Austin, Texas is Doing Something Really Spectacular

Care2.com email

[matt04]

Dear ,

The mayor and city council of Austin, Texas have pledged to make the city coal-free. This is an incredible step toward sustainability in a very coal-heavy state.

Please send a note to Austin's mayor, telling him you support his no coal pledge.

Mayor Leffingwell recently pledged to phase out Austin's dirty Fayette coal plant and begin moving the city toward a clean energy future. Shortly thereafter, the entire city council joined the pledge, setting a huge precedent for cities all over the country.

In the coming months, we'll need to convince Austin Energy to support Mayor Leffingwell's pledge. It is really important that we all speak out in support of his pledge, no matter what state we live in.

Take a moment to send a note to Mayor Leffingwell, letting him know that you stand with him.

Thank you for taking action!

Emily L. Care2 Campaign Team

[af_vet_rr]

Every gorgeous face has a blemish...Texas has Austin.

Now don't leave out Houston, who gave us Bill White and who elected a lesbian as mayor, and Dallas who elected a lesbian as sheriff. All kinds of "progress" in Texas these days....

[RetiredTexasVet]

The only good thing about Austin is that the complete collection of dull knives are in one location.

[kennedy]

This will be an economic boom for cities throughout Central Texas - when businesses flee Austin in search of electricity.

[deport]

Austin Energy Proposes 12.5% Rate Increase
April 2012 Target Date for Implementation

After more than a year of review and extensive public feedback, Austin Energy (AE) today outlined its proposal for a 12.5% rate increase – its first increase in base electric rates in 17 years. The redesign of rates is needed to provide sufficient revenues, to achieve greater rate equity between customer classes and to better support strategic goals for energy efficiency and on-site energy resources such as rooftop solar.

http://www.austinenergy.com/About%20Us/Newsroom/Press%20Releases/2011/proposedRateIncrease.html

[Mark]

No, I think the name is Mayor LeftWing.

[Fightin Whitey]

Used to live over in the Red River Valley and knew Twin City politics much better than I do now.

‘Course back then, before Coleman folded up camp and limped home without a fight, it wasn’t the constant nauseating assault on the sensibilities it is now: Frankin, Ellison, Klobuchar and, as you say, Ryback. Oh my god and Mark Dayton again now too.

I have a boyhood pal who is a doctor there and is the type to blind himself to all evidence and declaim about how “stupid” Michele Bachmann is while defending Obama & Ellison and them as “trying to do the right thing.”

When I lived nearby I did spend a lot of pleasant hours listening to Sooch and his good sense observations. My favorite was firing up every gasoline-powered cylinder he owned (from generator and lawn mower to the cars, snowmobile and Harley etc. etc.) at the appointed hour on Earth Day. All the flashers going, honking the horn, the works.

That and also the days when he would go through the gubmint pages of the phone book and call up the many bizarre Minnesota state agency listings and ask them what the hell they did on the taxpayer dime—ha!

Sorry to go on so long. Hang in, fight on!

[Liberty Valance]

Merry Christmas From The Meinzers
http://vimeo.com/33741181

[cweese]

True enough. The City of Austin LOVES to dictate to everyone else how to live their lives. The laws and mandates they institute are often designed to ripoff the taxpayers to fund nonsense and more nonsense.

[Squantos]

And that is exactly what the Panhandle is gonna look like come sunrise tomorrow. Getting a wee bit of snow this PM.......;o)

Good little whiteout going on now. Should be some monster drifts in the morning. All fun.

Nite Ya’ll !

[Liberty Valance]

Stay warm Squantos!

[Lorianne]

Fine with me, I’m all for people making more of their own decisions locally rather than being told what to do by the EPA or other Fed agency.

I’d be interested in seeing what energy source they are going to transition to.

[mplsconservative]

Oh, no apology needed! Loved your post, especially the part about Joe Soucheray.

I have many fond memories of listening to Sooch with my dad. He used to call Joe to tell him his stories about the first Sturgis bike rallies. What a hoot. I'd think he'd gone in the house to use the facilities, then I'd hear him talking to Joe on the radio we had on outside on the patio. He'd call him on our bedroom phone unbeknown to us.

Lost my dad last December to brain cancer. It's fun to remember his calls. Yes. We have our fair share of idiots in this state. I'm a native South Dakotan, but I've lived here longer than I lived there. When it comes to politics in Minnesota, I just mainly shake my head.

[Dogbert41]

Sorry about your Dad. He sounds like a great one!

[Liberty Valance]

*Merry Christmas*

[IrishPennant]

Now don't leave out Houston

Yeah...breaks my heart...

[mplsconservative]

Thanks Dogbert41. It’s been a little tough lately. He was truly a great guy. Would’ve made a great FReeper but mom wouldn’t have a computer in the house. Long story...

[Liberty Valance]

~ Stay Safe Squantos ~

[Razzz42]

Thanks for that, somehow the facts always get in the way of an agenda.

[af_vet_rr]

Thanks for that, somehow the facts always get in the way of an agenda.

It would not surprise me one bit if there was a solid business/technical reason for Austin Energy to end the co-ownership of their single coal burning plant and the politicians decided to spin it as getting out of coal for environmental reasons instead. They are some slick politicians. It's located near La Grange and if I recall, is around 35 years old or so, and co-owned with LCRA. LCRA has been selling off some of its properties.

They have 3-4 natural gas power plants within the proper Austin area they own, plus the coal power plant they co-own that they are trying to get out of, plus they are a 16% partner in the South Texas nuclear plant near Bay City.

A few years ago, they said they would be short 500-600MW by the time we reach 2020. There is no way they can shut down that coal plant and not only make up that amount but pick up the 600MW or so needed due to population growth without at least one new plant. They'll have to do something, because I'd hazard a guess and say that if they can't keep the air conditioning running in the summers for most folks and businesses, the politicians will quickly find their way into the unemployment line. You can mess with a lot of things in Texas, but air conditioning isn't one of them.

I think they need to add natural gas turbines. That seems to be the best tradeoff - natural gas turbines are more flexible than coal/nuclear, they can be spun up and down quicker based on load, and we've got a good natural gas system already in place.

Nobody is interested in working out how to get a lot more of the electricity out of West Texas' wind turbines and back east where it's needed, at least at a decent price, and nobody is interested in any large scale projects to store excess energy.

Rather than waste all their time on electrical cars and batteries, maybe they need to be figuring out a way to store excess energy, since the Texas' grid has to always be running and generates a lot of excess energy at times.

[Lancey Howard]

Austin is the anus of Texas.