This week, Texas Campaign for the Environment supporters and allies sent over 3,000 comments to the Texas Railroad Commissioners and Candidates for those seats in the November election. The Railroad Commission is the state agency responsible for oversight of oil and gas companies in Texas. We asked them to restrict and reduce reliance on oil and gas; prioritize production cuts for producers and fields with the worst records of excessive flaring; and, manage the decline of oil and gas production and the transition to a clean economy for Texas.
If you haven’t taken action yet, you still can! The Railroad Commission relaxed the deadline. Click here to send your comments to the Railroad Commissioners and Candidates.
Thank you for taking this important action.
Now take the next step! Send a Letter to the Editor…
Once you’ve sent your comments, please take the next step – Send a Letter to the Editor at your local newspaper or favorite online news source. Feel free to copy, paste, and sign one of the sample Letters to the Editor below. However, your own personal story from your own knowledge, experience, and concerns will resonate the most strongly. But… be brief! Letters to the Editor are typically only 150-250 words maximum.
Send an email and/or use the media’s online submission form.
Submit your Letter to the Editor to:
Austin American Statesman Send email to views@statesman.com, click here for our Letters Guidelines and FAQ.
Dallas Morning News Copy and Paste in their form https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2018/12/02/submit-a-letter-to-the-editor/
Denton Record-Chronicle Use form https://dentonrc.com/site/forms/online_services/letter_editor/
El Paso Times Use form https://static.elpasotimes.com/lettertoeditor/
Houston Chronicle Email viewpoints@chron.com or use their form https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/submit/
San Antonio Express-News Send email to letters@express-news.net
Waco Tribune-Herald Send email letters@wacotrib.com or use their form https://www.wacotrib.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/submit/
Please let us know if you send your Letter to the Editor or comments to outlets not on our list above. That’s great, too. Email donna AT texasenvironment DOT org so we can know and continue to communicate with that news source.
Thank you! We deeply appreciate your concern, courage, and action steps to help build this movement to transition to a clean economy in Texas!
Sample Letters to the Editor
Copy and paste into your email or personalize if you wish.
SAMPLE 1
I am deeply concerned about health and climate threats from toxic oil and gas production in Texas. Medical experts link chronic illnesses such as asthma and heart disease to air pollution – including extensive pollution from oil and gas. Recent research shows evidence that exposure to air pollution and the resulting pre-existing health conditions are linked to more deaths from Coronavirus.
With the drop in oil prices and the big glut in the market, we don’t need more production at this time. I support protecting Texans’ health by restricting harmful and wasteful practices in the oil and gas industry.
Name
Address
SAMPLE 2
I write to urge the Texas Railroad Commission to vote for mandatory cuts in oil production. We live in extraordinary times and urgent action is needed to protect Texans from the environmental effects of climate change and the economic collapse in oil prices due to oversupply and drop in demand due to the Covid pandemic.
Independent oil industry representatives want cuts to level the playing field with the large multinational oil and gas companies who can afford to store overages during the recession. Storage is nearing capacity and overproducing is a wasteful process. The current practice of flaring off excess gas is especially harmful to human health and the environment.
Name
Address
SAMPLE 3
In the wake of the collapse of oil prices, I support prioritizing production cuts for oil companies with the worst records of excessive flaring at drilling sites. This is a waste of resources and harmful to our climate. This over-production leads to waste and more pollution from burning it off. It doesn’t make sense to continue to produce more when we are reaching storage capacity and no one is driving right now.
I want to see a plan to downsize the production of oil and gas throughout the next decade and manage the just transition to a cleaner economy for Texas.
Name
Address
SAMPLE 4
Gas flaring causes air pollution that is harmful to Texans. Medical experts like the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association have documented clear evidence that industrial air pollution such as from oil and gas production contributes to chronic health conditions that many of our families and friends suffer from here in Texas.
I want Texans to be protected from pollution from gas flaring by reducing production by the companies with the worst records of flaring in our state.
Name
Address
Again, Thank you so much for taking action by communicating publicly about this important issue. Your voice makes a difference!
Background Information
Texas has been riding the bucking bronco of the oil and gas industry’s boom and bust cycles for a century now. Sometimes it seems like it pays off, but it doesn’t for the workers who fall off without jobs when every cycle’s big ride ends. And it doesn’t pay off in good health for either workers or people who live next to polluting petroleum refineries or oil and gas pipelines.
The costs are too high for all of us who together are now experiencing the disasters of climate change — extreme weather, wildfires, flooding, drought, species die-off, and increasing illness. The price is too high for the planet’s ecosystems.
It’s time, Texas, for a managed and just transition from fossil fuels to a healthier clean economy. That transition is gaining momentum as the oil industry declines and we consider what is essential – or not – in the current Covid health crisis. We must plan and implement economic activities that are best for people and the planet.
We’re ready to bus out of the oil and gas boom-and-bust and make the transition to a cleaner and healthier economy in Texas.
Tags: clean government, oil and gas drilling
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