Instead, the commission and its nearly 1,000 employees oversee a Texas oil and gas industry whose production has soared since the start of the fracking boom more than 15 years ago. An industry regulator, and an allyĭespite its name, the Texas Railroad Commission has no authority over railroads - the state moved that power elsewhere in 2005. “These votes have led to increased safety, protected our state’s natural resources and our environment, all while maintaining a regulatory climate that promotes energy independence and security and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in communities across the state.”Ĭraddick did not provide direct answers to questions about whether she has recused herself from decisions involving companies that have donated to her campaigns or which she owns shares in, or whether financial connections with the industry have influenced the commission’s actions. “Chairman Christi Craddick has a proven history of taking principled votes that consider fact and merit alone,” Craddick spokesperson Mia Hutchens Hale said in a statement responding to POLITICO’s questions about the chair’s industry ties. The agency also points to figures showing that Texas has seen a sharp decline in the industry’s methane releases since they peaked in 2019, a year before the pandemic sent oil production crashing. Through spokespeople, the commissioners said they are providing the industry with proper oversight while complying with Texas’ ethics rules. “Being able to reduce methane emissions in the Texas oil and gas sector is a critical part of the climate movement. “Texas produces more greenhouse gas emissions than any other state and we produce more oil and gas than any other state,” Palacios said in an interview. The Railroad Commission “is pretty important to Biden’s plans on methane,” said Virginia Palacios, who also heads Commission Shift, a nonprofit that advocates for changes to the Texas agency and compiled an earlier review of Craddick’s finances. One member of a White House climate task force echoed that sentiment, saying the commission has been on the radar of aides drawing up Biden’s climate policies. “All the Biden’s administration’s plans on methane run through the Railroad Commission,” said Chrysta Castañeda, a Dallas-based energy lawyer who ran an unsuccessful campaign as a Democrat to join the commission in 2020. The commission plays a pivotal role by approving the companies’ methane releases - something its critics say it does all too readily. Scientists blame methane for one-third of the Earth’s temperature rise since the start of the industrial revolution, and Texas’ oil companies lead the industry in releasing the gas by venting or burning it. The Biden administration’s ability to work with - or around - this agency will have a large bearing on the president’s hopes of slashing U.S. Led by the Television Bureau of Advertisers, this annual campaign is intended to make our roads safer by underscoring the dangerous and life-changing consequences of drinking and driving, and by promoting safer choices.Documents disclosing political contributions to Christi Craddick. However, there is still more work to be done. In fact, through continued support of Project Roadblock and in combination with other drinking and driving prevention efforts, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities have decreased 25%, since 2004. Project Roadblock has proven its ability to inspire change, create impact, and save lives. That’s why WRBL News 3 and our sponsors are proud to once again support Project Roadblock. The remaining fatalities consisted of 3,070 motor vehicle occupants (29%) and 962 nonoccupants (9%). Of the 10,511 people who died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in 2018, there were 6,479 drivers (62%) who had BACs of. Drunk driving kills someone in America every 53 minutes, and represents approximately 31% of all traffic fatalities. Thus, when decision time came, they would consider themselves merely “buzzed” and get behind the wheel. Research shows that many people think anti-drunk messages are targeted at overtly drunk drivers, and not at them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |