Tag: Clean Energy

Conservative case for clean energy

The Conservative Case for Clean Energy and Climate Security Action

On By CCLATXIn Clean Energy, Faith and ClimateLeave a comment

Despite partisan politics, there’s a strong synergy between conservation efforts, carbon emissions reduction, and conservative principles. I am an advocate of traditional conservative policies – from balanced budgets and eliminating deficits in government, to personal responsibility and social policies which value life though clean air, water and energy. I have supported conservative candidates throughout my life beginning with serving as part of Governor Bill Clements’ election campaign staff.

Additionally, as a native Texan and ministry leader for 18 years, my love for this state and my faith drive me to leave the world in better condition than I found it—as I believe is the case for millions of Texans. We must continue to reduce greenhouse gases and promote technology that aids this mission to protect the natural, God-given beauty of our state and nation. To do that, we need smart, practical and bipartisan climate solutions from Washington to Texas.

Texas has always been a leader when it comes to developing the energy resources with which we have been blessed, which has increasingly—and rightfully— included renewables like wind and solar power. As America’s power grid faces rising demand, it is imperative that our congressional delegation, including Senator John Cornyn, find bipartisan solutions that support clean energy as part of an all-the-above energy strategy that will address conservation and emissions reduction efforts for a more sustainable future while making America more energy independent.

While climate change is a complex issue, understanding it comes down to the basic principle that greenhouse gas emissions released by human activity are the primary cause of global warming that’s leading to climate change. The data supporting this is decidedly not partisan—over two-thirds of Republicans agree—and has been on scientists’ radar for many years. It is time for us to apply 21st century-solutions to this growing problem that threatens communities across Texas and the country.

Conservative and religious figures from Billy Graham to President Ronald Reagan have a long history of supporting conservation and environmental protection efforts. Rev. Graham called for us to be the “trustees of God’s creation” and said, “we aren’t to abuse it or neglect it”. Whether the impetus lies in acting as good stewards of God’s creation or protecting our natural resources from the ravages of pollution, as President Reagan spoke of, conservatives have been active on these issues for generations—and we must continue to lead the way in advancing policies that address carbon emissions and clean energy in a way that protects our people, our land, and our economy.

Lawmakers from Austin to Washington, D.C., must work together to advance pragmatic, bipartisan, fiscally sound solutions to the climate and energy challenges we face. Doing so will not only help us continue to protect and preserve our environment for generations, but will also help attract new businesses and industries to the state, which in turn will help create new jobs for hardworking Texans and strengthen local economies.

Investing in renewable energy, as well as new, emerging carbon-capture technologies, can help us support the growing need for energy in a way that benefits Texas communities. As it is, millions of Texans are already paying a hefty price for the lack of energy security, both through their wallets and with their health. We pay more for air conditioning due to our rising temperatures, we are experiencing more frequent extreme weather events that prevent families from keeping the lights on, and we are spending more due to congestion from outdated transmission lines.

Without a doubt, energy security and the need for more clean energy is now more important than ever. We need lawmakers to continue supporting and advancing bipartisan solutions that help reduce emissions and increase our clean energy capabilities, while protecting our environment, creating jobs and powering a stronger, more sustainable economy.

Larry Linenschmidt

Larry is a native Texan, activist, and ministry leader

Published by the Austin American-Statesman

June 9, 2024

LTE Under Consideration: COP28 – Progress, Yes! But We Need More

On By Kalpana SutariaIn CCLATXLeave a comment

Re: December 14, 2023, Statesman article, “Nations across globe agree to transition away from fossil fuels”

Nearly 200 nations agree for the first time to transition away from fossil fuels. A step in the right direction with spirit of cooperation but it is a small step. In 2015, nations agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial times. Despite ramping up of renewable power and energy efficiency to reduce emissions, warming has reached 1.2 degrees Celsius above the mid 1800s. Temperatures are trending up, not stabilizing due to large amounts of CO2 that has collected in the atmosphere that would continue to warm even if we stop burning fossil fuels today.

Like the Paris Accord, these agreements by nations are non-binding and aspirational. The COP28 agreement allows loopholes to powerful oil producing countries.

What can citizens of these countries do?  Reach out to your lawmakers, demand investments and policies to lower use of fossil fuels for improvement to health and well-being of people.

Kalpana Sutaria

Project Manager, City of Austin and Austin Metro Chapter, Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Submitted to the Austin American-Statesman

December 14, 2023

Austin, Texas USA

LTE Under Consideration: We need resilient infrastructure and global climate plan now

On By Kalpana SutariaIn Texas LegislatureLeave a comment

Re: November 10, Op-Ed “We need resilient infrastructure and global climate plan now”

Thanks to representative Zwiener for co-founding the Texas House Caucus on Climate, Environment and Energy Industry and getting 30 members to join. We need such lawmakers to honestly look at the facts on climate change crisis and take action for health and well- being of their constituents.

The response of the Texas Legislature to the problems of the electric grid during and after the winter storm Uri, has been nothing but disheartening.  Loss of 210 lives, $80 billion plus dollars in damages and unbelievable suffering of Texans was not enough for the Legislature to take strong action. The state climatologist John Neilsen-Gammon has reported that Texas is vulnerable to a wide range of natural hazards, most of which are weather and climate events.

Yes, we need resilient infrastructure, that will figure climate change as part of planning, and that will reduce harmful emissions by transitioning to cleaner sources of energy.

Kalpana Sutaria

Project Manager, City of Austin and Member, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Austin

Submitted to the Austin American-Statesman

May 2023

Wake-Up Calls for Our Fossil Fuel Addiction Kicking our fossil fuel addiction is good for the climate, our health, our economy, and geopolitical stability

On By CCLATXIn Fossil FuelsLeave a comment

Nations fight wars over resources and use them as cudgels to influence and control the policies of other nations. We have seen this dynamic at play with energy resources for decades, including now with Ukraine and Western Europe.

Why didn’t all nations stop buying Russian oil and gas, or even condemn Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine? Because they are addicted to Russian oil and gas. Like drug addicts, many nations would experience extreme withdrawal symptoms, both economic and political, if Russia stopped the flow. And even though the U.S. is effectively energy independent, disruptions in the global oil/gas market impact energy prices here, in turn impacting our jobs, economy, and politics.

Those are the geopolitical facts of life of oil and gas addiction. We have received many wake-up calls since at least the early Seventies: Ukraine is just the latest. Yet we remain as addicted as ever.

And our addiction impacts more than just geopolitics. Alarms are also ringing for Earth’s warming climate, as they have for over 30 years. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report just gave its most dire warnings yet. We are urgently in need of waking up, as it is now clear there will be seriously harmful social, economic, and environmental consequences to continuing our fossil fuels addiction.

Fossil fuels have been the main catalyst for advances in human welfare over the past few centuries, and we will need to continue burning them to some degree for many decades to come. But there is no doubt that the time has come to wean ourselves from them – and quickly.

The transition away from fossil fuels will entail disruptions to business as usual. All transitions do – like the Industrial Revolution, the switch from horses to cars, or the digital revolution. All change generates resistance, but most people would agree these disruptions were worth it, that humanity ultimately ended up healthier and more prosperous.

Likewise, our transition away from fossil fuels is generating resistance, but the benefits of conquering our fossil fuel addiction will be enormous, far outweighing any disadvantages. Within a few decades, we can generate huge numbers of new jobs, save trillions of dollars in energy costs and trillions in GDP, and another trillion in health care costs due to a reduction in things like strokes, heart attacks, asthma attacks, and other air quality-related maladies. We can reduce our vulnerability to energy-related geopolitical storms. Russia or OPEC will no longer hold democratic nations hostage by threatening to cut off their gas or oil. We can live in a nation where the cost of energy doesn’t go up and down at the whims of other nations who do not have our best interests at heart. We can halt the trends of deadlier storms, more intense heat waves, droughts and water scarcity, wildfires, floods, rising seas, reduced agricultural output, biodiversity loss, and the death of coral reefs, the incubators for so much ocean life.

To achieve all this, we have to dedicate ourselves to kicking our habit.

Step 1 of recovery from our addiction is to end denial and admit a problem exists. We are finally entering that stage with climate. Polling data indicates a large majority of U.S. citizens now agree the climate is warming, worry about it, and agree humans are the cause. Now for our next step to recovery: Forge plans of action to change our unhealthy behaviors and follow through on them. Put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, convert to clean energy sources, remake our transportation system, and redouble our energy efficiency efforts. It’s time we stop hitting the snooze button on our fossil fuel addiction.

Bob Hendricks is a Citizens’ Climate Lobby congressional liaison and Texas state coordinator and a longtime political and environmental activist in Austin. Mark Warren is a Citizens’ Climate Lobby Austin member, Business Climate Lobby member, a longtime environmentalist, and a native Austinite born here in 1950.

The Austin Chronicle

May 13, 2022

Energy is ‘cheap’ only if you ignore the environmental costs

On By CCLATXIn Texas Railroad CommissionLeave a comment

Re: Feb. 12 letter to the editor, “Liberals’ goal of implementing deal would drive up energy costs.”

The Texas Railroad Commission’s chair refers to Texas’ oil and gas as “cheap and reliable energy.” Leaving aside his claim of reliability, he can call Texas petroleum “cheap” only by ignoring the immense cost of its contributions to air pollution and climate degradation.

This is a classic market failure. Markets work properly only if prices reflect costs, and petroleum prices that omit its environmental costs amount to an enormous subsidy, giving fossil fuels an unfair advantage over clean energy sources such as wind, solar and nuclear.

To correct the market failure, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act would correct the market failure by imposing a fee on fossil fuels. To avoid shocking the economy, the fee begins small and rises on a predictable schedule. To prevent hardship for low-income families, the fee’s proceeds are returned to American families, giving the plan its nickname, “Carbon Cashback.”

Hamilton Richards

Austin American-Statesman

February 18, 2022

We need more Texas lawmakers to confront the reality of climate change

On By CCLATXIn Texas House CaucusLeave a comment

Re: Nov. 10 commentary, “We need resilient infrastructure and global climate plan now.”

Thanks to Rep. Zwiener for co-founding the Texas House Caucus on Climate, Environment and the Energy Industry and getting 30 members to join. We need such lawmakers to honestly look at the facts on climate change crisis and take action for health and well-being of their constituents.

The response of the Texas Legislature to the problems of the electric grid during and after the February winter storm has been nothing but disheartening. The loss of at least 210 lives and $80 billion in damages, and unbelievable suffering of Texans was not enough for the legislature to take strong action. The state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon has reported that Texas is vulnerable to a wide range of natural hazards, most of which are weather and climate events.

Yes, we need resilient infrastructure that will figure climate change as part of planning and that will reduce harmful emissions by transitioning to cleaner sources of energy.

Kalpana Sutaria

Austin American-Statesman

November 16, 2021

LTE Under Consideration: It is Time for Carbon Pricing

On By CCLATXIn Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend ActLeave a comment

Biden’s ambitious efforts have been welcomed by the climate scientists and environmentalists but criticized by the fossil fuel industry. Trends are changing. An official with the U. S. Chamber of Commerce which represents many major American corporations said it “supports a market-based approach to accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reductions across the U. S. economy.” This is a shift in policy. American Petroleum Institute is willing to review market-based carbon pricing options as reported by Wall Street Journal.

Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend act is a policy endorsed by leaders of both parties. It would create jobs, reduce emissions while helping low income households. There are other which would create job training programs, promote clean energy sources, carbon capture and energy storage technologies.

We want a thoughtful mix of policies that will reduce harmful emissions while addressing fossil fuel industry’s job losses, environmental justice and health issues to meet climate goals.

Kalpana Sutaria

Submitted to the Austin American-Statesman

March 11, 2021

Texas Fights an Energy Battle That’s Already Lost

On By CCLATXIn Clean Energy, State of TexasLeave a comment

Re: Jan. 29 article, “Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas is prepared to sue Biden administration over environmental regulations.”

On Jan. 28, the LBJ Future Forum hosted a panel of respected speakers on “Austin’s Energy Innovation Future.” The message: Texas will thrive with clean energy companies and new industries that are already here and growing. Market signals from Washington and from corporate headquarters everywhere are reassuring investors that clean energy and emissions-reducing technologies are good bets.

That same day Gov. Abbott announced Texas will sue the Biden administration to protect oil and gas every chance it gets. Such pledges to protect fossil fuels send confusing signals about the welcome that clean technology companies will get in Texas.

Corporate decision makers know the future is away from fossil fuels. So instead of continuing to fight a battle that’s already lost, wouldn’t Texans be better served by a state government that is building a glide path for oil workers to a clean energy future?

Cynthia Lesky

Austin American-Statesman

February 7, 2021