ZAVALETA NAMED TO EPA BOARD, TOUTS WIND/SUN ENERGY FOR SOUTH TEXAS

By Juan Montoya

When Dr. Tony Zavaleta attended the first meeting of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Good Neighbor Environmental Board, he heard members from El Paso and the Imperial Valley in California expounding on the potential of renewable energy sources in their respective regions.
He was appointed in January and attended the first meeting this March. Zavaleta, who has felt the hot Texas sun while working on the old family homestead ranch along the Rio Grande and felt the constant southeast winds characteristic of South Texas couldn't contain himself.
"I told them that we in South Texas have plenty of both, sunshine and wind, to supply our needs and then some," he recalled. Zavaleta, a Brownsville native, an anthropology professor and former city commissioner — was named to a federal board regarding U.S.-Mexico border issues.
Zavaleta said he was named in January and attended his first meeting in March in Washington D.C. His nomination was made through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and was approved by the office of the Governor and submitted to the EPA. Members of the board are appointed by EPA administrator for two-year terms with the possibility of reappointment to a second term.
“The mandate for this year’s work has to do with renewable and sustainable energy,” Zavaleta said. “It seems to me that there’s so much that could be done. In looking at green industry and green jobs, so much of that needs to be developed here in our local area, not just Brownsville, but the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas.” Zavaleta said he has studied what has been done other places that don't have the resources that South Texas has and is optimistic that the benefits of the "green" mandates from the Obama Administration can be of benefit to the residents of South Texas.
"In places like Iowa and Minnesota where they have a tiny percentage of the resources in wind and sunshine that we have here they have nurtured a strong renewable resource industry that runs their schools and their public buildings and lessens the burden on the taxpayers," he said. "What are we waiting for?"
He is currently a candidate for the city commission and faces opponents Pankaj “PK” Patel and John L. Villarreal for city commission for District 4 in the May 14 election. Zavaleta said recommendations are made as a board, not as individuals, but he would represent the border, the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College and the city.
“Wherever I can insert the concept of the lower border of the Rio Grande Valley and its needs, its desperate and crying needs, I will,” he told the Brownsville Herald.
Zavaleta has been a commissioner previously, having been elected to four-year terms in 1983 and 1987. He said he did not think the board appointment would have any effect on his service to the city commission if he is elected.
“I would think that having a Brownsville native and a city commissioner, if I’m lucky enough to be elected again — if I’m fortunate enough to be elected — participate in a board which hopefully will ultimately impact the area positively would be a good thing,” he said. For now, however, he said that South Texas must seize the day and take advantage of the resources that are readily available to generate energy, fuel commerce, and ultimately, create employment opportunities for local residents.
"The people of this city are tired of dogs, plastic bags and carrots," he said. "We have to put people first when we think of economic development."