Denton's successful citizens revolt is off the streets for now and in the courts. The next organized front in the battle over urban gas drilling in DFW is the Fort Worth suburb of Mansfield. And hard-pressed residents there need your help in turning the tide.

In response to months of grassroots effort on the ground, and only after the very first presentation by a physician on the medical consequences of fracking, Mansfield's city council has called for a "work session" to "discuss" changing its circa-2009 drilling ordinance for next week.

Showing up next Wednesday means you're saying no to the bullying tactics the Mansfield city government are using to silence local residents. 

READ MORE FROM DOWNWINDERS AT RISK

Solar advocates are encouraged to speak at a public hearing prior to the NRH City Council vote on a new solar ordinance. 

READ THE GREENSOURCEDFW STORY

Solar advocate info: Dan Lepinski, dan@ntree.org

Join Karin & Michael Cagle, Fort Worth Sierra Club and the honorable Lon Burnam for a holiday fundraiser supporting GSDFW Sustainable Leadership Award winner Texas Campaign for the Environment. 

Tickets: $25. RSVP 214-599-7840 or tinyurl.com/txenvironment

RSVP: Mica.Jones@FortWorthTexas.Gov

The city of Fort Worth is undertaking one of the largest green initiatives yet with the development of a comprehensive solid waste management plan. 

The plan will serve as a blueprint for how waste is handled and managed in Cowtown for the next 20 years. The previous plan – created in 1995 – addressed a number of issues, including ensuring adequate landfill space. This time around, the city is looking to involve all residents of Fort Worth to answer tougher questions:

• What is waste, and what part of waste is a resource?

• Which resources can we recapture for value, and what’s the best way to do that?

• What behaviors are Fort Worth residents and businesses willing to adopt to make a greener city?

Just the facts

Fort Worth is growing

• It’s grown by 50 percent over the last 20 years.

The city of North Richland Hills Planning and Zoning Commission is hearing public comments in regard to the city's plan to update the solar ordinance. 

Solar advocates are encouraged to attend and show up early around 6 p.m. to ensure they get a time to speak.

Solar advocate info: Dan Lepinski, dan@ntree.org

City info: John Pitstick, jpitstick@nrhtx.com

Guest speaker Calvine Tillman, former mayor of DISH. 

Citizen's Climate Lobby (CCL) is a non-profit nonpartisan organization working on creating the political will for a livable world. CCL's mission is to empower normal citizens, who care about their world, to engage in conversations with their elected officials.

Agenda for this month’s meeting: Introductions and action items for the month from 11am to noon. From noon to 1pm, we will listen to the national call with the guest speaker, Charles Kennel, former director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He recently co-authored an article in the journal Nature arguing that it is time to abandon the 2C warming goal and track a range of vital signs instead, provoking “hot” debate in the climate science world.

Info: Shawn Reeder at dallas@citizensclimatelobby.org

To learn more about our organization, dial in to our intro call Oct 29th at 7pm. Conference number: 1-866-642-1665. Pass code: 440699#

Presenter: Russel Smith, Executive Director of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association ("TREIA").  

In the 2013 legislative session, solar energy won some important victories, due in part to the dedication and actions by many individuals. At one of our past meetings, a state legislator told us as few as five or six people contacting her could make a difference. 

At our special Nov.1 meeting, Russel will talk about the next legislation efforts we can expect from TREIA and others - and what we can do to help. 

Following the presentation, tour the Dallas Makerspace.

Mansfield Gas Well Awareness, a new group of Mansfield residents, is sponsoring what’s believed to be the first DFW presentation by a medical doctor on the health effects of fracking as part of a campaign to re-write the city’s six-year old drilling ordinance they say no longer reflects the best science, or provides enough public protection.

Dr. Anne Epstein, M.D. is an internal medicine specialist who graduated from Baylor Medical School and sits on the Lubbock County Board of Health. She’s a member of the Board’s Oil and Gas Advisory Committee that recently voted to recommend setbacks of 1,500 feet separating homes, workplaces, and schools from wells. Mansfield currently allows wells as close as 600 feet to residences, with post drilling development up to 100 feet.

READ Star-Telegram article.