15 Jan Eco Politics Jan. 15 – Jan. 22, 2015: Council Reforms, New State Lege, Methane Emissions

[Austin City Hall] You've probably heard the stories of City council meetings that drag on past midnight and important votes that don't get taken until everyone has left city hall for the evening. Not highly functional.

Thankfully, Austin's new city council is trying to change that. Last week they unveiled a broad proposal that includes more frequent and shorter meetings and public hearings that happen earlier in council's decision-making process. They also suggested that council form 13 committees, instead of their usual 7.



The proposed committees are:

• audit
• finance 
• mobility 
• public utilities 
• Austin Energy 
• health and human services 
• public safety 
• planning and neighborhoods 
• open space, environment and sustainability 
• housing and community development 
• economic development 
• innovation and creative industries 
• intergovernmental affairs

Council is now asking for public feedback on these changes, so make your voice be heard and participate in this online forum>>

 

State Senator Kirk Watson and Austin Mayor Steve Adler both shot back at these attacks by the governor, saying that they will work hard to ensure that Austin's local rules do not get rolled back or overturned by the state government. 

“Part of the freedom we enjoy in Texas is choosing where we live and making decisions to govern ourselves,” Watson said. “It is hypocritical, to say the least, to rail against overreach from the federal government with one side of your mouth, and with the other side argue in favor of the (Texas) central government overreaching into local decisions. The election of a mayor is just as sacrosanct as any state official. To say otherwise is just elitist.”

Read more about the conflict between local and state government with this article from the Austin American Statesman>>

 

[National Government] A new session of congress has also just begun, and along with it, a whole new cast cast of characters who will affect the environment, both nationally and in Texas. Austin, and its priorities have been carved up among 6 districts.  We are the largest City in America without a Congressional district anchored in it. Below is a full list of the national legislators who will be representing the Austin area during the 114th Congress:

• Senator John Cornyn  – (R) 
• Senator Ted Cruz – (R) 
• Representative Michael T. McCaul – (R) District 10
• Representative Bill Flores – (R) District 17 
• Representative Lamar Smith – (R) District 21 
• Representative Roger Williams – (R) District 25
• Representative John Carter – (R) District 31
• Representative Lloyd Doggett – (D) District 35

As with the state representatives, we will also be keeping an eye out for votes and actions that pertain to Austin and the environment. 

 

[National Government]Speaking of that… Texas' junior US senator, Ted Cruz, has just been named chair of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, where he will oversee NASA and other science programs.

In a statement, Cruz said this about his new gig:

"One of the problems with the Obama administration is that it has degraded NASA….It shifted thefunding to global warming pursuits rather than carry out NASA’s core mission."

According to the Huffington Post, Cruz is referring to NASA's research on climate change, including five new projects to study how the earth's atmosphere affects global warming. Cruz is a climate change denier.

 

[Federal Climate Policy] In a continuing effort to combat climate change, the Obama Administration announced plans this week to slash methane emissions from oil and gas production. Their new goal is to cut these emissions 40-45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025.

According to a White House press release, Methane emissions accounted for nearly 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissionsin 2012, of which, nearly 30 percent came from the production, transmission, and distribution of oil and natural gas. 



If these plans go through, they will undoubtedly have a big impact on Texas, which leads the country in overall greenhouse gas emissions. To learn more about the why these plans are important to Texas, check out this amazing article from the Texas Tribune>>

 

[EPA/Air] Hundreds of people showed up in Austin this week to tell the EPAwhat they think about itshaze reduction plan. If implemented, the plan will significantly reduce Texas'sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and improve visibility at Texas' two national parks – Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains. Learn more about this game-changing plan with Amy Stansbury's blog, "9 Things You Need to Know About the EPA's New Haze Rule." 

 

Note: For those who really eat up thepolitical content we recommend you check out the Austin Monitor and the Texas Tribune which reliably provide good local and state political coverage.