January E-News

Included in this edition:

SAVE THE DATE! Our spring webinar series is coming soon!

Join us on February 23 at 7pm CT for an engaging conversation, "New Tools to Protect Communities from Air Pollution and Heat" featuring speakers Dr. Sheila Modi and Dr. Colin Phillips. Details and sign up link coming next week!

Austin Leaders Push for Fossil Fuel Expansion

Mayor Watson and Council Member Vela are pushing Austin Energy to put a deposit on overpriced gas-burning peakers (power plants) without examining better options.

Austin Energy is already increasing base rates at 5% per year. Take action today! Email Mayor Watson and the Austin City Council to ask that they examine all options for meeting energy needs affordably.

The Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan adopted by the Austin City Council in 2024 recommitted to achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. It established a process - which includes public input and analysis of clean energy alternatives and the impact on meeting the 2035 goal - that Austin Energy and the Austin City Council must follow before purchasing gas peakers.

No public input has been gathered, Austin Energy still hasn't stated where the peakers would be located, and clean energy alternatives haven't been analyzed.

Make Polluters Pay Week of Action

For decades, fossil fuel companies have knowingly fueled the climate crisis — all while raking in billions in profits and blocking meaningful action. Now, our communities are paying the price through deadly heatwaves, floods, fires, and rising seas.

That’s why from January 26-30, people around the country are coming together for the Make Polluters Pay Week of Action — to demand justice, accountability, and climate reparations from the corporations most responsible for this crisis.

Your voice, your presence, and your action can help shift the cost of climate destruction off of communities — and onto the polluters who caused it. Read TX PSR Program Director, Rebecca Bernhardt's statement here. Take action and tell your member of Congress: No Immunity for Big Oil!

CHEER Seminar Series: Vehicle Electrification

UT Austin's Center for Health and Environment, Education and Research at Dell Medical School will be hosting a zoom webinar on January 21 from 3:30-4:30pm titled, "Environmental health co-benefits of vehicle electrification: are real-world impacts detectable yet?". This session will be led by Erika Garcia, PhD, MPH. You can find more information and register here.

Please Participate! TMC Healthy Connections Action Plan Survey

If you are an employee, student, patient, resident or visitor of the Texas Medical Center, please consider taking part in the "My Mobility Values Survey" that is a part of the Healthy Connections Action Plan (HCAP), a year-long planning effort to create a community-supported vision for walking, biking, rolling*, transit, and driving throughout the TMC. The plan will identify where mobility improvements are most needed, recommend specific projects and programs, and provide an action-oriented roadmap for implementation. You can fill out the survey here.

Submit Public Comment by January 20: CAFE Fuel Efficiency Standards Repeal

Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards require automakers to improve average fuel efficiency over time — reducing gasoline use, air pollution, and consumer fuel expenses. Thanks to CAFE, we’ve gone from 13.1 mpg in 1975 to 27.1mpg in 2023.

The Administration is moving to weaken these protections by ending the Biden-era efficiency standards, dramatically slowing required efficiency improvements to just 0.5% per year, and eliminating penalties for automakers that fail to meet fuel-economy targets. At the same time, it has rolled back incentives that support cleaner vehicles, including electric-vehicle tax credits and federal investments in charging infrastructure. Take action by submitting a comment here.

Webinar: Implementation of Medication for Opioid use Disorder Treatment During a Natural Disaster

Join The University of Washington REACH Center on January 30 at 11AM CT for a webinar to highlight examples of research that applies implementation science methodologies in a climate change and health context. Doctors Springgate and Palinkas will present on the PROUD-LA study, which used implementation science to study medication for opioid use disorder treatment during climate-related disasters. Register here.

Join a Committee!

Texans Ending Nuclear Dangers (TEND)

Next meeting, Thursday, January 15, 3pm CT, online

To learn more about joining TEND, please contact Executive Director Marj Plumb at director@texaspsr.org

Join the discussion or just listen! The TEND Committee members are health professionals, advocates, community members, researchers, and others working state-wide to influence public awareness, civic engagement, and national policy toward a nuclear-weapons-free world.

Environmental Health Committee (EHC)

Next meeting Wednesday, January 14, 5pm CT, online.

Join Us! We are currently seeking health professionals across disciplines — physicians, nurses, public health experts, and others — to join the EHC and help shape its priorities and actions. Are you committed to addressing the health impacts of environmental threats across Texas? Fill out this form — we’d love to hear from you!

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Give to Texas PSR

Thank you to everyone who supported our end-of-year fundraising campaign. Together, we’re protecting communities, the climate, advocating for peace, and growing a stronger, science-based health voice for democracy.

It is still not too late to give so we can achieve even more in 2026! THANK YOU!

DONATE NOW

OR to mail your contribution to us, please send a check to our mailing address: Texas PSR, 3571 Far West Blvd. #3428 Austin, TX 78731

As a registered non-profit under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.