Environmental Headlines, May 20-26
NEW STATE PLAN WILL AID RESIDENTS WHO NEED HELP EVACUATING
Beaumont Enterprise 05/24/2006
BEAUMONT – Texans did many things right in responding to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but they would do even better if faced with a hurricane again, the state’s emergency management chief said as the Texas Hurricane Conference opened here Tuesday.
PLAN SEEKS TO SMOOTH EVACUATION FOR NEEDY
INSURANCE FOR WINDS NO LONGER A BREEZE
Houston Chronicle, 5/19/06
Thousands of homeowners will lose their windstorm insurance coverage this year as insurance companies continue to curb their exposure to hurricane losses along the Texas Gulf Coast.
HOUSTON FIRMS LAUNCH DISASTER-BASED COMMUNICATION TOOL
Houston Business Journal, 5/22/06
Easterly and Co and Infovine Interactive have teamed up to launch Employee OUTPOST, an Internet-based interface that aims to keep companies and employees in direct communication before, during, and after a disaster, natural or otherwise.
AGAIN, CITY IS DOG BITE CAPITAL
Houston Chronicle, 5/21/06
Mail carriers beware: After a five-year lull, Houston is once again the undisputed Dog Bite, USA.
RICHMOND RUCKUS
Houston Chronicle, 5/21/06
Should the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s long-contemplated “University Line” be located along Richmond Avenue? Or should it be in what was identified in 1980 as a priority corridor and named/called the Southwest/Westpark corridor?
EXXON MOBIL INVESTORS WANT TO MEET ON GLOBAL WARMING
Houston Chronicle, 5/18/06
NEW YORK – A group of pension funds and institutional investors on Thursday accused Exxon Mobil Corp. of failing to act on global warming concerns and demanded a meeting with the company’s board.
UNDER FIRE, EXXON MOBIL TOUTS ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD
FREEPORT PLANT JOINS CLEAN TEXAS PROGRAM
Brazosport Facts, 5/23/06
FREEPORT – The Huntsman Ethyleneamines Plant became the first chemical plant in the state to be recognized as a gold member of the Clean Texas Program, a voluntary environmental leadership program, in an Austin ceremony last week.
NEW START FOR FAMILIAR FACE: CLARENCE RAY NAGIN
New York Times, 5/22/06
NEW ORLEANS, May 21 – As he delivered his victory speech on Saturday night, Mayor C. Ray Nagin was interrupted by an over exuberant supporter. “Ladies and gentleman, somebody put a muzzle on this brother to my right,” Mr. Nagin said coolly, breaking into his own speech. He went right on into a quick litany of thank-yous, wisecracks, self-mocking reproaches, and appeals for peace.
NEW STUDY OF LEVEES FAULTS DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
New York Times, 5/22/06
NEW ORLEANS, May 21 – Most of the major breaches in the New Orleans levee system during Hurricane Katrina were caused by flaws in design, construction, and maintenance – and parts of the system could still be dangerous even after the current round of repairs by the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a long-awaited independent report to be published Monday.
TIPS TO CONTROL HIGH COOLING BILLS
Houston Chronicle, 5/24/06
NEW YORK – Along with rising gasoline prices, Americans are going to have to deal this summer with higher costs for cooling their homes.
US BEACHGOERS AT RISK FROM POLLUTED WATER
Reuters, 5/25/06
MIAMI – An environmental group said on Wednesday it would sue the US government for failing to protect millions of beachgoers from contaminated water.
CANDID CAMERA
EMAGAZINE.COM, 05/21/06
In the Texas Hill Country, the limestone hills and spring-fed river region between Austin and San Antonio, people like to say their favorite color is camouflage – hunting has traditionally supplemented ranchers’ incomes. As land values have increased from $300 to $2,000 per acre in just a few years, ranchers feel pressured between holding onto their family land and scrambling to pay skyrocketing property taxes.