Ask Austin's City Council to Switch to Clean Energy

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Ask Austin's City Council to Switch to Clean Energy

Though we like to think of ourselves as an environmentally friendly city, Austin still gets more than 30 percent of its electricity from dirty, polluting coal. We have the technology to end this dependence, and within 10 years be getting more than half of our energy from wind and solar power.

Use the form to the right to urge the Austin City Council to end our dependence on dirty energy by shutting down the Fayette coal power plant and investing in clean, renewable energy.

Follow these 3 easy steps to help out.
1. Look over the message to the right, and feel free to add your own comments. Using your own words makes the message more meaningful.
2. Sign the letter by filling in the form below. We will not share your information with anyone else.
3. Click the button to send your message.

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Energy

State progress on clean energy

Environment Texas is working to create a new energy future for Texas, where we are more reliant on clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar, and take advantage of energy efficient technologies to reduce our overall energy demand. Read more.

Letter * Dear Mayor and Council members, I applaud Austin Energy's recommendations for our electricity future, including increasing the amount of wind and solar power we use, improving our energy efficiency goals, and -- perhaps most importantly -- reducing our local dependence on dirty energy sources by scaling back the use of the Fayette coal-fired power plant. Coal causes major environmental and health problems: globally, it contributes to climate change, and locally, water pollution, asthma attacks and even premature deaths. But it still supplies more than 30 percent of our electricity. Austin Energy's recommendation on Fayette is a good first step, but the city should follow in the steps of Los Angeles by agreeing to get entirely out of the coal business. It's time to shut down or sell the Fayette coal-fired power plant. According to a report Austin Energy considered in making its recommendations, shutting down the Fayette plant would allow us to increase our use of wind and solar power from 10 percent to 54 percent in just 10 years, at an increased cost of just 2 percent over current projections. Sincerely,
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