Hi,
As I'm sure you're aware, the level of air pollution in Texas has
received national attention. Fortunately, there are a number of
organizations in the state seeking to improve the situation. Here are
some of the biggest ones:
Sierra Club, Lone Star Chapter
The chapter has over 23,000 members and works on issues relating to
all of Texas except for the El Paso area.
http://texas.sierraclub.org
Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition
"The Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition is
an alliance of individuals, businesses, and organizations advocating
sustainable energy strategies for Texas, including the use of
renewables and conservation. SEED also educates the public about the
economic, environmental, and health benefits of a sustainable energy
strategy. SEED tracks relevant policy-making and legislative processes
and informs the public of opportunities to voice their opinions." The
organization's web site places a strong emphasis on air-quality
issues.
http://www.seedcoalition.org/about.htm
Environmental Defense
The national Environmental Defense organization doesn't break down its
membership numbers by state, but it places a strong emphasis on the
situation in Texas. It is one of the sponsors of Texas Environmental
Profiles, listed next.
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/home.cfm
Texas Environmental Profiles
Want to find out the status of the environment in Texas? This site
includes links to all sorts of data as well as information on how to
get involved.
http://www.texasep.org/
Texas Action Network
This coalition provides, among other things, e-mail notices of action
alerts.
http://www.texasep.org/html/action/texan.html
American Lung Association of Texas
The organization has seven chapters and supports legislation to
control air pollution.
http://www.texaslung.org/
Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP)
The organization "is a community-based environmental organization
dedicated to improving the quality of our region's hazardous air
through public education, participation in the state and federal
planning process, and active advocacy in appropriate venues." The
organization was formed by the Audubon Society a decade ago. It has
published several research papers on air-pollution issues and received
various awards for its efforts.
http://www.ghasp.org/about.html
Mothers for Clean Air
This group is affiliated with GHASP and promotes clean air for
children.
http://www.mothersforcleanair.org/
Texas Audubon
This group promotes conservation through education and advocacy
efforts.
http://www.audubon.org/chapter/tx/tx/abtact.html
Texas Campaign for the Environment
"Texas Campaign for the Environment is dedicated to informing and
mobilizing Texans to protect the quality of their lives, their health
and the environment. We believe that people have a right to know and a
right to act on issues that fundamentally affect our lives and future.
TCE cannot compete with corporate polluters when it comes to writing
checks for the election campaigns of politicians who make the laws.
However, we win when we organize at the grassroots level and gain
strength in numbers from people like you who get involved and support
our work."
http://www.texasenvironment.org/about_tce.htm
Texas Center for Policy Studies
As its name implies, the emphasis of the TCPS is on research. It
receives support from various foundations as well as donations.
"Founded in 1983 in Austin, TCPS brings together the people and the
information necessary to ensure that growth and development in our
region enhances rather than diminishes the quality of life for all
citizens."
http://www.texascenter.org/aboutus.htm
Texas League of Conservation Voters
The LCV is a national organization seeking to influence federal
policy.
http://www.lcv.org/statelcv/index.asp#TX
The environmental groups indicate that their major success in recent
years was the decision by the state Legislature in 2001 to close the
"grandfather loophole," which allowed older polluting factories to
keep on operating. The environmentalists didn't get everything they
wanted, but they're hopeful that the change in law will begin to help.
Here are three articles about that effort:
ACT Lauds 77th Legislature
http://www.cechouston.org/newsletter/nl_07-01/legislature.html
The Grandfather Loophole Is Finally Closed!
http://www.texasenvironment.org/grandfathered_loophole.htm
Breathless in Texas
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2001-04-06/pols_capitol.html
Despite that success, Texas still has a long way to go to clean up its
air. Here are two recent news stories about current pollution levels:
Summer Smog May Double in 2002
"California, Pennsylvania and Texas were the smoggiest states in 2001,
followed by Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina."
http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=P3O0UZESI3ZRICRBAEOCFEY?type=sciencenews&StoryID=1388448
California continues to have dirtiest air in nation
"With nearly twice as many 'smog days' as any other state, California
continues to lead the nation in dirty air, followed by Texas,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio, an environmental group said."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-08-30-air-quality_x.htm
If I were looking to support one of the groups above, I would contact
either the SEED Coalition or the Texas Campaign for the Environment
and ask where my time and/or money could be of the most benefit. Both
coalitions have the active support of various environmental
organizations and should have a clear picture of where you could be
most productive.
I hope you have found this information helpful. Best wishes in your
efforts to make the air cleaner.
Sincerely,
mvguy
Search strategy: I read press releases on the Sierra Club site to find
the names of organizations involved in air-pollution issues, then
searched through their sites as well as news articles to find other
organizations.
://www.google.com/search?q=site:texas.sierraclub.org+air+pollution
I also found current information using the Google news site:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=texas+air+pollution |
