How Green is Austin?

Austin, Texas is poised to set an example for the rest of the country, having successfully managed to shift its fiscal and social focus towards conservation and alternative energy.

Eric Mack over at Plenty compiled a list of the greenest cities in America. He counts Austin amongst the most innovative in its approach to confronting climate change:

Austin, Texas - A green leader going beyond the typical carbon-cutting policies by marketing, lobbying, and promoting one specific product: plug-in hybrids. The city and a few others are campaigning to convince consumers, government agencies and anyone else who will listen to purchase plug-in hybrids when they finally hit showroom floors in order to create a market big enough to keep the vehicles from being shelved.

Sebastian Blanco of autobloggreen highlights another example of Austin's progressive stance. He reports on how cheap it is to get solar panels installed in the city thanks to local and federal tax breaks:

The real short version is that a $20,000+, 3 kWh system can be yours for around $6,000. Considering the amount of sunshine that Austin gets, this is a real deal. I head these numbers while hovering around the Lighthouse Solar booth at the Austin Alt Car expo this weekend. The company can add the aforementioned solar panels to your roof or build an entire carport out of the way cool panels.

There are about a half-dozen companies in the Austin area that can install solar panels, and the tax credits would apply no matter who you choose. Even with this many companies offering solar services, Lighthouse has done around 50-60 this year, which I think speaks volumes to the potential of solar energy if it's made affordable.

Treehugger's Jacob Gordon recently interviewed Austin Mayor Will Wynn. Wynn has been instrumental in challenging typical stereotypes about the American South -- and Texas in particular, which is the most polluting state of the most polluting country on the planet. Born and raised in West Texas, Wynn graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in environmental design. He discusses climate change in what Gordon describes as "the same twangy matter-of-fact way as another southern man with a fondness for cowboy boots, Mr. Al Gore."

Below is an interesting clip about Austin from the recently released documentary "Kilowatt Ours," which explores the climate crisis and how some people are combating it by cutting back on energy use. To find out where you can see the entire film, visit kilowattours.org.
WATCH:

The capital of Texas (and site of Whole Foods' world headquarters) is a prime example of how social consciousness and progressive policy on a local level can a green leader make.

Comments

[wagadog]

Oh bullshit. They're just using "green" as an excuse to tear down old houses and drive the old people and impoverished musicians that live in them out into the streets. Anyone who objects to being driven from their own homes are labelled as "regressive" and "not with the program" -- so they can grease the palms of their property developer friends.

[javaman]

exactly right. they are building these huge monstrocities in the middle of the city that all run on oil. no solar panels, no wind power, no cisterns, no gray water capture, I can go on and on.

also the city council just voted to delay a vote on the expansion of the light rail system for another 2 years!!! AND they have cancelled the single stream recycling plant one year and 20 million dollars into the project. they want all the green props without the work.

they are so full of it. It's all about money anyone tell you any different is either a member of the city council, a realitor, an investor or someone who just plain doesn't have a clue as to what is really going on.

austin green? no so much.

[KathB]

Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America will be airing on PBS stations across the country, below is a list of scheduled airdates. For more information please visit www.kilowattours.org.

[KathB]

Full schedule on PBS

CA

San Jose, CA, KTEH, 11/18 at 12am
San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, KCSM, 12/14 at 2am

FL
West Palm Beach, FL, WXEL – 11/15 at 8pm., 11/15 at 8pm

ID
Spokane, Coeur D’Alene, Moscow, ID, ID KCDT and KUID, 10/29/2008 at 3:00am
Boise and Twin Falls, ID, KAID and KAIDDT, 10/29/2008, 3:00am
Idaho Falls-Pocatello, ID, KISU and KISUDT, 10/29/2008 at 3:00am

MI
East Landing MI, WKAR, 10/27 at 11pm

NC
Charlotte, NC, WTVI, 11/15 at 1am
Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem, NC, UNC-TV, 10/23 at 10pm
Raleigh/Durham, NC, UNC-TV STATEWIDE, 10/23 at 10pm
Raleigh/Durham, NC, UNC-NC & WUNC-NC STATEWIDE, 10/12 at 7pm, 10/12 at 10pm, 10/13 at 2am, 10/13 at 5am
Wilmington, NC, WUJNJ-DT5, 10/12 at 7pm, 10/12 at 10pm, 10/13 at 2am, 10/13 at 5am

NV
Las Vegas, NV, PBS Jackpot Cable111, 10/25 at 4:01 AM, 10/25 at 9AM, 10/25 at 2:01 pm,

SC
South Carolina, ETV, WRLK, and SC Channel, 10/22 at 10 pm

TN
Memphis, TN, WKNO, 10/22 at 8pm
Nashville, TN, WNPT, 10/24 at 7pm

TX
Waco-Temple-Bryan, Belton, TX, KNCT, KNCTDT2, 10/23 at 9:00 pm

VT
Vermont Public Television STATEWIDE, VPT, 10/28 at 9pm

WA
Seattle, WA, KCTS, 11/14 at 12pm noon, 11/18 at 11pm

[BlueZoo]

If you're not familiar with Austin, think of Berkeley int he 60s. It's a city driven by urban yuppies and has all the problems associated with a major university in its heart. It isn't remotely what the rest of TX is like, just as Berkeley wasn't indicative of CA. I give them props for trying the green thing but if you want to see real progress on the "Green" front, look at Portland , OR.

[TrueEmptiness]

Funny that this is the top headline in the Green section because there is actually a climate summit in Austin tomorrow (wed, oct 22).

Students, faculty and administrators from colleges and universities in central Texas along with the City of Austin are getting together to talk about how to accelerate climate action in the region - www.CentralTexasCAN.org

[LuluR]

Not sure how green Austin is these days. . .last time I was there, traffic was horrible, the cost of living was high and small businesses downtown were being evicted and replaced by new construction for hotels, etc. The historic Latino community east of I-35 is gradually being edged out to make way for apartments and condos for the middle class white hipsters who are flocking to Austin and want to live near downtown. Austin leaders have not been able to plan for or control the city's growth; however, they are very good at self promotion, hence articles like this one.

[jahzilla]

Austin is more green than you could possibly know . . . if your observations are any indication.

[wagadog]

yeah. Soylent green. Maybe THAT'S what they have planned for the people the city of austin is driving from their own homes. Latinos in east austin, impoverished musicians and elderly in South Austin. Just get rid of them, make way for "Smart" growth. My arse.

[javaman]

please site examples.

I live here. it's all green smoke and mirrors. The single stream recycling plant has been halted, the expansion of the light rail has been halted. the current light rail, which was supposed to open last summer, has been pushed back yet again and won't open until the spring. Why? because the useless city council had two years to build the stations and they still aren't finished. Heck, they didn't even come up with a fare plan until last month.

They totally destroyed a really charming down town by throwing the door open to urban blight with these really ugly condos. I call them the future grain elevators, when oil is gone just how will the people living in them (if they ever get tenants) get to the top floors? they don't have any alt energy built into them.

just all BS.

[JuniorNorman]

To KTM'
Many communities and homes across the country are using less electricity. The mandates for effiecient lighting are paying off. Another big saver is solar hot water. Propane dealers are getting many tanks back from customers.

[KillTheMessenger]

So they are installing maybe 400-500 systems per year in the whole area? OK... let's assume the average is 5kW peak, then we are talking about 2.5MW peak/year installed.

That's equivalent to ONE wind turbine. Maybe two or three if we are generous.

OK... I think we can agree that Austin, just like any other place in the US has a long way to go before solar will make a dent.

:-(

[jahzilla]

Don't assume and, void of anything other than your own stylized conjecture, attempt to speak for anyone or "any other place in the US". Austin is light-years ahead of a majority of American cities. Do a little more research. Opine a little less. We are all in this together and ANY city's acceptance of "green urgency" is the point that should not be denigrated . . . except by fools. How do you contribute?

[javaman]

again give examples I live here. Austin is not light years ahead. in fact they are light years behind. Site my other posts in this thread for my examples.

[oldGunny]

From Wikipedia:

As Austin Mayor, Will Wynn serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Austin Energy, the 9th largest public power utility in the United States. As such, Mayor Wynn presides over the nation's most successful utility-sponsored green power program (for the 4th consecutive year according to the U.S. Dep't of Energy), an award-winning energy efficiency program that has eliminated the need for a 500-megawatt, coal-burning power plant near Austin, and a greenbuilding program that was the first of its kind in the world and served as the genesis for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the national greenbuilding movement. Austin Energy has assets of over $3.5 billion, annual revenues of $1.2 billion, almost 1,500 employees and generates up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity. Its fuel mix is 35% natural gas, 29% coal, 23% nuclear and 11% renewables (mostly wind).

[wagadog]

Yah, he forgot to mention in his WikiPenia self-promotion piece how the city of Austin drives old people, african americans, impoverished musicians and latinos from their own homes by jacking up the property taxes until only Yuppy Scum can afford to live in the glass-and-steel condo palaces they build in place of actual houses where people used to be able to live -- and grow their own food. Will Wynn is a heartless b*trd.

[javaman]

a perfect example is the garbage domain deal in north austin. they don't pay a cent to rent there. no alternative energy, no water conservation, etc. it was a colossally stupid money making deal for wynn.

vote no on prop 2. don't let the domain get away with it.