Houston's growth should be planned says Blueprint Houston and should include "The best transportation system possible which would be an integrated, efficient, multi-modal network that provides choices and safety." that is, a choice besides driving. View their ad in Houston Chronicle at http://www.gulfcoastinstitute.org/chron-ad.pdf To sign their petition http://tinyurl.com/2w36mx, or www.gulfcoastinstitute.org or www.blueprinthouston.org
Dynegy, a Houston based electricity company, is looking into solar thermal to power its turbines. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6111608.html Dynegy had six new coal plants planned, more than any US utility so their interest in solar is a paradigm shift. Was this inspired by the requirement that they disclose global warming risks to stockholders?
In the election that just passed US voters approved 72% of transit measures, about double the prior rate. In total they approved $75 billion in transit spending. http://gulfcoastinstitute.org/growthnews/?p=788 for more information about Houston's transit expansion, http://www.ctchouston.org/information/metro/index.shtml and www.ridemetro.org
When the price of oil goes up, the price of food goes up much more. Houston's citizen leaders are concerned about the future of our food security. In September, they gave a conference www.HoustonFood.net On December 4, they are hosting, a speaker, Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap at the United Way on 50 Waugh Drive. 6:30 reception, 7:00 - 8:30 talk. More info on http://gulfcoastinstitute.org/growthnews/
At a forum by a citizen group opposing building Grand Parkway Segment C, which would extend from 59 near Sugar Land southeast to 288, various politicians and candidates spoke against this new outer-outer beltway for Houston. Congressman Lampson said opposes the scheme. Ordeneaux, Republican Candidate for Fort Bend County Commissioner, said he had opposed the Grand Parkway for more than a year. His opponent, Morrison, says he has been against Segment C "since the very beginning". State Rep Olivo said that citizen outcry had killed the Trans Texas Corridor plan and told the audience that she would help them oppose Segment C of the Grand Parkway. Summarized from Fort Bend Herald story "Candidates weigh in on Grand Parkway Issue". http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2008/10/30/news/doc490a075329741818644128.txt
The Katy Freeway expansion cost about 100 milion per mile. At the celebration of its completion, former Harris County Judge Eckels said he still hoped that commuter rail could be built in the Katy Freeway Corridor. Congressman Culberson said pledged not to give up a single lane for rail. Culberson said "290's next". As reported by Chronicle "Katy Freeway Expansion Declared Done" http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/memorial/news/6083044.html
A variety of citizen groups work to build more choices in Houston's transportation aside from the private auto www.ctchouston.org/ www.livablehouston.org houston.sierraclub.org/
The Energy Policy of Blue Dog Democrat Coalition is below with additions and deletions suggested by Oil Patch Democrats. (Editor's note: Blue Dogs assume that business as usual can continue without interruption from peak oil and climate disruption. Their energy policy focuses on energy independence.) Nick Lampson is the only Texas member of these "fiscally conservative Democrats" http://www.bluedogdems.com/index.html Lampson is Congressman for Sugar Land, Missouri City, Pearland, Deer Park and LaMarque. http://lampson.house.gov/?sectionid=7§iontree=7
New conservation programs and dramatically step up efforts to save energy were proposed by the Alamo Group of the Sierra Club to San Antonio's municipally owned electricity and gas company. They aruged that the lengthy list of recommendations could replace the need for new power plants.
Forecasters from National Association of Business Economics "hope the worst is over for oil prices, and predict declines to $75 a barrel and $2.72 a gallon by the end of next year." reports Houston Chronicle on the front page. Oil prices will determine if the sluggish economy slides into recession, that is, starts shrinking.
"I have been advising for anyone who would listen to voluntarily cut back on their consumption, based on the premise that we were probably headed, in a post-Peak Oil environment, for a prolonged period of deflation in the auto/housing/finance sectors and inflation in food and energy prices." says Dallas geologist Jeffrey Brown in "Economize, Localize and Produce".
"Green Earth Fuels opened a second 45-million-gallon-per-year plant at the Houston Ship Channel — making its complex there among the biggest hubs in the nation for production of diesel fuel derived from vegetable oil."
"We're somewhere between anger and grief," Jeffrey Brown said. "We don't want to hear we live in a land of finite resources." at the 8/13/06 Peak Oil Conference as reported by Greg Harman in www.EarthHouston.net in story "Peaked Oilers"
"This world will be populated by small, quiet electric vehicles of all shapes and sizes, also transit vehicles and bicycles. Welcome to your future." writes Peter Wang, Houston geologist and citizen in the open letter below. Peter says we can expect factory-made battery vehicles in 2010, but I'm riding a battery powered scooter now. Range is 25 to 30 miles and top speed is 30mph which is fast enough for most city streets. It uses around 40 watts per mile, that is, about 3% of the fossil fuel per mile of my car, assuming that the electricity was generated by a normally inefficient coal plant. I bought this EVT-4000E in Austin from www.AlienScooters.com
And the guys at Houston Electric Auto Association http://www.heaa.org will show you their hand-made electric autos if you go to their meeting June 19th.
Read Peter's letter:
"The commuter rail link to Houston that Galveston leaders have coveted for years is feasible, cost-effective and not as unlikely as people may think, according to a transportation study presented to the Galveston city council on Thursday." 11/16/07 Galveston Daily News
"Even in Houston, a low-carbon energy future is not a threat to prosperity, but rather a doorway to economic opportunity."
Dr. Peter Bishop of University of Houston Futures department and Seth Itzkan of Planet-TECH Associates announce two opportunities to envision Houston After Oil: an online forum and a talk at the World Peak Oil Conference on October 19th. www.aspousa.org
The United States should expect levels of oil consumption per capita to fall to 80% by 2030. The end of cheap oil and other factors will end also growth in the Gross Domestic Product. Jobs and industries that will grow will be food producers, folks making homes more energy efficient, recycling, selling goods to folks nearby, scientists and engineers in energy efficiency and more, and manual laborers to do the work that was done by machines, according to Gail Tverberg.
"Groppe sees consumption dropping now. ... He predicts the annual average price of oil will fall back to $60 to $80 a barrel in the next several years" reports columnist Froma Harrop. Froma wrote Saudi production cuts "raised prices to the point where consumers started using less energy. The Saudis want us hooked."
Tell your members of Congress that America's new Energy Bill must include a 35 mile per gallon fuel economy standard and a 15 per cent renewable electricity standard anything less is unacceptable.
In June, the Senate passed a bill significantly increasing the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles 35 mpg by 2020. In August, the House passed a bill requiring electric utilities to obtain more power from clean, renewable sourcessuch as the wind and sun. Now, the two versions of the Energy Bill must be reconciled and passed in both houses of Congress.
Unfortunately, the auto and oil industry are mobilizing their lobbyists in an attempt to keep these two critical provisions out of the final legislation.
Interfaith Power and Light www.InterfaithPowerandLight.org Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:34:56 -0800
Global oil production peaked in May of 2005 said Matthew Simmons, Houston oil investment banker, at his talk to the Houston World Peak Oil Conference in October 2007. Decline in production will be 4.5 to 8% per year, said Simmons. Global warming was a small and distant risk compared to peak oil, said Simmons. I beg to differ. Texas has already suffered tens of billions of damage in the last six years due to climate catastrophes. Prominent Texas State Legislators are now organizing to protect the climate.
"Saudi Aramco, the world's largest state-owned oil company, said its crude output in 2007 declined 4.3 percent as reserves were unchanged at 259.9 billion barrels. The state-owned company produced 3.11 billion barrels of crude oil last year, down from 3.25 billion barrels in 2006. "<snip> reported Houston Chronicle 5/27/08 in the business digest. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5802624.html
The Houston way of life, driving the freewayhome to the suburbs, assumes cheap oil will last forever. End of Suburbia, www.endofsuburbia.com prophesied that peak oil means a fall in property values in the suburbs.
Citizen committee appointed by Portland City Council recommends in a strongly worded report that the city of Portland accelerate efforts to curb the use of oil and natural gas. The best path to this goal is in accelerating current initiatives such as high-density planning and zoning, public transportation and acquiring electricity from renewable resources.
"No to Coal" said the editors of Houston Chronicle. "Before approving a costly and irreversible program to build a new generation of coal-fired power plants, Texas officials should carefully study the statements of James Hansen. .... Hansen is less concerned about the burning of oil and natural gas, because of their low content of carbon compared to coal. "If we would just agree to have a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants until we have the technology to capture and sequester the CO2, then we would have 80 percent of the solution, and it's doable,"' http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5247097.html
IFR Nuclear plants, Plasma Conversion plants and Boron autos could enable plenty of power while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 90% within 50 years says Tom Blees, in Prescription for a Planet. Ron Hayden will report on the book on Sunday November 2, 1:15 pm. Ron will also interview Mr. Blees on the radio for an hour at noon November 24, FM 90.1
Plasma Conversion Plants would recycle garbage and sewage sludge into fuel etc. The first Plasma Conversion Plants are already in the planning stages in San Francisco and Florida. Blees suggests that the oil companies could go into the garbage business as their fossil fuel business declines.
Please join us for a lively conversation on Sunday. More info below.
From the Editors of the Houston Chronicle, May 6, 2008
" ...U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain have embraced the suggestion that the government suspend the federal gasoline tax this summer. The idea is so bad it manages to embody most of what's wrong with politics today. <snip>
Sen. Obama rightly opposes any suspension of the gas tax, and it is apparently doing his sagging campaign some good. Even Clinton supporters realize she is not only pandering to the voters, but demonstrating she will go to any harmful length to win.
The best way for Americans to restrain the price of crude oil is for them to use much less of it. Only when the nation's addiction to oil is broken will there be downward forces placed on the price of a limited and increasingly hard-to- get commodity."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5756002.html
Wyoming is beating Houston on federal grants for energy research and California has taken the lead in solar power said Amy Jaffe of Baker Institute at Rice University. Matthew Simmons, energy expert, said China is the biggest threat to Houston for the role of Energy Capital of the World. http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou070504_ac_dubai.380cf435.html
The Sierra Club sent letters Tuesday threatening to file suit to stop construction of eight coal-fired power plants in six states because, the environmental group claims, they violate the Clean Air Act. http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48241/story.htm In Houston, Sierra Club and other environmental groups will protest Dynegy's plans to build six new coal plants outside the shareholders' meeting on Wednesday morning. www.HoustonClimateProtection.org
Take a chance to win $200 off your electric bill by registering at the City's new website on home energy efficiency before August 31st. www.HoustonPowertoPeople.com This is one part of Mayor White's campaigns to make Houston the Energy Conservation Capital of the World. When you register, you will be asked if you will pledge to support renewable electricity, to change your light-bulbs to energy-savers, etc.
"Today I made my 20 mile commute without using a car. 13 miles on bike, 7 miles on METRO." says Peter Wang, geologist. Peter also wonders why his neighbor is moving even further away from the city in "Bridgelands and the New White Flight", another article in sustainable77095.blogspot.com
To put our current rate of worldwide crude oil consumption in perspective, during George W. Bush's first term. the world used about 10% of all crude oil that has been consumed to date, <snip>
"Costs are accelerating to the point where you have to start wondering if projects are still economic." said Murray Edwards, a leading investor in Alberta tar sands.
Also Canadian think tanks said Canada risks its own social, environmental, and energy security to mine and sell tar sands oil to the United States at rock-bottom prices. "Canadians are already paying a steep price for feeding the voracious American addiction to the dwindling world reserves of oil and gas."
Some OPEC members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper." If America was dealing with reality on energy prices before reality deals with us would these folks bet on the dollar holding value?
"Suburban commuters from Galveston to Conroe, along with Houston and Harris County residents, overwhelmingly support mass transit as the best solution to traffic problems, according to a new regional survey released Thursday. " 11/16/07 Houston Chronicle
"The approximately 6,000-square-foot yard, just off of San Pablo Avenue, provides generous space for a bustling urban farm. From the street it is impossible to tell that the property holds everything from apple trees to tomato vines, rabbits to goats, and chickens to domesticated pigeons." http://www.energybulletin.net/5673.html Houston hosts one of the nation's largest backyard food gardening clubs, Urban Harvest www.urbanharvest.org It can help you with your backyard gardening.
"Industry wisdom now recognizes there are practical limits to the world's oil supply" " ... underlying daily developments in the financial markets is a structural limit on supply in a world in which demand for oil is rising. ... After years of discounting predictions of peak oil production, these industry leaders and some officials of oil producing nations now say oil production will plateau during or before 2012."
"Texas’ renewable electricity standard (RES) is cutting pollution, saving money, creating jobs, and fueling a clean energy boom in Texas, as in the other 24 U.S. states that have passed similar policies, according to a new report released today by Environment Texas. Environment Texas also called on Congress to establish a national RES. <snip>
Give compact flourescent lightbulbs for Christmas said the Mayors of Houston, Dallas and Austin in a press conference in San Antonio. They recommended that these energy saving bulbs be named the "state bulb" of Texas. San Antonio's Mayor said "If every Texan household changed just one bulb, it would be the equivalent of removing 55,000 cars from the city streets.” http://www.cechouston.org/index.php/?p=3584#more-3584
from Baytown Sun, 4/24/08
A television program that I watched recently featured an expert (on exactly what I cannot remember) who predicted that within 20 to 50 years a whole lot of Americans would be living a lifestyle comparable to that of the Amish.His reasons for that statement came from his predictions about our current dependency on oil, on the economy and his related evaluation of our American lifestyle.In general, Americans are gluttons, he implied, and I cannot argue with that.The world, he said, will not continue to support that lifestyle and again, I can’t argue.We are living as if the things that we depend on will never run out.
You can now support renewable energy by buying renewable energy credits (REC) from a new Texas online retailer, Texas Interfaith Power and Light www.TxIpl.org the Texas chapter of a national church movement.
Talk entitled "Production of global hydrocarbon liquids: Is there a near term peak?" by R. C. Vierbuchen, ExxonMobil Exploration Company. Summary: An evaluation of global production history and the global resource base suggests that a peak in global liquids production, resulting solely from a resource-base limitation, is unlikely to occur in the next 25 years.
"the U.S. can meet aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals Congress is proposing through energy efficiency, better land and forest management practices, and development of low-carbon power technology." said Scott Nyquist of McKinsey and Company speaking at America's Energy Future at the George R Brown Convention Center 2/28. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5580744.htm
Dynegy Inc. has agreed to draft a report for shareholders explaining its plans for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/03/17/daily21.html?b=1205812800^1606729&surround=etf Dynegy is responding to pressure from shareholders and environmentalists. Sierra Club asks your help in stopping Dynegy from being the number one coal-fired polluter. www.CleanUpDynegy.org In Houston Chronicle footage of the 3/20 protest outside Dynegy's offices in downtown Houston, Rice U students ask Dynegy to clean up their act. http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/07/templates/listpop.html?bcpid=823433113&bctid=1466825819
"The conflict between growing crops for food versus biofuels can be resolved if the United States, Europe and rich countries elsewhere drop protectionist policies and work with developing nations to increase the use of the eco-friendly propellants, a U.N.-backed bioenergy group says. "
Houston Chronicle 4/30/08
Members of the Rockefeller family took a fight with Exxon Mobil public Wednesday, challenging the oil giant spawned by their namesake to split the roles of chairman and CEO and focus more on renewable energy. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5744502.html
ROCKEFELLERS CALL FOR CHANGE AT EXXON MOBIL http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48181/story.htm
Dynegy CEO Williamson said "...efforts to crown Dynegy the new "king of coal" are ill-conceived." One point of agreement is the need for federal regulation of carbon dioxide emissions, Williamson said. He believes a federal tax on carbon dioxide emissions would be more fair than a cap-and-trade system. A tax is "the easiest method, the fastest and the most equitable," ...
Car-free zones on the rise in American cities. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and joggers are king of the road - at least sometimes - as more US cities ban autos from parks or designated districts. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0502/p01s03-ussc.html?s=hns
"... only 15 percent of the energy produced in the remaining two plants would be used in Kansas; the remaining 85 percent would be sold to Colorado and Texas. So Kansans would have 15 percent of the energy and 100 percent of the pollution ..." said Governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius. "Building additional coal plants now is likely to create a significant economic liability for Kansas in the future. Renewable energy developed and produced here in Kansas uses far less water, a precious natural resource, and produces permanent jobs for Kansans."
It's time to dust off the plans made in the 1980s for Texas passenger rail said a Dallas citizen in an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle. "...think of Texas high-speed rail not just as a transportation project but also an energy project — using electricity, which can be generated from several different sources, to fuel a high-speed train system able to move large numbers of people safely and efficiently between the state's major metropolitan areas."
"I was, you know, like Rush Limbaugh. 'The environmentalists are out to get us. They're a bunch of crazies.' The hard, cold reality is the environmentalists had it right. We live in a world of finite resources" said Jeffrey Brown as quoted in the San Antonio Current. 8/9/06 and the Best of New Orleans 8/15/06. Story by Greg Harman editor of www.EarthHouston.net
• Eliminating jackrabbit starts, speeding and rapid braking at highway speeds for as much as 80 gallons a year, or $260.• Clearing 100 pounds of junk from the trunk to save 12 gallons, or $40.People who take all those steps could potentially cut their gas costs by $605 a year.
from http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5750292.html
more on http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
"I am certain that if Christ were alive today, he would hang his and his disciples' clothing on the line to dry." "It is always cheaper, easier, and better for the planet fo save energy than to try to make it. The average home uses over 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month. Our average is less than 150 kilowatts." Matthew Sleeth in Serve God, Save the Planet. Sleeth is on a speaking tour of Texas. www.HoustonClimateProtection.org www.TxIpl.org
Vice President Cheney and Saudi Prince seem to agree Bush Program for Energy Independence is an Amusing Myth.
Compact florescent light bulbs use 66% less energy and last longer than
After the peak, "Houston ... is a city that may become especially small." said James Howard Kunstler to the reporter from Clean.
What can you do to prepare for a future of gasoline at $6 to $10 a gallon? "economize, localize, and produce. This means, he says, planning a lifestyle that can sustain a 50 percent reduction in income, eliminating debt, and reducing consumption.
Carpooling can save $4,000 per year. "Even a cowboy could learn to like those numbers." wrote Peter Wang, geologist and member of Houston Peak Oil Progressives in a letter to the editor printed in 4/13/08. To find a carpool, try www.nuride.com
Maryor White said "Sharing a ride more often is one of the easiest things we can do to help improve mobility and air quality for everyone, not to mention saving money on rising gasoline prices." when announcing the Houston-Galveston Area 10,000,000 Mile risheshare Challenge". "Ridesharing helps bring immediate increases in the efficiency of our roadways", noted Alan Clark, Director of Transportation for the Houston-Galveston Area Council.
Sign up and earn rewards on www.nuride.com
92% of the world’s people do not own a car.
"... environmentalists had it right, we live in a world of finite resources." oil man, Jeffrey Brown
"If you go out this next weekend and work really hard all day long in your yard, I will get more work out of Electric Motor with far less than 25 cents worth of electricity. Now that's kind of humbling, isn't it? That you're worth less than 25 cents a day as compared to fossil fuels. " Roscoe Bartlett, Member of Congress speaking to 2005 Energy Conference
"To avoid a global crisis, Groppe thinks that Americans should use the next 10 years, a time in which production output is expected to peak, to transition into new energy-usage habits." "Groppe...has ... an excellent record on long-term energy forecasts, according to people in the industry."
"We must rely more on nuclear power and alternative energy supplies and use all energy more efficiently," he said. <snip>
Harris County is the top renewable electricity producer in Texas and #3 in the nation according to the database on www.Carma.org Their definition of renewables does not include hydro-electric or nuclear, but does include wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, captured heat, or hydrogen energy. Carbon Management for Action web-published their extensive database on electrical power production in November. I dug out the data from their by county download.
Houston Chronicle 4/23/08
Most Harris County residents would support zoning or other land-use planning tools to guide growth, protect neighborhoods and curb suburban sprawl, the 2008 Houston Area Survey shows.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/realestate/neighborhoods/5715041.html
"Australia will join a lengthening list of defectors from the original Coalition of the Willing who contributed troops for the Iraq invasion and occupation." (Houston Chronicle editorial "Down to One" 11/28/07 www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5337186.html) Global research says "It is increasingly clear that the US occupation of Iraq is about control of global oil resources." http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/ENG408A.html
“In almost every transit system I talk to, we’re seeing very high rates of growth the last few months,” said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association. <snip> Michael Brewer, an accountant who had always driven the 36-mile trip to downtown Houston from the suburb of West Belford, said he had been thinking about switching to the bus for the last two years. The final straw came when he put $100 of gas into his Pontiac over four days a couple of weeks ago.
“Finally I was ready to trade my independence for the savings,” he said while waiting for a bus.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/business/10transit.html?ex=1211169600&en=7f317f18ed65fd27&ei=5070&emc=eta1
(Before I ride Houston Metro, www.RideMetro.org I use their trip planner http://tripplanner.ridemetro.org/ to plan the route and pack up my laptop and some desk chores to do during the trip. - the webmaster)
"In 2006 ...President George W. Bush declared that America was dangerously "addicted to oil." ... five months later, global oil production peaked at close to 85.5 million barrels per day (bpd) and has since fallen. ... Saudi output has indeed fallen by about 10 per cent. "
"If you stop coal, you stop global warming. Coal is the only fossil fuel plentiful and supposedly cheap enough to push the planet to potentially irresversible ice sheet melt and rapid sea level rise." says Archictecture 2030 in a full page ad in the New York Times. The ad shows what 3 to 10 feet of sea level rise would do to cities like Galveston and Boston. Architecture 2030 says we can do it by reducing building energy use by 50% and contuining reductions. To connect with Houston folks protecting the climate, www.HoustonClimateProtection.org
Houston Chronicle, 5/4/08 "For die-hard drivers, it's just a matter of economics"
"Laura Regan gave up her queen of the road status months ago for a seat on the bus.
Though the transition was less than elegant, it was simple economics: Parking fees and fuel costs, even for her hybrid sport utility vehicle, were just too high, she said. <snip> she figures she saves more than $200 a month on the bus.
"I love it," she said. "It's less stress."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5752138.html
