Updates

Report | Environment Texas Research and Policy Center

Solar Homes

America has a bold opportunity to speed the transition to a clean energy future by requiring solar power on new homes. Rooftop solar panels save homeowners money – even more so when they are installed during construction.1 Including this common-sense technology on all new homes would help the nation to build an electric grid that’s cleaner, more beneficial for consumers, and more resilient.

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News Release | Environment Texas Research and Policy Center

Report: Texas should install solar on 3.2 million new homes

AUSTIN -- If builders put solar panels on the 3.2 million new homes and apartment buildings with 280,000 units expected to be built in Texas by 2045, Texas would add a projected 24,719 megawatts (MWs) of solar PV capacity, according to a new report released today by Environment Texas Research & Policy Center.  Such an effort would lead to a ten-fold increase in solar capacity and cut carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 3.2% percent by 2045.

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Blog Post

53,000 people ask Whataburger to hold the foam | Luke Metzger

On Nov. 19, Environment Texas joined with Care2.com and the Surfrider Foundation to deliver 53,000 petitions and a letter from conservation leaders to Whataburger's HQ in San Antonio and restaurants in Austin and Corpus Christi. The petitions and letter asked Whataburger to stop its use of polystyrene cups and containers. Polystyrene, commonly known as styrofoam, is one of the worst and most common types of plastic. 70 million plastic foam cups are estimated to be disposed by Americans every day. Most of the waste will spend hundreds and thousands of years sitting in landfills. About one third ends up in the environment, especially our rivers, lakes, and oceans.

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Report | Environment Texas

Environment Texas endorses Water Forward plan for Austin

Environment Texas wants to offer our strong endorsement for the Water Forward plan, and we urge you to vote to approve it. As the Council knows, this plan was developed through collaboration between Austin Water Utility and the Water Forward Task Force. That panel was created by the Council in 2014 in response to a recommendation from a previous panel which included Luke Metzger, the Executive Director of Environment Texas, among its members. Because of this connection, we have closely followed the development of the Water Forward plan and have eagerly awaited its adoption.

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Blog Post

In wake of new climate report, solar schools one important step | Emma Pabst

As a US government report on climate change warned last Friday, we don’t have time to wait. For every ton of carbon pollution we release into the atmosphere, we increase the frequency and intensity of wildfires, hurricanes, and droughts. But this issue is so much more than environmental - it’s common sense finance. That’s why we’re calling on Austin ISD to install solar on every school in the district by 2025, and we’ve drafted a resolution that says exactly that.

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