ENVIRONMENTAL HEADLINES, OCTOBER 21 – OCTOBER 27
COMMISSION IDENTIFIES TXU AS ‘COMPANY C’
Galveston County Daily News 10/21/06
The state’s largest power company is suspected of manipulating the electricity market.
TXU BEING PROBED FOR POSSIBLE MANIPULATION
US HALTS ENERGY-LEASE SALES OFF LOUISIANA COAST
Houston Chronicle 10/24/06
BATON ROUGE, La. – The federal government has agreed to halt oil and natural gas lease sales off the Louisiana coast until environmental studies determine whether drilling degrades the coastline, the Department of the Interior announced today.
TEXAS GULF COAST BAYS FACE FLOODING, RICE RESEARCHERS WARN
Houston Business Journal 10/25/06
Major Texas Gulf Coast bays and waterways could experience significant flooding and expansion during the 21st Century due to quickly rising sea levels and declining silt deposits, Rice University researchers have found.
3,000-GALLON OIL SPILL IS CONTAINED
Houston Chronicle 1 0/26/06
An underground pipeline leak that spilled about 3,000 gallons of crude oil in a Galveston Bay town had been contained and repaired by Wednesday, the Shoreacres police chief said.
PANAMA BACKS AMBITIOUS CANAL EXPANSION PLAN IN VOTE
Environmental News Network 10/23/06
PANAMA CITY — Panamanians overwhelmingly backed a plan Sunday to give their famous 92-year-old canal its biggest-ever overhaul, an ambitious project the government hopes will help lift the country out of poverty
PORT DEMURS ON PARTNERSHIP MONEY REQUEST
Houston Chronicle 10/24/06
The Port of Houston Authority Commission balked Monday at a request for $500,000 from the Greater Houston Partnership.
FEDERAL PROSECUTIONS OF AREA POLLUTERS DROP
Houston Chronicle 10/22/06
After illegally using a pesticide to kill feral hogs – and in the process killing raccoons, mourning doves and crows – two Fayette County farmers were fined $500 in 2004.
TREES SINK ROOTS IN FLOOD ZONES
Houston Chronicle 10/23/06
Rising from the center of a detention basin in south Harris County are 6-foot trees, supported by poles: water tupelo, swamp chestnut oak, and green ash.
LITTLE BIT OF MUSSEL CAN GO A LONG WAY – BUT NOT YET IN TEXAS
Houston Chronicle 10/23/06
FORT WORTH – They have been nicknamed “aquatic cockroaches” for their ability to multiply and the difficulty in getting rid of them.
OLAJUWON BUYS HISTORIC MANSION ALONG CLEAR LAKE
Houston Chronicle 10/25/06
Former basketball star Hakeem Olajuwon has purchased the historic West mansion along Clear Lake, a Mediterranean-style estate on 41 acres of prime property.
HUMANS LIVING FAR BEYOND PLANET’S MEANS, WWF SAYS
Environmental News Network 10/24/06
Humans are stripping nature at an unprecedented rate and will need two planets’ worth of natural resources every year by 2050 on current trends, the WWF conservation group said on Tuesday.