EPA Denies Texas Renewable Fuel Standard Exemption Request

EPA announced on August 7 it will not relax the standard for ethanol to be added to gasoline. Texas Governor Rick Perry petitioned the EPA in late April to grant a 50% waiver on the nation's Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which calls for 9 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol to be added to gasoline supplies this year. This ruling rejects the general belief that ethanol production from corn is artificially raising food prices. Critics believe ethanol production has contributed to raising food prices. The EPA acknowledged that the RFS has resulted in a rise in corn feed prices, but said the mandate has only added 7 cents to each bushel.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 RFS required 5.4 billion gallons of renewable fuel in 2008. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 increased the standard to 9 billion gallons in 2008, with annual increases to 36 billion gallons required in 2022. However, Section 211(o)(7) offers a safety valve - a construct familiar to many energy and environmental statutes. The economic harms flowing from an inadequate supply of ethanol were intended to be the basis of a waiver. Because supply concerns have placed undue pressure on food prices, the case has been made for a waiver, and it would have been within EPA's clear discretion to have granted the waiver request in whole or in part. The RFS is designed to expand annual biofuel use to 36 billion gallons by 2022 with 21 billion gallons from switch grass, wood chips, municipal garbage, and other cellulosic sources.

Commitment to Earth

Earth Month has come and gone. Environmental activism was a hot topic from Earth Hour on March 29th through the end of April. However, since it’s gone—now what?

Do we put away our reusable shopping bags and go back to plastic? Start buying bottled water again? Stop ride-sharing? Of course not! Even though the day is gone, with pollution on the rise and earth’s resistance to it on the decline, we still need to take charge and do something to help save our planet.

Expanding everyone’s awareness of this important cause is critical to our future and the well-being of the entire planet. In honor of Earth Day—everyday—we're asking people to commit to continuing your part in reducing your carbon footprint.

Visit Web sites like SarasNow, EarthEasy or The Neststore to find out what you can do to help save our planet.

As part of our environmental responsibility, we’re making Earth Day last all year long. By recycling, reusing, reducing and educating, we are protecting and restoring the Earth’s resources. Get Active. Go Green.—delmetria millener, thawriter@yahoo.com

Texas Electricity Going Green

Compare Electricity Rates and Order from Companies like Reliant, TXU, Green Mountain Energy, Commerce Energy, First Choice Power, MXenergy and more!

Texas electricity customers looking to switch to a renewable energy plan can now shop and compare green power at ElectricityTexas.com. Texas' top electricity companies offer several options to purchase clean, pollution-free power derived from 100 percent renewable resources--giving Texans the advantage of going green with environmentally-friendly options at competitive prices.

For customers in areas that do not offer renewable energy plans, the option to purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) is now available. RECs represent one megawatt hour (MWh) of renewable electricity generated and delivered on the grid. ElectricityTexas customers can offset all or a portion of their energy usage by purchasing RECs. Consumers will get the opportunity to purchase RECs and offset their energy consumption after ordering service from a non-renewable electricity provider through ElectricityTexas.

About ElectricityTexasElectricityTexas is a leading site in the state of Texas for comparing, ordering and connecting electricity service. The deregulated Texas electricity market allows Texans to shop for service by comparing incentives and special offers, prices, energy source options and the background and reputation that each energy company offers. ElectricityTexas customers have options to not only lower their monthly bills, but also the option to purchase renewable or alternative energy as well. ElectricityTexas is a member of the WhiteFence network. (eMediaWire)

Fruit of the Orchard: Environmental Justice in East Texas

Protect Texas Parks

Low-Level Nuclear Waste Dump Proposed for West Texas

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) is requesting a license from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to build a low-level radioactive waste dump in Andrews County, on the New Mexico border about 130 miles northwest of Midland. WCS, owned by Harold Simmons, wants two licenses to store low-level radioactive material at a 1,300-acre former ranch. Andrews County, which has a population of about 15,000, and the state would each get 5 percent of the gross receipts from the dump operations. A uranium enrichment plant is currently being constructed in New Mexico just across the border from the WCS site.

In October 2007, TCEQ officials issued a draft license that, if made final, would allow WCS to dispose of radioactive waste byproducts, which includes leftover equipment and residue from uranium mining and processing. A draft license triggers a public comment and hearing period that lasts about one year, with a three-member commission deciding whether to issue the license or not. WCS has spent more than four years and tens of millions of dollars seeking to develop the nation's largest private disposal site for low-level radioactive waste. The TCEQ licenses it seeks would allow it to store radioactive materials from Texas and Vermont nuclear power plants (although not the highly radioactive fuel rods), medical and industrial facilities and some federal weapons programs. Public opposition has killed plans to develop publicly run radioactive waste dumps. Byproducts material is less toxic than low-level radioactive waste. (Houston Chronicle)

Clinton & McCain Win Texas Primary: Environmental Issues?

Senator John McCain secured the Republican nomination for president and Senator Hillary Clinton prevented certain defeat by Senator Barack Obama by winning the Texas primary. How does Hillary Clinton compare to John McCain on enviroment issues?

Clinton has introduced environmental justice legislation in the U.S. Senate and held the first hearing on the issue in the history of the body. McCain has ignored environmental justice as an issue. McCain supports nuclear power and Clinton is 'agnostic' on the technology. Clinton and McCain believe that global warming is a human-caused condition and both have mitigation plans, but McCain has been aggressively promoting climate change legislation for years. McCain supported the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Clinton opposed it. Both senators were not present for the vote on the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which passed 86 to 8 with 6 Not Voting.