The TCEQ’s preliminary approval an urban petroleum coke energy facility has received heavy opposition. 

           Citizens of Corpus Christi and the Clean Economy Coalition, members of the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, ReEnergize Texas (myself), and gathered recently (2/14/09) to protest the prospect of an urban energy center, powered by petroleum-coke, a dirty fossil fuel with emissions similar to coal.  An estimated two hundred people marched down the ocean front, through the downtown and financial center of Corpus, to City Hall, carrying signs promoting clean energy and objecting to the poisonous emissions of the proposed pet-coke plant, which has preliminary approval from the TCEQ. 

The plant would be about 3-4 miles from downtown Corpus Christi, and would provide eighty to one hundred permanent jobs.  However, it would produce as much emissions as all of the refineries in Nueces County, while providing just 4% of the jobs in comparison (Refineries = 2,476 jobs). 

An estimated 200 people packed the City Hall, where a preliminary hearing was held to decide which citizens and  organizations would be allowed standing in order to formally challenge the Las Brisas permit application in court.  In attendance were Chase Energy, of Houston, the corporation behind Las Brisas, the TCEQ, and organizations such as Clean Economy Coalition, Sierra Club, Public Citizen Texas, local medical associations and local middle school students.  At least 40 people received standing in the case, including senior citizens breathing from oxygen masks, people with asthma, medical doctors, and business owners.  More people may gain standing over the next few months, with the next court date being August 3^rd – 14^th, in Corpus Christi.

 I will be filing documentation to receive standing in this case.  As it turns out, my extended family owns some of the closest property to site of the possible future plant – within about 1,500 feet.  This property is over one-hundred and fifty years old.  Perhaps even more remarkable is that this land has already been polluted: by Encycle, a subsidiary of ASARCO, which my friend and colleague Jeni Wilde wrote a blog on recently.

 Ironically, it gets worse.

  When I went up to Oleander Point at Cole Park for the protest, I saw a “No Dumping” sign.

  The following photo is taken from directly across the shipping channel, on the coast just behind the above Encycle factory (my extended  family’s property). 

  There are tons of this petroleum coke just lying around in piles… or should I say blowing around? 

I took some photos of it, just off the coast of my family’s land.  It’s a byproduct of petroleum refining, so it’s something Corpus has an abundance of.  However, we would not just be burning Corpus’ pet-coke; we would be importing it from all over the country and world to feed the furnace’s insatiable appetite.

There is absolutely no need for this plant — Visit Corpus on any day of the year, you’ll find that it is quite gusty.

 Texas has leased offshore tracts of land for wind development to Lousiana, 8 miles off the coast of Galveston, allowing them to capitalize on Texas’ massive wind capacity, while also investing in the Texas Permanent School Fund.

 There is a rush of companies seeking to get their coal (or other fossil fuel) plants permitted before the new EPA ruling takes place.  Last week, on February 17th, Lisa Jackson, the new EPA administrator, announced the EPA is reconsidering a decision by the Bush Administration not to regulate CO2 from new coal plants.  Ironically, this was the same day of the Las Brisas hearing.

For more information and news coverage of the Las Brisas plant, and (and others like it) please visit http://stopthecoalplant.org/lasbrisas.php

Patrick Meaney

2/25/09

A seven-year battle has finally come to a close, leaving citizens of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez breathing much more easily.  It gives me great pleasure to say that it was just announced that ASARCO’s copper smelter in El Paso will permanently shut down and be demolished.  The smelter has been closed since 2002 and the surrounding community has been fighting for the past seven years to keep it from opening again.

 Last year, the state of Texas gave ASARCO an operating permit so they could reopen, which prompted Sierra club and the “City of Juarez, the State of Chihuahua, and the Mexican federal government to write petitions, pass resolutions, and stage rallies and media events like ‘Faces Against ASARCO’ to demand U.S. government action.”  After a huge grassroots movement and public outcry about the environmental degradation of ASARCO’s plant, ASARCO is finally closing for good.

But, despite the long-standing grassroots movement to keep the plant from reopening, ASARCO stated that it was actually the economic recession and bankruptcy that kept them from reopening.  This was after they received a letter from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that stated that ASARCO did not comply with equipment and air quality standards.  So, the work of community activists did nothing to influence TCEQ’s decision to rescind the permit they gave ASARCO’s to operate last year? Right….

 Obviously, ASARCO cannot own up to the fact that they would be involved in something that would negatively affect a community and the environment and wouldn’t dare credit activists for forcing them change their ways.  It is much easier to say that it is the “economy.”  We are not going to be in a recession forever, so I’m curious to see what reasons companies are going to give next for closing their plants…because they sure as hell aren’t ever going to admit that David could take down Goliath. 

 Perhaps even better news than the closing of the smelter is that is was accomplished by the joint effort of cross-border communities.  It would be easy for Mexico to say that since the plant is in the United States that they wouldn’t have to worry about it, but this proves that environmental justice knows no boundaries and that pollution doesn’t stop at the border.  I am impressed that so many communities were able to come together and present a united front to tackle such a big issue and be successful.  Our solidarity as environmentalists and people is necessary to make positive change in our world, and these communities set a pretty good example.

Jeni Wilde
2/19/09 

I was just reading It’s Getting Hot in Here and saw a video clip of Fox News’ Glenn Beck.  In this clip, he calls the youth of the environmental movement “Hitler Youth.”  After watching it, I feel as though I should be greatly outraged and offended at being compared to the “Hitler Youth” and being likened to Nazis.  I mean, it’s not like I was a part of the eradication of 6 million people, so I don’t really feel as though this comparison was rightly deserved.  I also find it completely mind-blowing that an entire movement, in which passionate youth voluntarily join, can in any way be compared to the brainwashing of kids under the Nazi Party.  However, the more I thought about Beck’s statements, the more excited I became.

 The fact that Mr. Beck has a whole segment about how the country should fear the youth environmental movement really gives credence to how successful we have been as activists.  I have gone from being slightly offended to being quite proud, knowing that my peers have become such a prominent force that they are becoming highlighted at the national level.  As an activist, if you aren’t being noticed, you aren’t doing your job.

 Not only are youth being talked about on the national level, there is international talk.  There was recently a blog post written in the UK stating that there is a huge US grassroots movement growing, and it is only getting larger.  People overseas are beginning to notice us? That’s a pretty big deal.

So, congratulations fellow youth activists! You have successfully garnered positive international attention and scared the opposition because of your efforts —exactly what you are supposed to be doing. 

Jeni Wilde
2/13/09 

There are a lot of new faces in the public sector these days, in Washington and in Texas. Many, nay, all environmentalists recently celebrated the inauguration of President Obama, and for good reason. With only a few weeks on office he has order Guantanamo Bay closed, pushed for a huge stimulus package which includes are large sum of money for green technologies and infrastructure (though the senate has added a large chunk of radioactive pork), and reached out on public airwaves to the disaffected Islamic nations who the United States has been at increasing odds with. Every email update I get from public interest groups has been a sigh of relief and an overflowing expression of joy. “We are winning!” they say, “but our work has truly just begun.”

And so has our work here at ReEnergize Texas, as the Texas Legislature is in its proverbial pupa stage of the 81st session it is worthy to note some of the changes that have happened and the changes that will happen. Yes, the latter refers to Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s bid to oust Rick Perry as Texas governor in the 2010 race. Though she has not officially announced a bid, at this point she doesn’t need to. Every major news outlet is posting articles with headlines like, “KBH hires campaign manager.” Unfortunately for environmental enthusiasts, her voting record in the senate looks like a high-five with Dubya. But in more optimistic news, the current change I mentioned is about the new Texas House Speaker, Joe Straus, who replaces Tom Craddick.

Joe Straus with family.

For those who may or may not know, Craddick was notorious for running the House like a dictator. From an article on elpasotimes.com, it was said, “Craddick reigned through fear … His multimillion-dollar campaign war chest loomed overhead as potential retribution to fund opponents to lawmakers who dared vote against Craddick’s interests.”

And this is precisely why as many legislators as public interest groups are celebrating the new reign of Joe Straus who “has promised to lead the chamber in a more fair and less partisan manner.” Straus is relatively new to the legislature but is a notably moderate Republican with a great amount of support from other centrists throughout the Texas Legislature, which bodes well for ReEnergize Texas’s legislative agenda.

As your premier, student coalition of environmental activists, ReEnergize Texas plans to be the voice for student interests and advocate for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green jobs in addition to its work for getting green fees on university campuses across Texas. But we couldn’t pursue any of these lofty, legislative goals without some devoted staff who are: Trevor Lovell, fearless director and ReEnergize Texas co-founder; Anna Pierce, an organizing veteran as well as ReEnergize Texas co-founder; Patrick Meaney, legislative intern and blogger extraordinaire; Jenifer Wilde, professional organizing intern and food connoisseur; and Jeff Guidry, fundraising intern and self-titled “trash artist.” For more info and some brilliant photos, check out our staff bios page on www.reenergizetexas.org/staff-bios. Cheers to a new year!

- Jeff Guidry

2/11/2009

At last!  I can fill you in on Monday’s fantastic solar press conference at the capitol!

Senator Rodney Ellis and Public Citizen Director Tom “Smitty” Smith

Public Citizen, Environment Texas and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club hosted a statewide round of press conferences this week to roll out our solar report, Texas Solar Roadmap — which of course can be downloaded at www.cleanenergyfortexas.org. Our report highlights how a robust solar program would help put Texans back to work, reduce peak energy prices, curb climate change, improve air quality, and position the state as a world leader for solar production. The full report is a pretty good read, but if you’re short on time I suggest the condensed version, Wildcatting the Sun.

Our press conference in Austin was particularly exciting because we were in such great company. Senators Troy Fraser, Leticia Van de Putte, Kirk Watson, Rodney Ellis, and Representatives Mark Strama and Rafael Anchia all appeared and championed the solar bills they have introduced thus far.

Rafael Anchia’s HB 278 and Florence Shapiro’s SB 427 would require the state’s electric utilities to support the development of 2000 megawatts of solar and other on-site renewable technologies by offering direct incentives to consumers and businesses.  Read More…

February 5, 2009 by citizensarah

Courtesy of http://www.texasvox.org

     …ALSO, find out more about the Texas Solar Roadmap Report, “Wildcatting the Sun” :

( To view the press conference, please click here. )

Patrick Meaney

Not only are students and young people taking up the environmental cause, but campuses across the nation (and some internationally) are as well.  The Presidents Climate Commitment is a commitment signed by the president of an institution with the intention of eliminating a campus’s greenhouse gas emissions over time.

Many students struggle to get their campuses to become environmentally conscious and “go green,” but usually there is so much politics involved that it is nearly impossible to do anything except to pick up trash and recycle.  But with the PCC, it makes it easier for students on campuses to begin working on environmental issues, especially pressing issues such as climate change.

Just this past fall, Texas Christian University’s Chancellor Victor Boschini signed the PCC.  The PCC, combined with a new student led initiative class called Chasing Carbon, is making leaps and bounds to make sure that sustainability comes to the TCU campus and has an impact now and in the future.

TCU students are making sure that the above does not happen. Photo from http://www.magazine.tcu.edu

TCU student Stephanie Corso is involved in Chasing Carbon and working on a project to research carbon emissions for TCU’s study abroad programs.  Corso says that the existence of the class proves that there are students who care that the PCC becomes engrained in the everyday of the university and feels that the momentum from this first semester of increased environmentalism at TCU will carry forward. 

Also, students in Chasing Carbon are taking on the responsibility themselves to draft the Institutional Action Plan to determine the priority actions that TCU needs to take to comply with the PCC. Not only are students the ones drafting the IAP, but also they are gathering all of the information on current TCU initiatives AND developing a plan to incorporate sustainability into TCU’s curriculum.

It is awesome that these students are creating the steps needed to make TCU a more sustainable, carbon neutral campus, proving that you do not have to be a scientist or a professional to make a difference in your community…you just have to care.   They are advancing the idea that students and young people are not apathetic and we should not be the forgotten generation.  We have hearts and minds full of great ideas and passions and when put to use, great things happen.

It’s pretty amazing what something as simple as a signature can start.

If you want to help get your school to sign the Presidents Climate Commitment, you can go here.

Jeni Wilde

2/05/2009

ReEnergize Texas is warming up–

On Friday, five of us with ReEnergize Texas, here at the Public Citizen office, joined two students working with from the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, to tour the Capitol with, and from the perspective of Cyrus Reed, the chief lobbyist of the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter. 

We dropped by a building containing the Senate committee offices and visited the chair of the Senate Committee for Natural Resources.  Proceeding onwards, we stepped into the Capitol and strode down the hall.  Cyrus showed us into both the House and Senate floors, we passed the auditorium and continued to a wing of the Capitol where committee deliberations take place. 

Before leaving, we did a little lobbying.  Jeff Guidry and myself entered the office of Representative Donna Howard to ask for her support for Representative Rafael Anchia’s HB 278.  It’s a terrific bill which would provide incentives for renewable generation at commercial and residential levels, and for builders implementing solar and geothermal systems in new homes.  Represenative Howard’s legislative chief was very amenable to this and any other bills that mandate provisions for incentives to Texans interested in renewable energy generation at their homes and businesses. Jeff and I left her office quite satisfied.   
 

Patrick Meaney

2/4/09