Editing Austin, Texas (section)

====Environmental movement====
The distinguishing political movement of Austin politics has been that of the [[environmental movement]], which spawned the parallel neighborhood movement, then the more recent conservationist movement (as typified by the Hill Country Conservancy),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zaragosa |first=Sara |date=August 28, 2009 |title=Conservancy shifts into high gear; Efforts steer land away from development |work=Austin Business Journal |url=http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/08/31/story4.html |access-date=July 25, 2010 |archive-date=August 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828183400/http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/08/31/story4.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and eventually the current ongoing debate about "sense of place" and preserving the Austin quality of life. Much of the environmental movement has matured into a debate on issues related to saving and creating an Austin "sense of place."<ref name="Swearingen 2010" /> In 2012, Austin became just one of a few cities in [[Texas]] to ban the sale and use of plastic bags. However, the ban ended in 2018 due to a court ruling that regarded all bag bans in the state to contravene the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act.<ref name="Hoffberger">{{Cite news |last=Hoffberger |first=Chase |date=June 22, 2018 |title=Say Goodbye to the Plastic Bag Ban; Texas Supreme Court rules city ordinances can't override state law |work=The Austin Chronicle |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2018-06-22/say-goodbye-to-the-plastic-bag-ban}}</ref> In 2016, Austin became the first Gold designee of the [[SolSmart]] program,<ref>{{Cite web |title=500 Communities Designated! Get Ready for 500 More |url=https://solsmart.org/news/500-communities-designated-get-ready-for-500-more |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=SolSmart |language=en}}</ref> a national program from the [[United States Department of Energy|U.S. Department of Energy]] that recognizes local governments for enacting solar-friendly measures at the local level.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-27 |title=Austin wins award for improving access to solar energy |first1=Rosie|last1=Newberry|url=https://www.kxan.com/news/austin-wins-award-for-improving-access-to-solar-energy/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=KXAN Austin |language=en-US |archive-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615191324/https://www.kxan.com/news/austin-wins-award-for-improving-access-to-solar-energy/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-10-03 |title=Austin Achieves Award for Solar Energy |url=https://texashillcountry.com/austin-award-solar-energy/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=Texas Hill Country |language=en-US |archive-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615191324/https://texashillcountry.com/austin-award-solar-energy/ |url-status=live }}</ref>