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| As the fallout from Hurricane Katrina ratchets up what were already rapidly-rising oil prices, the Texas Public Interest Research Groups (TexPIRG) and other state PIRGs called on local and state officials across the country to fill the void left by the appalling lack of federal action to address America’s over-dependence on oil. | |
| Environment Texas today launched a new campaign calling on congressional candidates to support policies to move America beyond oil and toward a cleaner energy future. | |
| AUSTIN—Texas’ renewable electricity standard (RES) is cutting pollution, saving money, creating jobs, and fueling a clean energy boom in Texas, as in the other 24 U.S. states that have passed similar policies, according to a new report released today by Environment Texas. Environment Texas also called on Congress to establish a national RES. | |
| AUSTIN - Yesterday the House of Representatives voted 241 to 172 to pass "The New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act" (H.R. 3221), including an amendment to establish a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). The passage of the RES along with the package of legislation included in H.R. 3221 will make significant steps toward a cleaner and more secure energy future for the United States. | |
| AUSTIN – Environment Texas and the American Wind Energy Association praised the introduction today of an amendment joint-authored by Congressman Ciro Rodriguez that would require utilities to generate 15% of their electricity from clean, renewable sources like wind and solar power by the year 2020. The measure is scheduled for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives tomorrow, with Rep. Rodriguez’s new support widely seen as critical to delivering a block of votes crucial to the amendment’s passage. | |
| Standing in front of a model 20-foot high oil derrick set up at the shores of Town Lake in Austin today, members of the Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG) spoke out in opposition to oil and gas drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge and defeat the Bush administration’s energy bill—provisions that are likely to set a precedent for drilling in public lands across America—including Padre Island National Seashore. | |
| Standing before hundreds of pinwheels spread out in Hermann Park, Environment Texas today highlighted the potential and support for renewable energy in the state. Hundreds of pinwheels were displayed to represent the potential for wind energy to power the city of Houston. Health Professionals for Clean Air, The Houston Citizens Environment Coalition, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s office also joined Environment Texas for an event calling on Congress to establish a national Renewable Electricity Standard requiring that utilities generate 20% of their electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2020, an issue that will be debated in the House and Senate this month. | |
| AUSTIN- A coalition of environmental, religious, and low-income advocates today called on Reliant Energy to drop its active opposition to renewable energy. The groups pointed to comments filed with the Public Utility Commission as evidence Reliant is actively working to stall renewable energy development in Texas. | |
| The Texas House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that will double the goal for the amount of wind power, solar power and other forms of renewable energy in the state's energy mix. | |
| SAN ANTONIO – A national renewable electricity standard requiring utilities to increase their use of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources would generate 17,630 new jobs in Texas, lower electric and natural gas bills, and slash global warming pollution, according to a new Union of Concerned Scientists analysis released today by Environment Texas. UCS examined the impact of a proposed national standard on the nation as a whole and on 20 states, including Texas. | |
