Luke Metzger
Executive Director, Environment Texas
More than 7,000 bills have been filed in the Legislature this session.
We’re now about halfway through the legislative session. Here are our favorite (and least favorite) of the 7000+ bills filed in the 2021 session.
100% renewable energy
Texas is home to an abundance of clean energy options — the sun’s power, the mighty winds of west and coastal Texas, the earth’s heat, and even the energy leaking from drafty windows in our homes and businesses. Despite our wealth of resources, renewable energy supplies just about 25% of our state’s electricity (almost half the percentage used by Oklahoma); and while we rank first in solar energy potential, Texas only ranks fourth for installed solar. By using energy more efficiently and tapping our vast renewable resources, we can move to 100% clean energy: energy that doesn’t pollute, doesn’t contribute to climate change, and never runs out.
Environment Texas supports:
Environment Texas opposes:
Global warming solutions
A greener, healthier world requires each of us to do all we can to eliminate the pollution and practices that are warming the planet and changing our climate. Environment Texas supports action to move us closer to the world we want to live in, from reducing pollution from oil and gas to accelerating the transition to cars, trucks and buses that don’t pollute.
Environment Texas supports:
Environment Texas opposes:
Clean Air
We look forward to the day where all Texans can breathe safe and clean air, especially vulnerable populations like children and senior citizens. Despite progress in recent years, air pollution from cars and trucks, petrochemical facilities, power plants, concrete batch plants and more causes thousands of premature deaths each year, as well as inducing a host of human health issues including asthma and cancer. We need the state of Texas to hold polluters accountable and fund programs to reduce air pollution.
Environment Texas supports:
Clean Water
From taking a dip in the local swimming hole to the water we drink from the faucet, we all want our water to be safe, healthy and plentiful. Environment Texas is working to protect our waterways from pollution with nature-based infrastructure, such as rain gardens and green roofs, and to protect our drinking water.
Environment Texas supports:
Environment Texas opposes:
Save the Bees
Bees are dying off at an unsustainable rate, with serious consequences for our natural world. They play a vital role as pollinators, and losing them would have a devastating ripple effect across all ecosystems. That’s why we’re working to expand bee habitats and stop the use of bee-killing pesticides.
Environment Texas supports:
Fund our state parks
Camping, fishing, hiking and nature viewing: our local and state parks protect some of the most beautiful places in the state and give us places to teach our kids about the great outdoors. The passage of Proposition 5, to guarantee that the state sales tax on sporting goods goes towards funding our state and local parks and historic sites, will give the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) the ability to finally catch up on a huge backlog of repairs. But fixing parks is not enough. Demand for parks is skyrocketing. Our population has been booming, but the park system has not. Our existing parks are overcrowded at times, with visitors sometimes facing long lines to enter or even being turned away.
Environment Texas supports:
Stop concrete pollution
By failing to follow best practices, too many Aggregate Production Operations (APOs) are causing significant harm to public health and the environment in Texas. Gravel pits and quarries can permanently scar the land and pollute groundwater. Rock crushing facilities release crystalline silica, a known carcinogen that can cause silicosis, a chronic disease that scars lung tissue. Concrete batch plants, often located in heavily populated neighborhoods, can harm the public with noise, light and air pollution.
Environment Texas supports:
Wildlife Over Waste
Every day, people throw away tons of single-use cups, containers and other plastic “stuff.” Among the worst forms of plastic pollution is polystyrene foam (the stuff most of us call Styrofoam), which never fully degrades. Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our oceans and rivers and threaten wildlife for centuries.
Environment Texas:
As the executive director of Environment Texas, Luke is a leading voice in the state for clean air and water, parks and wildlife, and a livable climate. Luke recently led the successful campaign to get the Texas Legislature and voters to invest $1 billion to buy land for new state parks. He also helped win permanent protection for the Christmas Mountains of Big Bend; helped compel Exxon, Shell and Chevron Phillips to cut air pollution at four Texas refineries and chemical plants; and got the Austin and Houston school districts to install filters on water fountains to protect children from lead in drinking water. The San Antonio Current has called Luke "long one of the most energetic and dedicated defenders of environmental issues in the state." He has been named one of the "Top Lobbyists for Causes" by Capitol Inside, received the President's Award from the Texas Recreation and Parks Society for his work to protect Texas parks. He is a board member of the Clean Air Force of Central Texas and an advisory board member of the Texas Tech University Masters of Public Administration program. Luke, his wife, son and daughters are working to visit every state park in Texas.