27 Aug Quit Coal

Hello Austin EcoNetwork friends! In this post below, after my two cents, is an Action Alert from Cyrus Reed with Sierra Club. Its a TWO STEP — Smart Energy Survey and Austin Energy Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday night! If you haven’t already sent to Austin Energy your Smart Energy survey, please click and send in your survey today! http://tinyurl.com/cwr878 If you want to see how Sierra Club filled it out, click here —

http://www.texas.sierraclub.org/Conservation/20090825Survey.pdf Last night, Sierra Club asked 6,557 Central Texans to complete the survey.

Please add yours to the numbers of people voicing their opinions about Austin’s energy future! http://tinyurl.com/cwr878

We hope to see you Tuesday at either the monthly meeting of the Sierra Club, 630 pm at Teachers’ Union on Lavaca & 12th St. — John Dromgoole from Natural Gardener will speak…

OR at Austin Energy’s Town Hall meeting about Austin’s electricity future!!! 6:30-8:30 to the Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road, Room 130. We’re gonna Quit Coal, Tuesday night! Oh yeah.

Here’s the fact sheet we’ll hand out there. http://tinyurl.com/ly8mbc It still wants some tweeking. Its a work in progress. Finally, for fun and relaxation, feel free to check out these photos from local environmentalists’ tour of Austin’s coal plant last Friday — http://tinyurl.com/m7h6j4

Love, Donna

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Here’s Cyrus’ action alert — The City of Austin is taking citizen recommendations about our electricity future. Your input is VITAL as the City Council considers how to phase out burning dirty coal for our electricity. Please let the City of Austin know you care about clean air, clean energy, and green jobs. Take these two important steps!

Step One: Take the Austin Smart Energy Survey. http://tinyurl.com/cwr878 It is only three quick questions! Respond today to bring on Austin’s clean power and green jobs future!

Step Two: Come out Tuesday, September 1st, 6:30-8:30 to the Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road, Room 130 for Austin Energy’s Town Hall Meeting on their electricity plan. We need a large turnout to help establish clean air in our region!!! Come to learn more, ask questions and make comments!

Dependence on coal and nukes for electricity has come with enormous environmental costs, climate change from CO2 emissions, serious air pollution, the mining of uranium polluting groundwater in south Texas and disposal of radioactive waste in west Texas. Fortunately we now have better choices! We can meet our energy needs with energy efficiency in our homes and buildings and by installing and producing renewable power, particularly solar and wind energy.

Austin Energy’s own consulting firm says we can move beyond coal by 2020, but Austin Energy’s recommended plan would only decrease the use of the Fayette Power Plant by 40 percent. We are confident that Austin can phase out Fayette faster! Make sure the City of Austin hears from you. Let the City know Austin wants a future beyond coal and nukes. Please complete the Austin Smart Energy Survey today!

Thank you!

Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director, Lone Star Chapter Sierra Club