ECONOTES 2011-01-12: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

1. Budget cuts loom over schools, health care, environment (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 01/09/2011)
   The Texas Legislature is convening once again in Austin. With potential budget crisis, environmentalists expect lawmakers to spend less time on air and water issues. There is hope that lawmakers will consider advancing efficiency and cleaner energy.
   http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/7373702.html
2. I-Team: Council members call for stricter water radiation standards than EPA (Mark Greenblatt – Houston Chronicle, 01/07/2011)
   Cities including Dallas, Beaumont, Arlinglington, and Austin have zero alpha radiation in their water. Houston is not among those cities, where radiation is found in almost every groundwater serving neighborhoods all over the city. A recent meeting allowed a public discussion of this subject with public works director, Daniel Krueger.
   http://www.khou.com/news/investigative/I-Team-Radiation-in-Water-Council
3. Identifying gulls confounds even experienced birders (Gary Clark – Houston Chronicle, 01/07/2011)
   While the ferry between Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston is a good place to watch gulls,  it can be difficult to identify the different types of birds seen. Variability in plumage and maturation time are major factors that can cause identification to be challenging. The three most commonly occurring gulls in Texas are the laughing, ring-billed, and herring.
   http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/7371040.html

EcoNotes

• 12 January
  • Saving energy (Mark Fleming – The Baytown Sun)
    http://baytownsun.com/communities/article_d9dd858e-1e02-11e0-99cc-001cc4c03286.html
  • 7 top green residential buildings in the U.S. (Barbara Kessler – ABC 13 News)
    http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2011/01/12/7-top-green-residential-buildings-in-the-u-s/
  • Study suggests electric cars could have a large market (ABC 13 News)
    http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2011/01/12/study-suggests-electric-cars-could-have-a-large-market/
• 11 January
  • Walden MUDs seek SJRA approval for water supply project (Howard Roden – Conroe News)
    http://www.hcnonline.com/courier/news/article_aae44899-9249-56bf-8623-643926a6738c.html
  • Will Straus’ reelection as speaker bring hope for renewables advocates? (Texas Climate News)
    http://texasclimatenews.org/wp/?p=1107
• 10 January
  • EPA to phase out sulfuryl fluoride — a pesticide contributing to Americans’ overexposure to fluoride (ABC 13 News)
    http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2011/01/10/epa-to-phase-out-sulfuryl-fluoride-a-pesticide
• 9 January
  • Smart meters set to save energy, consumers’ money (Mark Fleming – The Baytown Sun)
    http://baytownsun.com/news/article_f9f4e1cc-1bc4-11e0-a7c2-001cc4c002e0.html
  • Budget cuts loom over schools, health care, environment (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/7373702.html
• 7 January
  • I-Team: Council members call for stricter water radiation standards than EPA (Mark Greenblatt – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.khou.com/news/investigative/I-Team-Radiation-in-Water-Council
  • Identifying gulls confounds even experienced birders (Gary Clark – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/7371040.html
• 5 January
  • Plans for Houston-Galveston passenger rail line fall off track (Harvey Rice – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7367762.html
  • TxDOT told it needs new leadership to improve (Jeorge Zaruzua – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7367730.html
• 3 January
  • Momentum Bay® helps Texas Developer Jacob White Achieve Triple LEED® Platinum, Like Hines and Adobe (HowToPlatinum News)
    http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/howtoplatinumcom-momentum-bay
• 31 December
  • Buffalo Bayou sewage repairs may take 3 weeks (Allan Turner – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7360522.html