Progressive Action Alliance - Environmental Issues

Save the earth: Block new coal plants in Texas

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:42:59 -0500

Poster of coal moratorium activities

Free showings of "An Inconvenient Truth"

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 02:03:20 -0400

A number of churches in the Houston area are having free showings of Al Gore's new movie An Inconvenient Truth, during the month of October. See Houston Climate Protection for a list of the showings.

Resolution-Energy-opd

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 09:42:16 -0400

RESOLUTION - A PROGRESSIVE NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY

WHEREAS the future success of the State of Texas, as well as the U.S.A., is dependant on the long-term availability of affordable energy resources;

Regional Water & Transportation Management Plans

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 22:41:54 -0500

WHEREAS Texas created regional water and transportation plans for development of urban areas and adjacent rural counties;

Texas is the home of many experienced scientists and engineers in hydrogeology, transportation, and public health;
General property tax revenue is a major source of funds for public institutions of higher learning, public transportation, and management of the public drinking water supply;
Surface and underground drinking water supplies are commonly polluted with urban and industrial wastes, that were released into the surface water or injected underground;

Science-Based Standards for Safer Air to Breathe

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 22:37:40 -0500

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality environmental regulations;

Air pollution aggravates both respiratory and cardiovascular related diseases, according to the scientific community, Texas Department of Health, and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality;
Air pollutants are acknowledged by both the scientific community and the city, county, and state Departments of Health and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality as exacerbating both respiratory and cardiovascular related disease in the human population.
Vehicles and industry are the leading sources of hazardous air emissions;
Texas is the home of many experienced scientists and engineers in transportation, aerospace, and public health;
General property tax revenue is the primary source of funds for public institutions of higher learning and regulatory agencies,

Ambient Air Quality Needs to be the Basis for Emissions from Industrial Plants

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 22:34:04 -0500

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality environmental regulations;

More than 5 million people in the urban regions in Texas live daily in poor to toxic air quality;
Air pollution is known to aggravate respiratory congestion and impair the immune system in as little as seven (7) hours of exposure;
Emissions from industry, dust, heavy vehicular traffic, and smoke comprise the factors contributing to poor regional air quality;
Air quality management needs measurements and an appropriate baseline in order to monitor and enforce regulations;
EPA, TCEQ, and cities have air monitors that measure specific pollutants.
Health code regulations use an arbitrary basis/baseline for measuring emissions,
Known toxic chemicals occur commonly at much higher levels in the atmosphere than health limits allow as a direct result of an arbitrary basis/baseline;

Exemption of Roads from Air Monitoring

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 22:30:23 -0500

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality regulations;

Poor quality air has a direct effect on a community's health , particularly among individuals with chronic illnesses such as respiratory problems.
Urban regions modify major transporation projects within the city;
Vehicle air pollution (gas, particles and noise) is known to aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular related diseases;
The law exempts roads from air monitoring; heavy vehicular traffic, long driving times, emissions from industry, dust, and smoke comprise the factors contributing to poor air quality;

Exemption of Diesel Truck Emissions Test

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 22:25:36 -0500

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality regulations;

Vehicle air pollution is acknowledged as aggravating both respiratory and cardiovascular related diseases;
Automobiles in counties, that not in compliance with ambient air quality regulations, are subject to an annual auto air emissions test and a fee for license renewal;
Diesel trucks are exempt from the state's vehicle emissions test program for license renewal;

Public Health Measures for Air Pollution Enforcement Program

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 22:20:31 -0500

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality environmental regulations;

Air pollution aggravates both respiratory and cardiovascular related diseases, according to the scientific community, Texas Department of Health, and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality;
Regulatory compliance needs to specify and monitor living public health measures that are enforcable for the federal and state air quality programs,
Reasonable health measures includes incidences of aggrevation, inflamation, irritation, or burning of the skin, eyes, ears, nose, throat or lungs

Environmental Initiative Resolutions (7)

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 22:14:46 -0500

These resolutions were all developed by the Environmental Initiative of the Houston Region Democrats.

Some were originally presented and passed by the Harris County Democratic Party Executive Committee in June 2005, in a form that dealt with Harris County. Those resolutions were modified to address statewide issues and additional resolutions were added.

For information on these, contact Stephanie Hrabar, Ph. D.: shrabar{at}wt{dot}net, 713-683-0638.

Climate Protection Measures for Texas..

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 12:37:03 -0500

To get a copy of this resolution formatted for printing, so you can take it with you to your precinct convention, click on the link in the Attachment box below.

WHEREAS, climate disruption of the magnitude now predicted by the scientific community will cause extremely costly disruption of human and natural systems throughout the world including: more intense hurricanes; increased risk of floods or droughts; sea-level rises that interact with coastal storms to erode beaches, inundate land, and damage structures; more frequent and extreme heat waves; more frequent and greater concentrations of smog; and

Flyer for MLK parades - Bush vs MLK, Impeachment

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 03:05:16 -0500

The two flyers here (see attachments below) are the ones PAA produced for the 2006 and 2007 Martin Luther King, Jr. parades and related events in Houston.

They contrast King's ideas with Bush's policies -- on peace, diplomacy, nonviolence, racial equality, the environment, civil liberties. They explain how 3 more years of Bush in the White House will shatter King's dream of a just society, and why we should push for impeachment.

"Free Diane Wilson - Rebel with a Cause" poster

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 17:11:57 -0500

"Free Diane Wilson" Poster from Code Pink for Diane Wilson, environmentalist and co-founder of Code Pink. She''s in the Calhoun Co. jail, after beingat the Cheney/DeLay fundraiser. She is now serving a sentence for a previous conviction for an action at a Dow Chemical plant, where she protested the company's connection to the Bhopal chemical disaster.

Regional Water Management Plan

Tue, 15 Nov 2005 18:29:34 -0500

Note: This is an old resolution that has been superceded by a new version. See http://www.paa-tx.org/node/1495

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT the Harris County Democratic Party supports:

Standards For Safer Air To Breathe

Tue, 15 Nov 2005 18:27:53 -0500

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT the Harris County Democratic Party supports:

Appropriate science-based air quality standards for the Houston Region that will result in safer indoor and outdoor air for all humans to breathe.
Environmental assessments that include protection for human health based on appropriate health and life science peer reviewed studies.
An environmental economic formula that includes an environmental assessment that will protect both public revenues and public health for publicly funded transportation and development

FACTS TO SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION: