Many in my home state of Texas boast that everything is bigger and better. But in the case of some new coal powered power plants, bigger is definitely not better. Dallas-based utilities company TXU is proposing to spend $11 Billion on 11 new coal fired power plants in 8 Texas counties. In a state that is already the countries leader in carbon emissions, this plan that would more than double TXU’s carbon output, increasing it by a massive 78 million tons of CO2 per year.

To put that whopping 78 million tons of new CO2 pollution in context:

-These new coal plants carbon emissions will be larger than Japan’s entire emission reduction commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (i.e. it will negate Japan’s commitment to Kyoto).

-They will put out twice the amount Canada committed to reducing in Kyoto.

-They will put out more than the combined emissions of 21 US States.

-They will put out more emissions than many countries, including Sweden, Denmark and Ireland

- They will put out as much emissions as adding 14 million new cars to the roads

That’s a lot of new carbon dioxide, the major cause of climate change, for one corporation to be spewing into the atmosphere year after year for decades to come.

Plus these plants create all sorts of other environmental health problems with groundwater quality, dirty air and increasing mercury levels in heavily populated areas around Dallas-Ft. Worth and Waco.

Texas Governor Rick Perry for his part has “fast-tracked” the permitting process for his friends at TXU. Which means to build the plants–TXU does not need to look at alternatives to its climate crazy proposal in order to get state approval and permits. The recently re-elected Perry has thrown in with the climate criminals and sped up the permitting process. The permits could be approved as early as April 2007, and available, cheaper, quicker and more climate friendly alternatives will never have even been considered.

Right now a fight is underway to prevent the permitting and it includes an unusual cast of characters. Besides the usual suspects in the environmental community, 20 Texas Mayors (including the mayors of Dallas, Houston, Austin and Ft Worth), Republican leaders in the state legislature and the evangelical community have stepped up and said “No New Coal Plants!”

Dallas Mayor Laura Miller has called this “a national issue” and urged further analysis on cleaner technology. Evangelical groups have held prayer vigils outside the governor’s mansion and TXU’s headquarters in Dallas. Texas environmentalists held a ten day hunger strike in protest.

The next step after the permitting is for TXU to secure financing for the $11 billion it needs to build these wrong-headed coal power plants. That’s where RAN’s Global Finance Campaign has been helping out. We’ve been rattling the cages of Citibank and Morgan Stanley about these plants and letting them know that stopping this project is a climate protection priority.

We’ll be rattling a lot of other cages as well on this issue. These plants are the 1^st step in 100 new dirty coal plants being built nationwide pushing the United States and the world past the tipping point on climate change.

Let’s start by turning up the heat on TXU–Write TXU CEO John Wilder an email and tell him climate protection MUST trump corporate greed or we’re all cooked. There is a better way.