My name is Tray Bidgewater. I am a Houstonian - I have lived in this city for 18 years. My friends are here, as are my family and my loved ones.

That is why I am launching this petition.

Climate change is very real, rapidly sped up by human carbon output, and poses a substantial threat to us. The world’s largest scientific body, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, proclaimed:

"The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society.”

A huge majority - 97% - of climate scientists concur. The Pentagon has declared it a national security issue. The oceans are rising, wildfires more frequent, natural disasters more intense, and agriculture more difficult to grow. The threat posed by climate change is undeniable, and the time we have to act is limited.

Houston has a unique relationship with the impending climate disaster. We disproportionately contribute to it, with our extreme reliance on automobiles and massive fossil fuel sector, and we are disproportionately hurt by it. Houston is perpetually threatened by floods and natural disaster, and climate change threatens to exacerbate the impact of these processes.



New York City recently declared a “climate emergency” that signified the city’s shift in priorities, placing climate change at the heart of it’s ambitions. This is good. This is a major first step, and I believe that Houston absolutely must follow.



No level of government has the privilege of being agnostic on this issue. We must follow the science, and design public policy around it. The ramifications of not doing so are huge, and should we not act, our descendants will collectively look back with shame. Climate change will be the great challenge of our era. We, the people, must act with courage and demand that our government make the difficult choices needed.



For the purposes of this petition, I will abstain from prescribing specific policy solutions. I do, however, believe that city council and the mayor must:

1.) Declare a formal climate emergency.

2.) Establish a climate change task force.

3.) Begin drafting and implementing policy that decreases our carbon footprint in an economically equitable way.