't get new jobs and businesses in your community. If you buy RECs your own people are still breathing the same amount of pollution. But Austin Energy is taking the initiative to really get at the heart of the problem by cutting the amount of pollution coming out of the smokestacks we own. For that, they should be applauded.
What do Alejandro Escovedo and the Pope have in common? ... They both believe climate leadership is underserved. Alejandro recently added the 433rd signature to a local citizen petition urging renewed leadership at City Hall. The Pope focused his 2010 start-the-new-year address on denouncing the failure of world diplomats to come to a significant agreement on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions:
Jan. 11, 2010 - Pope Benedict XVI denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen last month, saying that world peace depends on safeguarding God's creation. "I trust that in the course of this year ... it will be possible to reach an agreement for effectively dealing with this question," Benedict said.1
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Disconnections All over the US we're managing extreme bipartisanism, an upside down economy, the war, healthcare, etc. etc. etc. You know this. Here in Austin we've got a unique situation, though -- in 2007 City Council committed to making Austin "the leading city in the nation in the fight against climate change." That's pretty great, leading the world's leading economy, but progress has been slow. So slow in fact, Jake Stewart, bright star and manager of Austin Energy's Climate Protection Program, resigned due to frustrations this Fall.
More significantly, according to climatological models presented in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment Report 2007 (yes, I'm aware of the controversy), Austin and Central Texas will see average annual temperatures rise about 2 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050, above 1960-1999 mean temperatures, and 5 to 7 degrees F by 2099... Regarding this temperature increase, the IPCC's 2007 report states,
"A 5 °F rise, relative to 1980-1999 temperatures, suggests a 40%-70% extinction of all species."
That point relates to the future viability of our food chain. Make no mistake, the risks of rapid climate change are not about tree-hugging, they're about human survival.
Note that while the warming trend I've cited is the IPCC worst case scenario, Jake Stewart tells me current global greenhouse gas emission rates are exceeding the assumed threshold in the IPCC's worst case scenario. And, note that the IPCC's chairman said three years ago, "This is our defining moment."2 It's not coming soon, my friends, it's now.
Shouldn't Austinites take the lead? We have the leadership, we have enormous talent and goodwill, what's missing? (Feel free to offer your suggestions.)
Then again, taking a look at animated climate models, years 2000-2099 (link below) it's no wonder people are confused and disconnected. According to the video -- it'll be about 2044 before poop hits the fan, in terms of our local land surface temperatures... after that, things start moving really fast.
The stance taken by the US Chamber of Commerce on climate change is damaging the confidence Americans have in business' ability to respond to current challenges. The Chamber has been fighting climate change legislation tooth and nail on behalf of the US coal industry that makes up a very small segment of their membership. Other business have taken notice, as the list of companies leaving the Chamber is growing. The Chamber chose to entrench its stance on the lead up to the Copenhagen climate conference and this resulted in the departure of Exelon Corp, Pacific Gas & Electric, PNM Resources, Mohawk Fine Papers, and Apple.
The dramatic irony of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) decision this morning to grant the NRG Limestone Coal Plant an air permit (and therefore permission to begin construction on a third smokestack) is painful. At the very moment that leaders from around the world are meeting to come to an international agreement to save the world from catastrophic global warming, at the very moment that residents of developing nations are begging for the continued existence of their land and way of life, Texas gives the green light to build another mercury-spewing, asthma-inducing, planet choking coal plant.
Not exactly what I was hoping to wake up to this morning.
This decision also comes just days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came out with its engangerment finding, which says that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases represent a significant threat to public health and welfare. Earlier this year, the EPA also ruled that TCEQ has not been adhering to the Clean Air Act in its issuance of new air permits. This is the first coal plant permit that TCEQ has issued since that warning (which TCEQ doesn't seem to have taken to heart). AND, according to Karen Hadden, executive director of SEED Coalition,
The TCEQ is not following federal law (Maximum Achievable Control Technology or MACT) in issuing this permit and a result, mercury emissions will be higher.
So many hearts to break, so little time. But of course there's always a silver lining. Next legislative session, the TCEQ (and a whole host of other commissions) will undergo the Sunset Review process -- and as Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of Public Citizen's Texas Office mentions, that gives Texas a chance to reform the TCEQ permitting process:
This is just another example of why the Sunset Commission should take a good hard look at how TCEQ rubber stamps permits for coal plants in Texas.
In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for progress in Copenhagen, and drop by Texas Vox for more information on how you can help fight global warming and a 2nd Texas coal rush.
You can also find the good (NRG has agreed to offset 50% of their emissions, though there's nothing in their permit to hold them to that), the bad, and the ugly in the full press release here.
(What a great opportunity. Be sure to vote. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Help send Citizen Sarah, media coordinator at Public Citizen Texas and sometimes-contributor here at BOR, to the upcoming international climate negotiations in Copenhagen! I've entered a video contest on Huffington Post to be their newest citizen journalist and "Hopenhagen Ambassador". Check out my video below, and then head over to the Huffington Post voting both to cast your ballot! All it takes is a click, help send a passionate blogger on climate and the environment to cover the story of her dreams!
Hundreds of Texans from all walks of life rallied to Roll Beyond Coal on Halloween, Saturday, October 31.
There were 200 people in Dallas including speakers -- Representatives Carol Kent, Lon Burnam, Robert Mikloss, and Dallas Council Member Linda Koop.
There were 200 also in Austin including MC Ian Davis and speakers Representative Eddie Rodriguez, Austin Council Member and bike advocate Chris Riley (He stood up for the City's Climate Protection Agreement) and Dr. Kimberly Carter of Austin Physicians for Social Responsibility (She really nailed the seriously SCARY part of the Halloween message about Texas coal pollution).
100 oeople came out in the sparking city by the sea, Corpus Christi where their Clean Economy Coalition is in a contested case hearing this week along with Sierra Club over the proposed and quaintly named Las Brisas, 'the Breezes' coke plant. Corpus speakers included two physicians -- a family practioner from Aransas Pass, Dr. Lorraine Stehn, pediatrician Dr. Kevin Hopkings, Stacy Barrera, President of the TAMU-CC Young Democrats, former REpresentative Arnold Gonzales and Hal Suter of the Sierra Club.
There was also 50 people rolling beyond coal in Beaumont and 35 in Alpine, Texas. Calmly scared half to death about rising coal costs, health and environmental impacts of 12 new Texas coal plants http://www.texas.sierraclub.or... , they are taking action to stop the second wave of the Texas coal rush and promoting instead clean air, clean power, green jobs, and the availability of water in the future.
Coal Plant Pollution means Attainment of Federal Air Quality Standards Shot to Hell
"These 12 new coal plants are a significant jump to the 17 operating coal plants we already have in Texas," said Rita Beving with Dallas Sierra Club. "Whether it's the nearby plants being built east of Waco or the one proposed as far away as Abilene, the wind carries coal plant pollution north to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and will only exacerbate our ability to reach attainment."
The Dallas-Fort Worth area is currently in non-attainment of required federal clean air standards, as is Houston and the Beaumont-Port Arthur area. Austin, San Antonio and the north east Texas area have early action compacts and are near non-attainment. New federal air quality standards coming this Fall (70 ppb)will mean that several additional regions of Texas will go into non-attainment.
Many states around the nation have dropped plans for coal plants, letting Texas run far ahead in a horrible lonely lead in the opposition direction. With Michigan trailing at only 4 proposed new coal plants, Texas has the largest number still moving in various stages of permitting - contested case hearings, appeal, and construction. With the grotesque rate of acceptance of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), a whole army of new coal plants could go online next year emitting their enormous tonnage of pollution as they rev up to a full-throttled, smog-spewing, global warming, lung-clogging, nerve-shattering, mind-numbing, and heart-stopping blast of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, mercury, and carbon dioxide. See the fact sheet list of the proposed coal plants in Texas and the gory truth on their cumulative emissions numbers.
Human Health Impacts http://www.texas.sierraclub.org/press/newsreleases/HealthImpactsfromTexasCoalPlantPollution.pdf
Corpus Christi cardiologist, Dr. Greg Silverstein said, "In Corpus Christi, we already experience twice as much asthma as the state average. If the Las Brisas petcoke plant is allowed to go forward with the huge annual emissions of smog and smoke in their permit application, we
will see a significant increase of even more asthma in Corpus Christi and the surrounding towns. I am concerned about my patients and all the people of Corpus Christi."
Coke is regulated similarly to coal and it emits the same nasty pollutants. See just what effects coal and coke plants have on human physiology in the attached Fact Sheet.
Coastal Bend doctors of the Nueces County Medical Society and the Tri-County San Patricio-Aransas-Refugio Medical Society passed resolutions opposing the permitting of the hilariously-named Las Brisas (the Breezes) coke plant. Corpus Christi citizens from all walks of life united across class, Hispanic and Anglos, men, women, children, and the elderly crowded into a room that couldn't contain their opposition at last February's preliminary hearing in which a large number of individuals and organizations including the Clean Economy Coalition and the Sierra Club received 'standing' for a contested case hearing which began today, Monday, November 2.
Clean Energy Solutions and Green Jobs on the brighter side of the Dark Ages
"There are many reasons to oppose coal plants - they cost too much, make people sick, contribute to global warming, and use enormous amounts of water," said Eva Hernandez, Regional Organizer for Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign. "Another reason is that they are a huge dangerous diversion from the clean power and green jobs economy that Texas is so perfectly suited for and already leading."
Roll Beyond Coal is a project of Sierra Club's Climate Recovery Partnership and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. In Texas, Sierra Club is fighting to stop new coal plants and clean up and phase out old coal plants. Sierra Club's environmental partners include our 14 Regional Sierra Club groups, lawyers on the Texas contested case hearings the Environmental Integrity Project, running buddies Sierra Student Coalition, Public Citizen, and a cast of dozens of awesome Texas organizations.
Slide show with photos from all rallies coming soon! Stay tuned to Lone Star Chapter of Sierra Club on Burnt Orange Report!
Senator Hutchison (who you might have heard is running for governor), published an op-ed last week in a couple of Texas papers about how the ACES Bill would cripple Texas. We've pushed back, and actually got something printed in one of those old-timey-newspaper thingies in one of the papers that ran her op-ed, the Round Rock Leader. (I know, quaint-- right? newspapers? Who reads those anymore? < end sarcasm>)
Have a read here for the whole thing, or if you're in North Austin or WillCo, go pick up a Round Rock Leader. I've posted an except below:
United States Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison takes a head-in-the-hot-sand approach to climate change that will get Texas burned and drive tens of thousands of new jobs elsewhere ("Cap and Trade is No Good For Texas," Aug. 27 Leader). She misses the mark on energy policy, using discredited industry statistics to drum up fear about a Cap and Trade policy that represents just a small portion of the initiatives proposed in the energy bill that passed the House of Representatives in July.
She fails to acknowledge that the bill includes provisions for renewable energy and energy efficiency - the real solutions to climate change. Hutchison's solution is no solution at all: more oil, more coal and more nuclear, with absolutely no coherent policy on how to lower energy costs and find alternatives to dwindling resources.
America is faced with the worst economic crisis in generations, Sen. Hutchison is turning away opportunities to create new jobs while slavishly clinging to the talking points of the oil industry.
(This is happening Wednesday morning. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Public Citizen is holding one of a series of national events in front of the Capitol in Austin on Wednesday about the upcoming Citizens United v. FEC case in the Supreme Court.
This will take place Sep 9th starting at 10:30 am on the South steps of the Texas Capitol (11th and Congress), to coincide with the Supreme Court hearing the Citizens United case, in which they have signaled they want to overturn a century-old principle that bans corporations from directly participating in campaigns.
Imagine it-- if corporations could openly support or oppose political candidates and give money to their elections!
We will need people to come who support clean elections and are tired of corporate influence in our politics. We will be holding two simultaneous rallies. One will be a Citizens Rally with homemade signs (feel free to bring your own) and another with people dressed in suits (led by your truly) representing the corporations, carrying stock signs saying "Corporations are People Too", "Why shouldn't I be able to buy a President?",
If interested or for more info, go to www.DontGetRolled.org or please email Andy Wilson awilson-at-citizen.org
Also read our full press statement from Public Citizen's New President, Rob Weissman here and after the jump
The US House of Representatives passed HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, sometimes referred to as the Waxman-Markey Bill, or ACES, by a vote of 219-212. A majority in the House of Representatives in 218 votes.
While I wish I could say this vote went along party lines, it did not. 8 Republicans (none from Texas) voted for the bill, while an amazing 44 Democrats voted against President Obama, the environment, and green jobs (including three from Texas).
These Dems should be whipped and whipped hard. The consensus in the enviro community was that this bill was watered down and wouldn't meet the promise of a truly great energy and climate bill. But it would be the best we could get. The closeness of the vote shows that every compromise literally had to be made to get any climate bill passed.
As for our Texas delegation, we have good news and bad news. (more after bump)
