Austin Energy
Retirement tribute to Roger Duncan
March 05,2010 04:29 PM Filed in: Austin
IEN Steering Committee member and tireless enviro-blogger Chris Searles pays tribute to recently retired Austin Energy CEO Roger Duncan for his role in making Austin Energy one of the most progressive electric utilities in the United States. Read Chris’ post here, and see this inspiring little video interview with Roger, below.
Mayor Leffingwell's Electricity Town Hall Meeting
March 05,2010 04:20 PM Filed in: Austin
IEN Steering Committee member and tireless enviro-blogger Chris Searles sends a link to a great blog report on Mayor Lee Leffingwell’s recent Town Hall meeting on energy for Austin. He reports, “"At the end of the evening last night, Roger Duncan said it best: having public input in the planning process for Austin's citizen-owned utility really does bring out the finest result..."
Read Chris’ full post here...
Sign That Petition!
As reported earlier, IEN Steering Committee member Chris Searles has initiated an online petition to call upon Austin City Council to continue to support the Austin Climate Protection Initiative. The petition has now reached its goal of 500 signatures... and counting! Chris reports:
500+ Austinites call for renewal of Climate Protection Plan
On Thursday 2/25/10, Jake Stewart, former manager of the City of Austin's Climate Protection Program, presented a successful petition drive to City Council, urging leaders to renew their commitment to making Austin "the leading the city in the nation" in climate protection.
Austin first adopted its climate protection plan in March 2007, under a previous mayor and city council.
The Petition's Objective is to let Austin's leaders know there are plenty of folks who appreciate and support the City's hard work in this regard, and who believe in working-together to achieve as much as possible.
Stewart was complimentary, thanking the original council signatories for their initiative 3 years ago, and challenging today's Council members to recognize that climate leadership can be leveraged to create economic stimulus and value for the whole community.
Some notable signatories:
#518, Reverend Louis Snead
#433, Alejandro Escovedo
#400, Reverend Ann Pittman
#398, Reverend Stephen Kinney
#284, Terry Allen
#265, Turk Pipkin
#171, Craig Hella Johnson
#125, Sharon Stanberry Rosshirt
#121, Brigid Shea
#19, Bee Morehead
See and sign the petition here!
The Statesman Gets It Wrong
Interfaith Environmental Network Interim Steering Committee member and active blogger, Chris Searles, recently responded to this front page article in the Austin American-Statesman about the potential costs to Austin Energy consumers if the proportion of green power generation in the Austin Energy portfolio is increased as is currently being proposed. Chris effectively rebuts some of the article’s claims in his excellent post on the Austin Post website. You can find Chris’s post here. All of us who understand stewardship of God’s Earth to be a part of our faith commitment are grateful to Chris for his involvement in the public debate over Austin’s green power future.