Shades of Green hosts re-cap Austin's Climate March (April 29). Our own Janis Bookout gave an emotion filled speech during the event in front of the Texas Capitol building.

Our guest was Emma Lierley, the Forests Communication Manager with Rainforest Action Network (RAN), a group that campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action. Emma Lierley is a long-time freelance journalist and poet, and her writing has appeared in numerous publications. She has also worked with youth in environmental justice organizations, in sustainable agriculture as an apprentice farmer, and as a trail crew lead and wild land firefighter with the United States Forest Service. Emma works to tell the stories of RAN's forests campaigns and to amplify their impact in the world. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she currently lives in Oakland with her cat, and happily makes the commute across the Bay to work alongside some of the savviest agitators affecting change today.

Austin Texas is Leading the Way Toward Full-scale Autonomous Vehicle Development and Deployment.

Austin is leading the way to autonomous vehicles with strong support from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). Shades of Green hosts were joined by Brandi Clark Burton and Jonathan Walker of Rocky Mountain Institute to discuss the exciting progress being made in Austin with testing autonomous vehicles. In addition to developing and testing the technology they are surveying drivers to capture their view on the future of human mobility. Participants in the Austin Earth Day on April 22, 2017 will be able to take a test ride an autonomous shuttle vehicle among many other impressive mobility solutions.

EarthShare of Texas is celebrating 25 years. The organization makes it easy for employers throughout the state to enable their employees to donate funds for their environmental non-profit of choice. It happens through a simple paycheck deduction. Our guests were:

Janet Maykus is the executive director of EarthShare of Texas. Janet has almost 30 years’ experience in the not for profit world where she has served as a chaplain, the director of spiritual care and bereavement for a hospice, a faculty member at a seminary, the director of church relations for Texas Christian University, and a development coordinator for the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems in Austin. She is thrilled to be in the position because she believes the protection and care of the world is now the most important call in her life. If she could be anywhere right now she'd be camping in Big Bend.

Fleetwood Jacobs is the Campaign Director for EarthShare of Texas where she has worked for the last 5 years. She manages the City of Austin Combined Charities Campaign which raised almost $500,000 for local and statewide charities last year. Previous to EarthShare of Texas she served as the Development Director for Project Transitions. She and her family love spending time in all of the Lakes, Creeks and Swimming Holes in and around the Austin area.

Austin’s more pressing environmental, social and economic issue is mobility for its citizens!

Project Connect is a plan designed to create a system of high-capacity transit options that will connect people, places and opportunities in an affordable, efficient and sustainable way. High-capacity transit travels the entire trip, or a portion of its trip, on a dedicated lane or guideway.

The goals of Project Connect are to identify and evaluate potential transit projects over the next two years. Capital Metro will work with local agencies, stakeholders and the public to identify high-capacity transit solutions that will offer options for travel into, out of and around Central Austin. Central Texas has seen many transportation studies done in recent years, by both public and private organizations. Project Connect isn’t another new beginning. We will take those ideas and — together with the people of the Austin area — decide which projects will move us all forward.

Our guests on Shades of Green are integral leaders for Project Connect:

Amy Peck - Communications Specialist with Capital Metro.

Sam Sargent – Community Involvement Coordinator with Capital Metro.

Will the 2017 Texas Legislature Stifle Effort to Protect Our Environment and Slow the Grown of Clean Energy? 03-30-2017

Our special Shades of Green guests are keeping their eyes on the Texas Legislature to make sure we are not sent back to the dark environmental ages (as we are seeing on the National front). Representatives from several local environmental organizations shared their legislative priorities and assessments for the 2017 Legislative Session. They also offered suggestions regarding how we all can participate and make our voices heard. Our guests were:

Andrew Dobbs – Central Texas Program Director with Texas Campaign for the Environment

Luke Metzger – Director at Environment Texas

Cyrus Reed – Conservation Director at the Lone Star Chapter, Sierra Club

Earth Day Texas is ranked as the largest Earth Day celebration in the world, clocking over 130,000 attendees in 2016 in Dallas. Its “sister” event in Austin, Earth Day ATX is a local event with similar activities and excitement. EARTHxFilm, featuring environmental films is the newest major component of Earth Day Texas.

In preparation for this year's Earth Day celebrations in Austin and Dallas our guests were Ryan Brown, President of Earth Day Texas and

Michael Cain, President of EARTHxFilm Festival.

Part 2 - Water and Gas Pipeline Issues – How Gas Pipelines are Affecting Native Lands in Texas 03-16-2017

Recognizing the importance of protecting our water and ensuring that everyone has access to clean water, the United Nations marked March 22nd each year as World Water Day. Part 2 or our series focuses on environmental and social effects of gas pipelines in west Texas.

Lori Davis, Environmental Activist, is working with allies against the TransPecos Pipeline in west Texas. This pipeline is operated by the same Texas-based company responsible for the North Dakota Access Pipeline (Energy Transfer Partners) and will gut areas near Big Bend National Park and Balmorhea State Park for hydro-fracking in Fort Stockton, piped under the Rio Grande River, and the natural gas will be sold on the international market through Mexico. There is an indigenous camp set up called Two Rivers Camp, which is modeled after the DAPL resistance where people are chaining themselves to equipment and being arrested.

Juan Mancias, Tribal Chair of the Corrizo Comecrudo Tribal Nation, is working with a coalition of activist to stop the TransPecos Pipeline to protect their sacred land.

Part 1 - Water and Gas Pipeline Issues – Protecting our Clean Water in Texas 03-16-2017

Recognizing the importance of protecting our water and ensuring that everyone has access to clean water, the United Nations marked March 22nd each year as World Water Day. Our 2-part series on water and pipeline issues starts with a discussion of water issues in Texas with David Foster, Statewide Program Director for Clean Water Action Texas (CWA).

He discussed CWA's organizing efforts and important upcoming lobby effort on Texas Water Day (3/22) in tandem with World Water Day. Other topics will include the Alliance for a Clean Texas, made up of many statewide groups, like Public Citizen, Texas Campaign for the Environment (CE), and Sierra Club, to present a united front against hydro-fracking deep well injections, reforming the Texas Railroad Commission under the Sunset Review process, and methane emissions.

Part 2 - Texas is Leading the Way Toward a Clean Energy Economy – CleanTX 03-09-2017

Shades of Green produced a two part series on Clean Energy in the State of Texas. Together with our guests we drilled down into the data, discussing how the clean energy economy is doing in Texas, how many people it employs, and how much energy it creates. We also talked about this year's Texas Legislative session and what our state lawmakers have planned for our state's energy future.

In Part 2 our guests were Dwain Rogers, Executive Director of CleanTX and Jose Beceiro, Co-Chair of the CleanTX Board of Directors

CleanTX is an economic development and professional association for clean energy technologies, known as cleantech. The mission of CleanTX is to accelerate the growth of the cleantech industry in Texas through information exchange, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. Founded in 2006, CleanTX is the networking engine for cleantech in Central Texas, a $2.5 Billion industry that employs 20,000 individuals. The CleanTX community encompasses over 250 companies and an active ecosystem of entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and regional partners.

Part 1 - Texas is Leading the Way toward a Clean Energy Economy - The Environmental Defense Fund's New Report 03-09-2017

Shades of Green produced a two part series on Clean Energy in the State of Texas. Together with our guests we drilled down into the data, discussing how the clean energy economy is doing in Texas, how many people it employs, and how much energy it creates. We also talked about this year's Texas Legislative session and what our state lawmakers have planned for our state's energy future.

In Part 1 our guest was John Hall - Associate Vice President of Clean Energy for the Environmental Defense Fund. He is the author of a new report out from EDF called, "Texas' Clean Energy Economy: Prioritizing Jobs, Investments, and Economic Growth." The report outlines the current state of energy in Texas and explains how Texas has been able to begin transitioning to a clean energy economy. The reports focuses on the economic benefits of embracing natural gas, solar and wind power, as well energy efficiency and demand response. In the end, the report also lists recommendations for our state's leaders on the best ways to embrace and strengthen Texas' clean energy economy.

"Texas has a global competitive advantage because of its wind, solar, and natural gas resources and potential, as well as the opportunity to save money through energy efficiency. Moreover, wind and solar power generation now employs more than four times as many Texans than fossil-fuel electricity, and 85 percent of Texas voters support increasing clean power. State leaders need to leverage this advantage to provide Texans a cleaner and healthier, as well as less water-intensive and wasteful, electricity system. They can do so by developing and implementing a bold, comprehensive Texas energy plan to grow the state’s economy, create jobs, attract investment, and save billions of dollars." - from the Texas' Clean Energy Economy Report. The report is available on line at this link to EDF.