Texas Thinks Green

Environmentalists and a few local businesses want to have a greener Austin and are pushing the City of Austin to do more for a cleaner more conservative Austin. This grant, if passed, will give Texas $5.8 million for attic insulation, weather stripping, high efficiency appliances, and other improvements to low-income households over the next two years. The building of a solar panel and having "energy districts" might be seen by 2015 and by doing this will keep electricity demand low, so that Austin can avoid a power plant built by 2020. In order to have greener environment we have to start somehwereand i hope that this is a good start for the state of Texas. I really don't know how effective the use of solar panels is, but if it will help pollution and lower the use of power plants i would like to have it installed in my house and would be great if the government is paying for part of the cost or allthe costs. I'm glad that Austin is starting to change it's view on the environment, as we can tell, the population is increasing rapidly as every year passes and to think for a cleaner future is a smart and right way to go. If having solar panels by 2015 or 2020 becomes a law in Texas, not only will Texas be a cleaner state but it will also be giving out employment out to Texans. Ireally like how Wood and Reed are ambitious about cutting the energy demand of megawatts by 2020, and not satisfied byt the Austin Energy goal of 800megawatts andstriving for 1,000mw goal, it will put one foot ahead of the other states by keeping the planet cleaner. The way Austin officials are trying to keep Texas as a clean state by wanting to build a recycling facility in Ausitn, my morning topic, and the use of solar panels makes me feel proud of living in Texas of the goals Woood and Reed want to achieve, i know i will put my grain of sand in this effort for Texas.

Texas Beaten Future

My comment is on Soheb's, "Can we stop Child Abuse in Central Texas?" Everyone hates to see parents beating up their child or hear about families being torn apart on the news. I detest people who neglect or abuse their most precious gift in life and that is the ability to give life, especially since the kids in the story, are from Texas. I agree with Soheb and dislike very much the large number of 1,509 deaths of reported cases of neglect and abuse. Now these deaths only include the numbers from 2001 to 2007 that are reported, im sure there are hundreds maybe thousands more, that neighbors or family members didnt report to a higer authority or the police. It is required by Texas and federal law that minors attend school, in all these cases, i wonder if the teachers or the friends of these kids ever notice the signs of abuse? Students spend a tremendous of time at school and are seen five times a week by their teacher or by the faculty who are all considerd as role models by the community. I think we should train teachers and students signs of child abuse or neglect, also having a teacher parent meeting not only helps the relationship between parent and teacher, but also demonstrates to your child that you care about their future. I am actually a little surprised that Texas made the program Relief Nursery of Central Texas in 2006 and not any time sooner, knowing that the number of abuses was twice the size then any other state. I think facilities like the Relief Nursery of Central Texas is a good start, but we can do better than that as Texans. Just by asking out own kids simple questions such as, how was school today? Or did anything interesting happen to you today? These questions can lead to a closer look at your child's life and who he is surrounded by whether it's a good friend or a strange friend who is always quiet. Child abuse can be happening right now, next door at your neighbor's house and we wouldn't even know it. Every ten hours 80 kids are abused here in Texas, it would be great if we could drop the numbers of abuse from double to at least average. Here in Texas we all love big things, but the large numbers of child abuse is not something to be proud of and is quite shameful, now my question to you is, will you help a child when they need help or will you let the numbers keep going up?

H1N1 Shots for Convicts

Texas prisons and Texans are in conflict over why should criminals deserve to get H1N1 shots before the citizens of Texas. The article by: Mike Ward, states that the shots will go to "those most at risk". I think those who really need it should get the shot, criminal or not. You got pregnant women in prisons and hundreds maybe thousands of people who visit the prisoners on a day to day basis. The Texas prison system is the second largest in the U.S. and has more than 150,000 convicts, why let all these people die over the neglect of a shot? If we allow them to become easily infected, doesn't that make us criminals too? We have a chance to decrease the spreading the spreading of the H1N1 virus, i mean come on, yes they have committed crimes and have done wrong in the past, but what if some aren't guilty or about to finish their jail sentence? These are all questions we should ask ourselves before we start to act selfish. To be honest we can get a shot at a clinic any time we want to, some of us are just to lazy to go and get one. Convicts are there for years and some for life, never able to go anywhere outside the barb wired fence that separates them from us. If the 203,000 vaccinations arrive to the prisons as requested, the officials will distribute the shots to the "offender's medical status- not the custody level." I really dont know how to contain a virus, but the way the prisoner officials wanting to reduce the spreading, sounds like a good start to contain the virus.
We may not care much for the prisoners or the sentence they are serving for the crime they committed, but we should because our neighbor, co-worker, or the guy at the fast food place taking our order can have a realtive or friend in jail that might have come in contact with the H1N1 virus. In other words, you don't have to step a foot in a prison to get the virus, but if there's one less person contaminated, it's better for the health of the guards and the Texas citizens.