ECONOTES 2010-05-30: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- Bill Coats fought to beautify city by planting trees (Mike Tolson – Houston Chronicle)
Coats, an attorney, died of cancer on May 23. He was 69. Coats had a special passion for the natural world. His dedication to enhancing Houston’s natural environment led him to help found the Hermann Park Conservancy and Trees for Houston, a naturalist organization that has planted more than 375,000 trees around the city since 1983.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7028587.html - Chevron Blocks Environmental and Human Rights Advocates from Shareholder Meeting (Sea Turtle Restoration Project)
Environmental and human rights advocates entitled to enter the Chevron shareholder meeting in Houston today were refused entry and five people arrested, including Juan Parras of Houston-based Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Solutions (and recent winner of CEC’s Community Activist Synergy Award), for non-violent civil disobedience. Several protesters donned turtle costumes to oppose Chevron projects in sea turtle habitat.
http://seaturtles.org/article.php?id=1638 - Forget the Ike Dike, let’s improve building methods (John Jacob – Houston Chronicle Editorial)
If the Ike Dike is built, we can be absolutely sure that many people will build in low-lying areas that are being avoided today. If a structural solution like the Ike Dike could end up making things worse, what are our alternatives? No. 1 is to plan where and how we build.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7024203.html - Hurricane Season Predictions Illustrate Risks of Climate Change in Houston-Galveston, Texas (Guidry News)
There have been predictions of multiple strong hurricanes this season in the Atlantic Ocean. The estimate is between 14 and 18 named storms this year, whereas the average has been 11. The coast should be prepared as they are expected to have to endure the storms, which have the potential to cause a lot of damage. Warmer waters in the tropical Atlantic is believed to be the reason for the increase in hurricanes.
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026834 - War of Words Continues Over Texas Clean Air Rules (Wendy Siegle – KUHF News)
The EPA believes that Texas is allowing plants to violate the federal Clean Air Act. In response, they have threatened to take away the right to issue permits for oil and gas refineries. They are battling with Governor Rick Perry who believes that Texas has taken major steps to reducing emissions and that taking away the permits would take away thousands of Texas jobs.
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1274990525
EcoNotes
- 20 May
- Biking to Work is Getting Easier (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7015172.html - Street cars could be coming to Houston (Gene Apodaca – ABC13 News)
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7452821 - Conroe To Get Curbside Recycling at No Extra Cost (Nancy Flake – The Courier of Montgomery County)
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/05/20/conroe_courier/news/conroe052110.txt
- Biking to Work is Getting Easier (Houston Chronicle)
- 21 May
- Texas’ Wind Industry Has Seen Huge Growth (Jack Z. Smith – Star-Telegram)
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/05/21/2208495/texas-wind-industry-has-seen-huge.html - Galveston Bay Reopened to Oyster Harvesting (ABC13 News)
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7454989 - Houston adds 2,700 jobs, unemployment rate decreases (L.M. Sixel – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7015980.html - Under stringent plan, BP must conduct constant monitoring of dispersant use at leak source and provide data to the government (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026766 - Post-Storm Preparedness: Plan for Lengthy Power Outages (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026752 - Ike Dike is Right Solution for the Bay Area (William Merrell – Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026746
- Texas’ Wind Industry Has Seen Huge Growth (Jack Z. Smith – Star-Telegram)
- 22 May
- Solar entrepreneur pins hopes on big numbers (Sandra Bretting – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7017196.html - Water suppliers may need to consider the health of mussels (Asher Price – American-Statesman)
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/water-suppliers-may-need-to-consider-the-health-703684.html
- Solar entrepreneur pins hopes on big numbers (Sandra Bretting – Houston Chronicle)
- 23 May
- Reps. Gene Green and Charles Boustany Send Letter Urging Sec. Salazar to Avoid Crippling Shallow Water Energy Production (Guidry News)
http://guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026789 - Texas may get nuclear waste from 36 states (Jessica Durando – USA Today)
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/05/texas-may-get-nuclear-waste-from-36-states/1
- Reps. Gene Green and Charles Boustany Send Letter Urging Sec. Salazar to Avoid Crippling Shallow Water Energy Production (Guidry News)
- 24 May
- National Hurricane Preparedness (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026807 - Permits still issued, waivers granted despite drilling moratorium
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2010/05/what_drilling_moratorium_permits_still_issued_waivers_granted.html?surround=lfn - Examining The Corporate Image Of BP (Jack Williams – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1274485921
- National Hurricane Preparedness (Guidry News)
- 25 May
- Don’t wait for disaster (Mark Fleming – The Baytown Sun)
http://baytownsun.com/story/51237 - Industry, Environmentalists, State Leaders Discuss Impacts and Response to Gulf Oil Spill (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026844 - SBA Approves $571,000 in New Economic Injury Loans for Small Businesses Impacted by Deepwater BP Oil Spill (Deepwater Horizon Response)
https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/2931/565491/ - Hurricane Season Predictions Illustrate Risks of Climate Change
in Houston-Galveston, Texas (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026834 - Florida to Obama: Take charge of oil cleanup (Houston Business Journal)
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/05/24/daily11.html?surround=lfn - BP releases initial Gulf oil spill investigation findings (Christine Hall – Houston Business Journal)
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/05/24/daily13.html?surround=lfn - EPA, U.S. Coast Guard Provide Dispersant Updates (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/0657789DF08A1ABA8525772E004D7A7E
- Don’t wait for disaster (Mark Fleming – The Baytown Sun)
- 26 May
- Ecuador Oil Contamination Spawns Turmoil at Chevron Annual Meeting (Environment News Service)
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2010/2010-05-26-092.html - Statement by Gov. Rick Perry on EPA’s Efforts to Take Over Texas’ Air Permitting Program (Office of the Governor News)
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/14677/ - Oil And Gas Historian Offers Long View On Recent Spill (Carrie Feibel – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1274913720 - The Department of Energy’s Scientific Response to the Oil Spill (Deepwater Horizon Response)
https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/2931/566143/ - SEADOG® Pump Wave Energy Technology to Tap Sources of Energy & Clean Water (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026884 - Agency Of Destruction – Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (Forrest Wilder – Texas Observer)
http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/agency-of-destruction - Study: Major hurricane could devastate Houston (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026859 - ASBPA Releases List of the Best Restored Beaches for 2010 (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026866 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Region Construction (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026868 - Exxon Mobil is helping BP, CEO says (Kerri Panchuk – Houston Business Journal)
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/05/24/daily34.html?surround=lfn - Climate science, climate action, energy choices (Bill Dawson – TCN News)
http://texasclimatenews.org/TCNJournal/52610Climatescienceactionenergychoices/tabid/1713/Default.aspx
- Ecuador Oil Contamination Spawns Turmoil at Chevron Annual Meeting (Environment News Service)
- 27 May
- Admiral Allen Approves One Section of Louisiana Barrier Island Project Proposal as Part of Federal Oil Spill Response (Deepwater Horizon Response)
https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/2931/569207/ - Another hurricane could ‘devastate’ Houston – Rice study (Ford Gunter – Houston Business Journal)
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/05/24/daily41.html?surround=lfn - War of Words Continues Over Texas Clean Air Rules (Wendy Siegle – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1274990525 - Texas A&M Professor to Study Gulf Oil Spill (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026898 - TCEQ Hosts Meetings on New EPA Ozone Standards in Affected Areas (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000026901 - Rear Admiral Landry Approves “Top Kill†Procedure (Deepwater Horizon Response)
https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/2931/566759/ - Feds Predict A Busy Hurricane Season (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1274991531
- Admiral Allen Approves One Section of Louisiana Barrier Island Project Proposal as Part of Federal Oil Spill Response (Deepwater Horizon Response)
- 28 May
- Foreboding signs forming in the tropics (Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7025950.html - Perry asks Obama to rein in EPA action (R.G. Ratcliffe – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7027492.html - BP spill cleanup costs near $1B (Houston Business Journal)
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/05/24/daily55.html?surround=lfn - Staying Safe in the Heat (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1275079891 - Some Democratic Legislators Disagree With Perry On Air Pollution (Carrie Feibel – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1275088780 - Oil Disaster’s Effects on Ecosystems and Communities (KIAH News)
http://www.39online.com/lifestyle/goinggreen/kiah-gg-oil-disaster-pg,0,382182.photogallery - ABC News: High-def underwater video captures Gulf oil spill (ABC13 News)
http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2010/05/28/abc-news-high-def-underwater-video-captures-gulf-oil-spill/ - How the top kill operation works (if it works) (ABC13 News)
http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2010/05/28/how-the-top-kill-operation-works-if-it-works/ - BYD and Daimler to develop electric vehicles in China (ABC13 News)
http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2010/05/28/byd-and-daimler-to-develop-electric-vehicles-in-china/ - From great minds to silly solutions: Searching for oil spill answers (Melissa Segrest – ABC13 News)
http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2010/05/28/from-great-minds-to-silly-solutions-searching-for-oil-spill-answers/
- Foreboding signs forming in the tropics (Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle)
- 29 May
- Turf war over air not affecting ExxonMobil (Doyle Barlow – The Baytown Sun)
http://baytownsun.com/story/51295 - How to make your summer party green (Harriet Blake and Barbara Kessler – ABC13 News)
http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2010/05/29/how-to-make-your-summer-party-green/ - Houston seafood businesses feeling impact of Gulf oil spill (Allison Triarsi – KHOU News)
http://www.khou.com/news/Houston-seafood-businesses-feeling-impact-of-Gulf-oil-spill-95191854.html
- Turf war over air not affecting ExxonMobil (Doyle Barlow – The Baytown Sun)
- 30 May
- Bill Coats fought to beautify city by planting trees (Mike Tolson – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7028587.html - Oil Complicates Forecasts On Hurricane Season Eve (Holbrook Mohr – Click2Houston)
http://www.click2houston.com/green-pages/23738833/detail.html
- Bill Coats fought to beautify city by planting trees (Mike Tolson – Houston Chronicle)
- 31 May
- Hurricane Preparation 2010 (Rod Rice – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1275280301 - Study Finds Houston Vulnerable to Hurricanes (Pat Hernandez – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1275281872 - BP starts new cleanup effort as ‘top kill’ fails (Houston Business Journal)
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/05/31/daily1.html?surround=lfn
- Hurricane Preparation 2010 (Rod Rice – KUHF News)