2019-05-24 17:09
If you’re wondering what the Texas Legislature did to help prevent dangerous and persistent fires in the petrochemical corridor near Houston this year, the answer – unfortunately… Read More
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Texasvox: The Voice Of Public Citizen In Texas - T Blog
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The Voice of Public Citizen in Texas
2019-05-15 22:44
Union members protest the worker lockoutEarlier this, week, I spent time with some very fine folks from the United Steel Workers Local 13-1. Since April 22nd, about 235 workers have bee… Read More
2019-05-15 19:45
Note: Today the Texas House of Representative’s Committee on Elections held a public hearing on Senate Bill 9, which would suppress votes in Texas by creating new criminal penaltie… Read More
2019-04-24 11:30
Electric utilities offer a variety rate structures to their customers. I focus my writing here on municipal utilities using tiered rates and explore some of the opportunities and complicatio… Read More
2019-04-23 12:00
Once again, Public Citizen will be at EarthX Expo at Fair Park in Dallas, TX from April 26 thru the 28th celebrating Earth Day. Stop by our booth in the Centennial Building #4742 . The Exp… Read More
2019-04-19 18:56
As more Texans look to solar energy to power their homes and businesses as a way to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Texas Sen. Jose Menendez is working to win passage of… Read More
2019-04-11 22:59
Texas needs to ensure that the people in charge of companies that affect our environment have a good track record.
That’s why Public Citizen is backing CSSB 1931, a bill in the Texa… Read More
2019-04-10 19:40
According to the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas has 466,623 miles of pipeline, representing about one-sixth of the total pipeline mileage of the entire United States.
Oil and gas p… Read More
2019-04-08 19:29
Public Citizen urged state lawmakers today to support HB 784, an
important ethics bill that would create a criminal offense if members of
state agency governing boards and governing officers… Read More
2019-04-03 23:14
In the past few weeks, the Houston area has experienced three major chemical fires, releasing toxic pollution into the air and water and killing one person. The Texas House Committees on En… Read More
2019-04-03 19:28
It’s time to demand that U.S. Attorney General Robert Mueller release the full, unredacted Mueller Report to the American public.
That’s why Public Citizen and others are… Read More
2019-04-03 18:18
Hurricane Harvey in 2017 was one of the mostly costly natural disasters in history, with damage in Texas estimated at more than $100 billion.
Since the storm, Public Citizen has repeated… Read More
2019-04-02 23:30
KMCO fire again blackens the skies in Crosby, TX – Photo by KHOUNote: Today, an explosion and fire erupted at the KMCO chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, near Houston. One person is… Read More
2019-04-02 21:33
A pair of bills under consideration in the Texas Legislature would diminish some free speech protections for Texans, and today Public Citizen joined other First Amendment champions to speak… Read More
2019-03-27 22:22
On Monday, the committee substitute for House Bill 2860, was up for a public hearing in the Texas House Committee on State Affairs. We delivered testimony in support of the bill, while also… Read More
2019-03-26 17:35
Representatives of Public Citizen’s Texas office will testify in a state House Committee today against legislation that would allow a major nuclear company to pay less to dump more con… Read More
2019-03-25 17:14
Public Citizen testified in the House State Affairs Committee this month about three important government ethics bills pending in the chamber.
All three bills are sponsored by Rep. Sa… Read More
2019-03-18 21:38
Chemical Fires Far Too Common in the Houston Area
HOUSTON – A chemical fire that erupted early Sunday morning
at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) plant in La Porte, Tex… Read More
2019-03-18 20:12
Public Citizen’s Texas office wrote to state lawmakers today urging them to vote in support of HB1.
The letter calls on lawmakers to support funding specifically for the Texas Emiss… Read More
2019-03-13 22:08
San Antonio’s draft climate plan – SA Climate Ready – is out for public comment until March 26 and is expected to be up for a vote at City Council in May. We hope that… Read More
2019-03-11 22:13
In the week since we learned from news reports that state and federal regulators inexplicably rejected NASA’s offer to monitor air quality in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, Public Cit… Read More
2019-03-06 20:49
By Adrian Shelley, Director of the Texas office of Public Citizen
Today, Public Citizen supported, in the Texas House State Affairs Committee hearing, HB 935. A bill that would designate… Read More
2019-03-05 19:21
Public Citizen Texas today filed testimony in the legislature supporting a bill requiring landlords to notify renters if the dwelling they’re renting is in a flood plain or has been da… Read More
2019-02-27 19:28
HBPublic Citizen Director Adrian Shelley wrote to members of the House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety today asking them to support HB 91, which would establish a disaster… Read More
2019-02-19 23:35
Do you follow the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on Twitter? How about Facebook? Did you know they have an Instagram page? LinkedIn? YouTube?
The TCEQ has about 18,000… Read More
2019-02-13 19:53
The nonprofit Environmental
Integrity Project (EIP) examined the 16 Texas power plants that are required to
monitor groundwater under the Federal Coal Ash Rule, and found that 100 percent
of… Read More
2019-02-05 18:40
Climate change is the defining issue of our time. Public Citizen believes that journalists and media outlets should give climate change the media coverage it deserves. Seven in ten Americans… Read More
2019-01-25 23:00
By Rita Beving
On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved the selection of AECOM, an international, Fortune 500 consulting firm, to help develop a climate and environmental plan for D… Read More
2019-01-11 19:11
*Note: this is a blog post by Miao Zhang, a junior at Rice University majoring in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Visual Arts. Ms. Zhang recently completed a Fall semester internship with… Read More
2019-01-04 18:59
In December, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) school board members voted against a proposal to seek partnerships with charters to take over education at four schools. The four… Read More
2018-12-28 22:24
Earlier this month, Governor Gregg Abbott released a new report on Hurricane Harvey. “Eye of the Storm,” The Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas (Nov. 2018) (available a… Read More
2018-12-18 16:46
Or, why diversity of energy sources is good, and why you shouldn’t believe misinformation from the fossil fuel industry.
If you’ve heard anything about energy in Texas lately, yo… Read More
2018-12-11 22:08
By Briauna Barrera,
Published in the San Antonio Express-News Dec. 7, 2018
The J.K. Spruce plant, left, is seen at the entrance to the CPS Energy Plants, on Wednesday, April 2… Read More
2018-12-07 23:25
The 86th Session of the Texas Legislature is less than a month away and more than 700 bills have already been filed. It’s impossible to tell this early in the process which bills will… Read More
2018-12-01 16:36
Capital Metro’s Project Connect system plan is heading for a vote with the board of directors on December 17. The idea is to adopt a system plan and identify routes to submit for fundi… Read More
2018-11-26 17:18
Tomorrow, on November 27, CPS Energy is hosting a Public Input Session. It will be one-part educational event on how to save money on one’s energy bill and one-part civic engagement ev… Read More
2018-11-25 22:40
On November 19, 2018, Public Citizen and the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition submitted scoping comments regarding the license application of ISP’s WCS&rsqu&hell…Read More
2018-11-22 12:00
Wishes you a safe and happy
Thanksgiving Holiday
And when you return, join us to start the rest of your holiday celebrations atThe 11th Annual Austin Green Holiday Party Presented by Barr M… Read More
2018-10-30 14:19
A recent report by the University of Houston details how the fourth largest city in the nation can reduce air pollution by replacing old, polluting vehicles. (Full disclosure: the report wa… Read More
2018-10-19 14:12
Last week was difficult. The IPCC report – Global Warming of 1.5 °C – was released on Monday, October 8 and the news articles that ensued after its release were torrential an… Read More
2018-10-16 12:00
Ever wonder who makes rules for how an attorney interacts with you as a client? That would be the Texas State Bar, and as of 2011, non-attorneys can submit comments on the proposed ru… Read More
2018-10-12 18:59
On Monday, October 8, 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new report, that holding average global warming 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) – the stronger o… Read More
2018-10-05 16:17
Nuclear waste may soon be coming through your city. But you can speak out and say, “No!”
The public has until October 19th to speak out against a plan to dump dangerous radioacti… Read More
2018-09-26 16:35
On Tuesday, September 17, the Dallas City Council passed its new biennium budget, funding an environmental plan with the development of a climate plan.
The historic vote was marked by a pres… Read More
2018-09-24 14:48
Scoping Meeting
Wednesday, September 12th, a scoping meeting was held for the Texas Gulf Coast Terminals Project- Deepwater Port Application. Texas Gulf Coast Terminals is a subsidiary of T… Read More
2018-09-12 20:25
There is a lot of misinformation spreading around Texas right now about wind energy.
This summer, Texas set new records for energy demand, the product of millions of Texans running their ai… Read More
2018-09-07 11:00
Guest submission by Michael Osborne, founding member and current Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance (TxETRA) board Chair.
There is something to driving electric that is m… Read More
2018-09-05 15:24
We have been posting a lot about climate change impacts on our facebook page the past several months and when I read articles about a climate action plan goal of keeping global temperature r… Read More
2018-08-31 15:52
Flares along the Houston Ship Channel during Hurricane Harvey.
Public Citizen has been pushing back against the EPA’s rollbacks of the Chemical Disaster Rule. The Chemical Disaster Rul… Read More
2018-08-28 15:32
By Briauna BarreraAugust 27, 2018
This is a story about one city and two neighborhoods that exist within its borders. A tale of two geographies that exist in a microcosm. These two neighbor… Read More
2018-08-27 18:52
Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. (JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE / EPA)
Earlier this month, the Texas Commission on Environmental Policy (TCEQ) released it’s long-awaited plan to s… Read More
2018-08-14 16:34
Even as we struggle with heat waves, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, drought, and rising sea levels are as a result of climate change, the potential to sequester carbon in forests and soils o… Read More
2018-08-11 15:10
What does it mean to make a climate action plan “Paris compliant”? You’ve probably heard this phrase, but do you really know what it means? “Paris”… Read More
2018-08-07 19:51
As global temperatures continue to rise along with CO2 emissions, leaders in need of solutions should be cautious when considering the potential of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage… Read More
2018-08-01 20:00
On Monday, July 30, 2018, Public Citizen and the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition submitted comments to the NRC on an application from Holtec seeking a license to… Read More
2018-07-31 18:52
Earlier this month, I visited Exploration Green, a former golf course that local residents have helped to transform into a storm water detention basin and green space.
Located in Clear Lake… Read More
2018-07-26 15:37
Carbon Engineering’s direct air capture facility sucks CO2 directly from the atmospheric air. – Carbon Engineering
To maintain climate, we need to cut greenhouse gas – espe… Read More
2018-07-23 18:06
The Texas Hill Country is 18,000 square miles of natural wonders, economic resources, and a cherished way of life. In this unique place, the boom of construction and growth is sweeping in… Read More
2018-07-18 14:33
It is never comforting to see the words “lost” and “radioactive material” appear in the same sentence. But, somewhere in West Texas, a seven-inch steel rod containing… Read More
2018-07-11 16:07
Taking a Stand
On Friday, June 2, 2017, Mayor Mike Rawlings released a statement in response to the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement regarding reducing globa… Read More
2018-07-05 15:22
As if the relentless heat wasn’t enough this summer, Austin is experiencing hazy skies due to an African dust cloud originating in the Saharan desert. The dust was most noticeable… Read More
2018-07-03 15:18
Students and faculty at universities across the United States have been at the forefront of implementing solar energy at their schools. And for good reason, with increasing attendance at col… Read More
2018-06-28 16:45
25 years ago, Texas electricity prices were skyrocketing because overbudget and unneeded nuclear plants were being brought online. It was generally believed that competition among electric g… Read More
2018-06-26 15:49
June 26, 2018By Briauna Barrera
Imagine: You’re walking through your neighborhood one warm summer evening. The sun is sinking into the horizon, and the cicadas are starting their nigh… Read More
2018-06-21 15:53
Last week, I, Stephanie Thomas, Houston Organizer for Public Citizen, joined members of community and environmental groups testifying in opposition to Polluting Pruitt’s proposed rollb… Read More
2018-06-19 17:49
Petra Nova, the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture project, has been in commercial operation at the W. A. Parish Plant in Thompsons, Texas, southwest of Houston, since Janu… Read More
2018-06-12 15:00
CPS Energy’s Flexible Path plans to use fossil fuels until 2040 and beyond. The Wednesday, June 13th Public Hearing Session allows us an opportunity to speak up against fossil fuels an… Read More
2018-06-11 15:00
As renewable energy is expanding throughout the world in response to declining, insecure and climate changing fuel sources, the issue of intermittency has prompted the development and deploy… Read More
2018-06-06 19:26
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Yesterday, a few days after the one-year anniversary of President Trump announcing US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the Climate Action SA coalition called o… Read More
2018-05-25 19:42
U.S. Chemical Safety Board: Arkema Inc. Chemical Plant Final Investigation Report
Arkema Inc. knew about the risk of flooding at its Crosby facility.
That’s the conclusion of a ne… Read More
2018-05-23 13:21
In the greater Houston area, ozone season lasts from March to November. In 2018, we’ve already had 12 ozone action days. According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, ozo… Read More
2018-05-17 11:00
If you live in certain cities in Texas, including Austin, Dallas, and Houston, you may see that Texas sometimes calls “Ozone Action Days.” Ozone Action Days are hot, dry, sunny d… Read More
2018-05-15 15:37
Six years ago, Public Citizen and our partners founded the Healthy Port Communities Coalition (HPCC), which advocates for the health and well-being of residents of communities on the Ho… Read More
2018-05-10 17:39
Texas cities are stepping up to take on the climate change crisis. Austin was an early leader, but now San Antonio, Dallas and Houston are in the game too. Instead of waiting for… Read More
2018-05-01 15:10
Yesterday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) hosted an open house in Roswell, New Mexico on a controversial high-level radioactive waste storage project, proposed for a site between Ho… Read More
2018-04-26 16:28
Look for this tear pad display at the register when you check out at any Texas HEB store. Take this opportunity to make donations when you check out with your groceries. Donation… Read More
2018-04-21 16:49
Live from EarthX in Dallas! Our very own David Arkush, managing director of Public Citizen’s climate program discussing the role of the mainstream media in covering the climate crisis… Read More
2018-04-19 17:30
We will be at EarthX in Dallas this weekend giving a talk on the role of the mainstream media in covering the climate crisis.
Not going to EarthX? No worries – we are live streaming t… Read More
2018-04-18 13:00
April 20-22, 2018 – Fair Park in Dallas, Texas!
Join a panel of local DFW citizens as they talk about their experience in getting letters to the editor of the Dallas Morning News pri… Read More
2018-04-16 16:56
This year, you can still get into the EarthX Expo free by registering. You can do this at the gate or by filling out the registration online, printing it out and bringing it along wi… Read More
2018-04-12 13:00
This story was reprinted from the Texas Energy Report, a subscriber-only news service going into their 10th year of service to Texas energy industries, consultants, legislators, lobbyists an… Read More
2018-04-11 15:00
April 20-22, 2018
Fair Park in Dallas, Texas!
LOCATED 5 MINUTES EAST OF DOWNTOWN DALLAS, NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF INTERSTATE 30, INTERSTATE 45 AND HIGHWAY 75 (CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY). Cli… Read More
2018-04-07 12:35
15 Companies and Groups, 60 People Are Backing a new organization, Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance (TxETRA) Kicks Off Electric Vehicle Coalition, With Energy and Momentum.&n&hell…Read More
2018-04-05 16:24
Groups Call on Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to End Rule Suspensions, ‘Return to Normalcy’
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)… Read More
2018-03-30 21:45
A new study by an SMU geophysical team found alarming rates of ground movement at various locations across a 4000-square-mile area of four Texas counties. (Zhong Lu and Jin-Woo Kim, SMU) Cre… Read More
2018-03-29 15:32
On Saturday, March 24th, Austin celebrated the grand opening of its second community solar project, La Loma Community Solar Farm in East Austin. The project is the largest community solar f… Read More
2018-03-18 13:00
City owned Palmer Events Center features Austin’s first community solar project. This and individual home solar installations are spurring solar employment nationwide.
The Solar… Read More
2018-03-15 18:26
Two people were injured and another is missing in Cresson, TX (near Fort Worth) after an explosion and fire on Thursday at 9:45 a.m. The plant appears to belong to Tri-Chem Industries, a che… Read More
2018-03-10 13:00
CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, runs the global disclosure system that enables companies, cities, states and regions to measure and manage their environmental impacts. CDP has t… Read More
2018-03-09 23:00
Retired Public Citizen Texas Director, Tom “Smitty” Smith, continues environmental justice fights. Here’s an update on proposals to dump high-level radioactive waste… Read More
2018-03-06 13:00
The Texas Public Policy Foundation, the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, the Texas Press Association, the Texas Association of Broadcasters and Public Citizen presents
Open Govern… Read More
2018-03-03 14:00
The groundbreaking ceremony takes place at the site of the Midway Solar project near McCamey, Texas Photo by Midland Reporter-Telegram
Austin Energy customers will have an opportunity to… Read More
2018-03-01 17:00
Credit: CC0 Public DomainSix months ago, when Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, industrial facilities in the state shut down, then reopened a few days later. In doing so, they produced nearly 2… Read More
2018-02-27 17:07
This week marks the six month anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, a catastrophic storm that killed 88 people and caused about $125 billion in damages. Scientists have shown that Harvey&rsq&hell…Read More
2018-02-21 13:00
New research by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) details how nine major power markets around the world have achieved an outsized share of wind and solar gene… Read More
2018-02-18 14:08
Reprinted from a blog post by Andrew deLaski, Executive Director, Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP)
With a little more than a year elapsed since President Tr… Read More
2018-02-15 00:51
The following is from a story at the Texas Emergy Report (www.texasenergyreport.com) For all the energy news in Texas, consider subscribing.
Like the Sierra Club. Public Citizen is ple… Read More
2018-02-11 16:38
an example of battery storage for a wind farm.
Texas Waves consists of two 9.9 megawatt (MW) short duration energy storage projects using lithium-ion battery technology and are an int… Read More
2018-02-06 17:47
This year, Public Citizen is proud to be a sponsor of Air Alliance Houston’s State of the Air Gala.
A partner in Public Citizen’s Healthy Ports Community Coalition, Air Alliance… Read More
2018-02-05 18:19
The Texas House Committee on County Affairs will meet at 9:15 AM on Tuesday, February 06, 2018 at The University of Houston – Downtown Campus, Welcome Center Building, Milam and T… Read More
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