Biggest polluters don't bear brunt of new clean-air laws

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Houston Chronicle

June 4, 2007, 12:20AM
Biggest polluters don't bear brunt of new clean-air laws
Most legislation targets consumers, not industry

AUSTIN — The Legislature made it easier for Texans to recycle their old computers, replace their polluting old clunkers and save money on energy-efficient appliances.

While putting the onus on consumers to improve their state's environment, it was business as usual for the industries that spew toxics into the air.

There was unprecedented momentum going into the session, with proposals for new coal plants stirring citizen concern. Scientific evidence kept mounting of the adverse health effects on those living in toxic hotspots along the Gulf Coast. A record number of bills were filed to address air pollution and global warming concerns, but most of those bills died without getting a legislative hearing.

"The Legislature kept in place the plan to allow for increased emissions from new coal plants and continued releases of toxics from industrial plants," said Cyrus Reed, a lobbyist with the Lone Star Sierra Club.

Lawmakers did significantly increase funding for programs to reduce vehicle emissions in urban areas that fail to meet federal air quality standards. But they declined to put a moratorium on new coal plants or require regulation of cancer-causing chemicals released into the air.



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4858484.html

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Houston smog

[Lone_Star_Dem]

1. Texas No. 1 producer of greenhouse gases

Coal burners lead pack in study revealing wide gaps in states' emissions

01:15 AM CDT on Sunday, June 3, 2007

Associated Press

Texas spews more greenhouse gases than any other state in the nation – and by a wide margin, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

In fact, the Lone Star State cranks out more than the next two biggest producers combined, California and Pennsylvania, which together have twice Texas' population, according to the study of state-by-state carbon dioxide emissions from 2003.
Also Online

The study showed that Texas belches almost 1.5 trillion pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. That's more than every nation in the world except six: the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, India and Germany.

The review, which uses the latest U.S. Energy Department figures available, shows startling differences in states' contribution to climate change.

The biggest reason? The burning of high-carbon coal to produce cheap electricity.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/060307dnnatemissions.3c1df3a.html