12 Dec EcoBits Dec. 11th – Dec. 18th: Rock the Vote, COP 20, Decker Golf Courses

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If you have not yet voted IN THE RUNOFF election, I IMPLORE you to do so. You can still vote early from 7am-7pm today and tomorrow(Friday) and Election Day is next Tuesday, Dec. 16th.
Need ANY help? Use our special Election Edition of the EcoNews to find voting locations, see what is on your ballot, review our Election Navigator site to read summaries, see who got the environmental (and all other) endorsements & much more. Check the Chronicle, or do whatever else you need to do and GO VOTE. The turnout is abysmal and EVERY VOTE MATTERS.
Election Navigator Runoff Landing Page
And if you're looking for something to do on election night, check out our list of watch parties hosted by the candidates>>
 

Please donate to the Election Navigator project.We really need your help now. We need our crowd to help crowdfund fund us!
If you have found the Election Navigator tools useful, or the EcoNews useful, please make a donation of any size on our crowdfunding site.
Most of you know we hit our first fundraising target 

of $10,000 on Indiegogo. Hooray! Building on that success, plus some in-kind contributions, we are fundraising to cover our full budget of $31,770.

We have been offered a $5000 challenge grant by Kirk Mitchell to help us fund the Election Navigator project but we need to raise another $1701.65 to reach Fund Austin EcoNetwork on Crowdera$6500 and trigger that match.
Can you chip in $5, $50, $500 or more?
Here's where you can help.
Please do it today! Our campaign ends in just 6 days. You can also help by spreading the word about this fundraising campaign, sharing our Election Navigator project www.austineconet.wpengine.com/elections and remind your friends to vote. And please share ourFacebook page – we are almost to 2000 likes!

Thanks to all of our supporters!We also want to give a big thank-you to our most recent round of supporters:

  • Stacy Guidry
  • Lauren Smitherman
  • Donna Tieman
  • Sharlene Leurig
  • Mary Cofer
  • Linda Fryer
  • Perry Lorenz
  • Lucy Stolzenberg
  • Jodi Lane
  • Bill Glass
  • Karen Hadden
  • And an extra big thank you to the Save Barton Creek Association for doubling their contribution to $2000! 
 

Get a full recap of the AEN Mayoral Debate.

 

[Elections] Missed theAustin EcoNetwork Mayoral Debate? Never fear, YouTube is here. Thanks to debate sponsor channelAustin, every captivating minute of the debate is available for you to watch online.


If you prefer television… the debate is also beingrebroadcast on cable channelAustin and online onchannelAustin ch16 at the following dates/times:

  • channelAustinFriday 12/12 @ 10pm
  • Sunday 12/14 @ Noon
  • Monday 12/15 @ 8am
  • Monday 12/15 @ 8pm

And if you don't have the time to watch it on tv or online, be sure to check out Amy Stansbury's 5 min wrap-up radio story, featured today on Shades of Green radio.
 

Meanwhile, Congress is working to adopt a Federal Budget to create a "government for the rich and powerful."* There is plenty to not like in the budget, but in terms of the environment they are planning tocut the EPA's budget for the fifth year in a row resulting in the lowest level of staffing in 25 years.
Not that contacting the Texas Senators will change their minds but please do sobig-food-gmo-label-featuredthey know that Texans DO care about environmental protection.  *quote from Elizabeth Warren

Also note, that HR 4432 is being pushed by Big Food and Biotech companies thatprevents GMO food labeling laws (even at the local level)from being passed in favor of voluntary labeling.Learn more and take action on the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance's website.
 

Council will vote on the AE Generation Plan tonight[Energy] At publishing time, city council was still debating the details of the new Austin Energy Generation Plan. This plan will determine where Austin gets its energy for the next 10 years. Specifically at issue is whether a newgas plant is baked into the plan or whether that energy could be generated some other way, as determined by an independent study. Tensions are high, even amongst the environmental leaders of our community. You can read about the proposed plan here. A vote is expected to take place sometime tonight. Check back next week for more details.

 

Austin is on its way to passing a C&D recycling ordinance.

 

[Zero Waste/Recycling]Austin City Council unanimously passed an intent document today for aConstruction & Demolition (C&D) debris recycling ordinance. The policy will be amongst the strongest anywhere in the United States and will lead to 95 percent recycling for C&D waste by 2030.
 

A new golf course has been proposed for Decker Lake.[Water] City council was supposed 

to vote today on a controversial golf course project near Decker Lake. Instead, they postponed the vote until next year, when the new city council takes office. For those of you not in the know, he's a recap/update on the golf proposal:

  • The golf course is being touted as a source of needed economic development for East Austin, but concerns have been raised about its impact on Decker Lake.
  • This body of water currently serves the Decker power plant, which is set to retire in the near future.
  • The Austin Water Resource Planning Task Force has suggested that after the power plant's retirement, the lake be turned into areservoir for the city, to help increase water supplies in the wake of Texas' severe drought conditions.
  • A golf course that is not built or run properly could contaminate Decker Lake, rendering it useless as a reservoir.
  • In response to these concerns, City Manager Marc Ott is floating around a new agreement with the golf course developers that stipulates that the construction and operation of the golf course “shall not in any manner impair or interfere with the city’s use and operation” of Decker Lake. Read more about the agreement here>>

Read Sharlene Leurig's piece, "Why Water is not the New Oil."

 

[Water] Austin's resident water expert, Sharlene Leurig, wrote an insightful piece for the Texas Tribune this week, debunking the myth that 'water is the new oil.' Treating water as a commodity similar to oil, Leurig wrote, will only 
lead to a faster exploitation of the state's water resources.

Luckily, there is a solution, she said, but it will require the development of new water markets that limit groundwater use. "We must manage water differently than oil — to sustain regional water resources and natural hydrological flows in the long term rather than maximizing production for short-term returns," Leurig said. Read the rest of her article here>>
 

At RideScout's Work The Bus Happy Hour, attendees wrote down all their transportation ideas on a whiteboard.

 

[Transportation] Austin traffic is terrible. Everyone knows it. Luckily, RideScout is trying to do something about it. On Monday, the Austin-based startup hosted a#WorkTheBus happy hour at their downtown headquarters to come up with some big ideas to fix the city's transportation problems. These ideas included:

  • creation of HOV lanes to encourage carpooling
  • an expansion of dedicated bus lanes so that Austin can have truly rapid bus transit options
  • a downtown public transit option that moves people around the city's core without their cars
  • easy-to-use, late night, 'drunk-proof' transit options
  • city streets that reverse direction to follow traffic patterns at certain times of day

You can join the conversation too by taking RideScout's transportation survey here>>
 

Why the Future of Transit in Austin is Bus

 

[Transportation] Looking for even more innovative transportation ideas? Check out this editorial by Jace Deloney, of the Austin Urban Transportation Commission, about why the future of transit is bus. Although buses might not be sexy, writes Deloney, by focusing on increasing their frequency, reliability, and speed, the city can maximize the number of people who have access to public transportation. Read the rest of Deloney's editorial here>>

 

International climate negotiators are meeting this week to work out a climate deal.[Climate Change] It's been a busy week for the climate. 

Diplomats from 196 countries are meeting this week in Peru to try and hash out a climate deal that would for the first time, commit every nation in the world to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions. According to an article in the New York Times, the draft deal, "represents a fundamental breakthrough in the impasse that has plagued the United Nations for two decades as it has tried to forge a new treaty to counter global warming."

But it does have one major shortcoming – the deal does not bind countries to single, global benchmark for emissions reductions. Instead, every country will publicly commit to enacting its own, individual goals. It's a big step forward, but it does not necessarily ensure that emissions will be cut enough to prevent the planet's temperature from rising to catastrophic levels. Learn more about the climate negotiations here>>
 

Niyanta Spelman is attending the UN climate conference in Peru.

 

[Climate] For a more personal look at the climate negotiations, Austin's own Niyanta Spelman and Melissa Matherne (of the Rainforest Partnership) are on the ground in Peru and attending the UN climate conference. See their update in the left columnand stay tuned for a big report next week!
 

Take this survey to help Austin reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

 

[Climate] On an even morelocal level, Austin has committed to beinggreenhouse gas emission free by 2050. It's an ambitious goal that will require the diligence and effort of the entire city, including you. The city is asking residents to take this survey, in order to identify consumer habits and determine what changes Austinites are willing to make to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The information gathered will be crucial in helping city staff to develop effective and efficient programs, so take the survey now! 
 

GRI has launched a new greenhouse gas reporting service.[Climate]  If you work for a company that reports or wants to start reporting greenhouse gas emissions, the Global Reporting Initiative (or GRI) has launch new and updated services.Learn more here>>
 

The EPA has proposed new haze pollution rules.

 

[Air Quality] The EPA is now taking public comment on itsnew plan to clean up haze pollution in the country's national parks. The Sierra Club is running a campaign to collect comments on the rule for Texas and Oklahoma. You can learn more about it here>> 
 

A brand new Auditorium Shores has reopened to the public.

 

[Parks] As of yesterday, theAuditorium Shores Trailhead has officially reopened. The new Auditorium Shores includes an expansion of the parking lot, a new restroom facility, trail realignment and widening, shoreline restoration, improved bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, exercise and stretching area enhancements, landscaping, and new lighting. Learn more about the renovation project here>>

 

2014 Green Year in Review[PR] We said the deadline was yesterday but we are giving you until tomorrow, Friday, to make submissions for the Austin EcoNetwork Year in Review. Share the year's biggest eco accomplishments and achievements with us. Email me
 

 

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