ECONOTES 2011-08-03: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- $1.5M project to increase salt water flow to NOAA (Chris Paschenko – The Galveston Daily News, 08/03/2011)
Galveston beaches are undergoing construction as part of a $1.5 million project to help quadruple the amount of salt water being pumped to the National Marine Fisheries Service. The project will allow the fisheries service to fill about 150,000 gallons of seawater storage tanks four times faster than the current one.
http://galvestondailynews.com/ - Research firm backs EPA contention on Texas coal plants’ ability to comply (Texas Climate News, 08/02/2011)
A prominent Wall Street research firm reported that its analysis supports the EPA’s assertion that Texas plants can meet the new pollution requirements. The pollution can be decreased through the constant operation of their scrubbers, which remove sulfur from emissions. The new EPA rules are still controversial, with supporters believing they will improve air quality, while opponents believe it will hurt Texas economic growth.
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - Nature Conservancy works to preserve Nash Prairie (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 07/31/2011)
Some folks might not see the beauty in a hay meadow, as most locals call the Nash Prairie, located about 60 miles southwest of Houston. It does not have the quirky rock formations of Big Bend or the great stands of pine trees and hardwoods of the Big Thicket. But preserving prairies has become an urgent theme. After 200 years of houses, farms and freeways, less than 1 percent of the coastal tall-grass prairie in Texas and Louisiana remains.
http://www.chron.com/ - From a Hazardous Wasteland to an Economy that Sustains Life (Vicki Wolf – Clean Living, 07/26/2011)
Today’s chemical and energy industries are creating a hazardous wasteland. Texas is the number one state in the nation for generating hazardous waste. Hundreds of thousands of tons are shipped to disposal facilities where the waste is injected underground, buried or incinerated. The compounds are then at risk of contaminating the environment. A study shows that a switch to safer chemicals can be good for the environment and economy.
http://www.cleanhouston.org/living/
EcoNotes
- 3 August
- TCEQ Approves Fines Totaling $710,703 (TCEQ News)
http://www.tceq.texas.gov/ - $1.5M project to increase salt water flow to NOAA (Chris Paschenko – The Galveston Daily News)
http://galvestondailynews.com/ - Texas blood-red lake seen as sign of apocalypse (Houston Chronicle)
http://blog.chron.com/ - 2 August
- 2011 South Texas passive infrared aerial survey (TCEQ News)
http://www.tceq.texas.gov/ - Research firm backs EPA contention on Texas coal plants’ ability to comply (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - Texas heat pushes state power grid to the max (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/ - Texas Battles Record Heat (Justin Horne – KSAT News)
http://www.ksat.com/ - Q&A: Smitherman looks back on the PUC, ahead to the Railroad Commission (Tom Fowler – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com/ - 1 August
- Consumers asked to conserve electricity 3-7 pm today and this week (ERCOT News)
http://www.ercot.com/ - Heat & Drought Prompt More Burn Bans Across TX (David Pitman – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Three contracts let for road across Katy Prairie (David Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
http://www.houstontomorrow.org/ - Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Summer interns recognized across Texas (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Drought Lowers Lake Houston, Strands Boaters (Carrie Feibel – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Drought-Hit Bears Head For Texas Urban Areas (Benjamin Wermund – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - What is the impact of the border fence on Texas animals? (Rob McCorkle – Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine)
http://www.tpwmagazine.com/ - 31 July
- Nature Conservancy works to preserve Nash Prairie (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - 30 July
- Grasshoppers plague drought-stricken Texas (KPLC News)
http://www.kplctv.com/ - 29 July
- EPA again delays stricter smog rules (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Privatized Water Suppliers… What Could Go Wrong? (Forrest Wilder – Texas Observer)
http://www.texasobserver.org/ - The Nature Conservancy saves a pristine piece of Texas coastal prairie (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Near shore artificial reefs build fish habitat, coastal economy (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Port of Houston Authority, EPA, Maersk, Hamburg Süd and Mexican Government Receive Binational Gulf Guardian Award (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/ - H-GAC to kick start Commute Solutions month (Fort Bend Star)
http://www.fortbendstar.com/ - President Obama Announces Historic 54.5 mpg Fuel Efficiency Standard (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/ - 28 July
- Getting there: Commute Solutions month offers ideas that save money, improve air quality (Rusty Graham – Your Memorial News)
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ - EPA Proposes Air Pollution Standards for Oil and Gas Production/Cost-effective, flexible standards rely on operators’ ability to capture and sell natural gas that currently escapes, threatens air quality (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/ - 27 July
- Federal Budget Cuts Could Affect Gulf Shrimpers (Carrie Feibel – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/ - 2010-2011 drought likely to be among costliest on record for Texas farmers, ranchers (Farzad Mashhood – The Statesman)
http://www.statesman.com/ - 26 July
- From a Hazardous Wasteland to an Economy that Sustains Life (Vicki Wolf – Clean Living)
http://www.cleanhouston.org/living/ - 25 July
- Rice launches Houston sustainability study (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/ - Drought Threatens Fish, Wildlife, Parks in Texas (Texas Parks and Wildlife)
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/