09 Oct Austin has a dirty secret…

Austin’s coal plant is ranked #7th most polluting industrial complex in TX, out of 2,045 surveyed by the TCEQ.(1) As a City leading the world in environmental stewardship — and whose Climate Protection Mandate states, “Austin will lead the nation in carbon reduction,” we’re not talking about divestment from this costly belching beast, even as clean electricity sources have become less expensive and are offering better financial security (Wind, Rooftop Solar, & Energy Efficiency), as compared to coal, for Austin’s rate payers.

Sarah McDonald, Jacob Bintliff & I are launching a Facebook group next week as part of Austin’s “Quit Coal” Coalition.(2) Visit that group here: http://tinyurl.com/yjpruvb

##

Notes
> (1) Austin’s coal plant, in Fayette TX, ranked #7th most polluting industrial complex in the state according to data compiled by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in 2007. Neil Carman (Ph.D.), Clean Air Program Director for Texas’s Sierra Club, reports that in 2007 Fayette power plant released 88,773,103 pounds of toxic air pollutants. On the list: mercury and lead. Note: Austin is “downwind” of Fayette, citizens here and in a number of other communities are affected by our coal plant’s pollution. According to the National Resources Defense Council’s Clean Air Task Force, Fayette power plant’s emissions cause about 50 deaths and 1,030 asthma cases every year. Fayette’s mercury emissions in 2007 were #12th worst in TX. Our power plant is responsible for 70% of our City’s CO2 emissions and 100% of our City’s mercury emissions. More info via Environment Texas, Public Citizen, and the Lone Star Sierra Club.
> (2) Members of Austin’s Quit Coal Coalition include: Poder, Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Environment Texas, PowerSmack, ReEnergize Texas, UT SGA, Core Media Group, and more. We hope to broaden this coalition rapidly to include business leaders, religious leaders, advocates for the economically disadvantaged, area physicians, the fitness community, parents, students, and other energized citizens.

–Thanks, Chris