Austin Energy Interactive Town Hall Meeting

It is that time again… lets go to this meeting and let city council know what the students are thinking!

Austin Energy Interactive Town Hall Meeting
Wednesday, January 28; 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

AE is developing its generation plan through 2020.

Attend (no fee) or watch live on Time Warner Channel 6. In addition you can call in questions to 974-5597 or email your questions at http://www.austinsmartnergy.com

Click on Contact Us and submit your question.

Austin City Hall
301 W. Second Street
Austin, TX 78701

Here’s some more background on tomorrow’s and next week’s Townhall Meetings that give the public a chance to influence what kind of power Austin will use in the future.
The next City Council will possible be voting on a final plan as early as this summer. Austin has long been a champion for clean energy, but with growing urgency for stimulating a new economy, protecting the environment and enhancing national security, New Leaders are Emerging:
* President Obama is promising millions of clean energy jobs and billions in incentives and new infrastructure for renewables
* Hawaii is targeting 70% from renewables by 2030 (http://www.solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content_lt.php?content.908)
* Sarah Palin last week announced a new plan for Alaska to achieve 50% from renewables by 2025 (http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/012309/leg_img_8001.shtml)
What will be Austin’s next move ?
If you want to help shape the answer to that question, you should participate in one of Austin Energy’s upcoming Townhall Meetings, which will be held starting at 6:30 pm:
January 28, 2009 (Wednesday) City Hall Council Chambers (301 West 2nd Street)
February 3, 2009 (Tuesday) Town Lake Center – Assembly Room (721 Barton Springs Road)
February 5, 2009 (Thursday) Carver Branch Library (1161 Angelina)

Austin Energy’s Draft Generation Plan (http://www.austinsmartenergy.com/) to achieve 30% from renewables by 2020 and begin reducing carbon emissions includes:

* Continued operation of Austin’s current fleet of coal and nuclear power through at least 2020
* Adding 400 MW of new combustion-based power plants (Natural Gas & Biomass) and 53 MW of Wind & Solar during the next 5 years
* Focus on adding renewable energy between 2014-2020
* Meet carbon reduction target by purchasing offsets from other parties that reduce their CO2 emissions Some customers have asked if Austin Energy has considered delaying or reducing their renewable energy goals. Others think more should be done sooner. Do you think Austin Energy wants to hear from YOU whether their draft plan is too much, too little or just right ? You Betcha.

Meeting Sunday January 25th at Cafe Mundi

Hello everyone!

The Renewable Energy Student Association (RESA) is having its first meeting on Sunday, January 25th at 3 PM at Cafe Mundi on East 5th Street (directions: http://www.cafemundi.com). We are inviting the owner of TechSun (http://www.solarme.com/)  to speak to us about opportunities in the solar thermal (water heating) industry, but we are still waiting for confirmation.

In addition, we will be distributing the RESA sport shirt (bought by ACC student Life) at this meeting for the Austin Community College students who are attending the Texas’ Changing Economic Climate: Risks and Opportunities in a Carbon Constrained World on January 29 at the Texas Capital. See the message below for more info. or go to http://www.treia.org/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId=203977&orgId=treia.

We will also be discussing other issues such as the jobs available in renewable energy like the one attached below, the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at ACC for the solar panel they have installed (which could have been a perfect opportunity for student to get hands on practice), and other events this spring.

We hope to see you soon, and please let us know of any renewable energy opportunities or issues so that we can inform all of our members.

Sincerely,

Danilo A. Castillo
RESA Co-Chair
ACC Carbon Assessment Committee Director of Communication

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Be the change.

National Teach In

Invite Congress to Class to Talk Climate: Tony Cortese on Weds Call Dear Friends and Colleagues, How would you like your classroom or campus audience to have a one-on-one session with your member of congress or US Senator? Just send us an e-mail, and we will work to make it happen. As a critical part of The National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions, and with support from the Earth Day Network, we are coordinating with Speaker Pelosi’s office to set up a bank of computers in the capitol to create an historic opportunity for national dialogue. This is a terrific chance for young people across the country to have their voices heard! Your representative can sit down at a laptop in DC and have a half an hour, low-carbon, non-partisan round-table with a campus audience—a class or assembly—on Wednesday, February 4th. Please forward this message to interested folks across your state and region, and help us flood congress with invites to this vital day of engagement. To learn more, join our bi-weekly organizing call, Wednesday, January 7that noon eastern. Environmental educator Dr. Tony Cortese will headline the call, and talk about how you can use the National Teach-In to highlight the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment. Call in number is 1-218-486-8700, passcode 020509. Campus-to-congress dialogues, and progress on the Climate Commitment, are just two components of the National Teach-In. Just one month away, it is not too late to sign up your school, faith organization or civic group. Help us engage a thousand institutions and a million Americans in this critical day of education. Participation in the teach-in is easy: Screen the launch web cast, The First 100 Days, featuring David Orr, Hunter Lovins, and youth climate leaders Billy Parish and Wahela Johns. Watch the webcast in a campus auditorium, or school or church basement, We are partnering with Interfaith Power & Light to produce a special version of the webcast tailored for faith audiences. Or hold a D.I.Y. Teach-In in your living room. Campuses can engage further with day-long teach-ins—we have model curricula for schools from K-8 to university levels. Schools planning major events include Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Bard College, and the University of Central Florida. End your teach-in in a round-table dialogue with decision-makers: inviting Governors, mayors, and city-councilors to sit down with young people for face-to-face conversation about solutions. Again: Let us know, and we will also invite your federal representatives to engage with your teach-in via video dialogues that we are setting up in the capitol on February 4th. Already, more than 500 colleges, universities, high schools and K-8 schools around the country (also churches, synagogues, mosques, libraries, civic organizations and businesses) have signed on to participate. At a critical moment at the beginning of the new administration, f institutions and millions of Americans, and on this one day, raise global warming solutions to the top of the nation’s agenda. Thanks for the work you are doing. Professor Eban Goodstein, Co-Director Chungin Chung, Co-Director