Texas Climate & Energy
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Texas is the largest energy-producing and energy-consuming state in the nation. Texas produces more electricity than any other state, generating almost twice as much as Florida, the second-highest electricity-producing state. Thus, Texas has a disproportionate impact on the ability of the U.S. and the global community to mitigate climate change. Texas also can be an energy justice leader, ensuring that energy production doesn’t harm vulnerable communities, and energy is available even to the marginalized.
Light and Life
Using the Public Utility Commission of Texas Sunset Review to Safeguard Texans’ Health and Wellbeing
The upcoming 2022-2023 Sunset review of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, offers a unique opportunity for Texas lawmakers to advance public health in the Lone Star State.
NEWS + LATEST UPDATES
US Supreme Court Declines to Block Implementation of Methane Rules
The United States Supreme Court declined to pause the Environmental Protection Agency’s methane standards. This means that the standards will go into effect while the lower court considers lawsuits against the regulations. The EPA methane standards are common sense...
Rapid Intensification and Extreme Rain, Texans Should Heed Warnings About Future Storms
At the beginning of this Atlantic Hurricane Season in June, scientists projected a record active year, with dozens of named storms and several very strong hurricanes. It seemed as though those predictions would come to fruition early in the season with two landfalls:...
Ep. 407 Not by the Hair of Our Chiny-Chin-Chins: Building Better for Climate Resilience
This week we are talking weather and climate from an interesting perspective as we welcome two former colleagues of our very own Dr. Becca Edwards. With us are Dr. Ian Giammanco who serves as Director of Standards and Data Analytics and Lead Research…
Modern Day Pillar of Fire Reveals LNG Exports Not In Public Interest
On the morning of September 16, a vehicle drove through a Walmart parking lot near the communities of Deerpark, La Porte, and Pasadena, Texas, broke through a fence, and crashed into above ground valve equipment for an underground liquified natural gas pipeline. The...
Building Resilience Experts Talk Hazards and Insurance
In a recent article on Climate Connections, meteorologist Jeff Masters stated plainly what is at stake for the housing market if we fail to prepare for climate change impacts in the United States:“In the U.S., the most likely major economic disruption from climate...
PUC Announces Finalists for Texas Energy Fund
Yesterday the Public Utility Commission announced the selection of the project proposals which will receive funding from the Texas Energy Fund. The Texas Energy Fund is public money set aside by SB2627 for the Public Utility Commission to issue loans to support...
Lawsuit Calls for Humane Conditions in Overheated Texas Prisons
A lawsuit filed by a cohort of Texas prison-rights advocates against the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice accuses the department of creating inhumane conditions inside Texas prisons by failing to air condition the facilities. The lawsuit...
Climate Change Drives Change on Maine Coast
I am taking a break this week from talking about the Gulf of Mexico to spend a few minutes talking about my summer family travel to another gulf, the Gulf of Maine. Like the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Maine is experiencing rapid environmental change driven by climate...
Journey to Ghana
Imagine a room filled with the brightest minds in contemporary theology, vibrating with excitement and sharing groundbreaking ideas. This was the atmosphere at Sankofa Conference 2024, held in Legon, Ghana, where Pastors, Professors, Scientists, and Activists alike,...
US Supreme Court Stays Good Neighbor Rule
At the end of June the US Supreme Court issued a stay in a case called Ohio v. EPA that blocks the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from enforcing the Good Neighbor Rule, also known as the Cross State Air Pollution Rule. The Good Neighbor Rule addresss transport...