ECONOTES 2011-11-09: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- Polls find renewable energy enjoys public favor despite criticism, problems (Texas Climate News, 11/02/2011)
Two recent national polls – one by a solar trade organization and one by the University of Texas – show that the public favor for renewable energy remains strong. Respondents favored wind and solar energy while voicing dissatisfaction with nuclear and fossil-fuel companies’ performance. The most negative attitude toward energy producers was for oil and gas companies.
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - Building foundations crack as Texas drought shifts soil (Gail Burkhardt – The Monitor, 11/06/2011)
The drought has been causing a lot of problems, one of which is cracking building foundations. Bureaus in Texas have reported up to 75 percent increases on calls about foundation repairs from last year. Soil shrinks and expands, causing foundations to shift and crack. The drought has severely dried out soil, causing it to shrink and pull down on the foundation.
http://www.themonitor.com/ - Harris County Calls TCEQ ‘Offensive,’ Plans to Sue Polluters (Dave Fehling – KUHF News, 11/08/2011)
Some industrial polluters have repeatedly violated federal clean air standards, and a concentration of them are petro-chemical plants in the Houston area. Nineteen plants in Houston are listed with violations that have gone un-addressed, some for over eight years. Many people are unhappy with the TCEQ as they have not addressed this.
http://app1.kuhf.org/
Econotes
- 9 November
- National Home Builders Commit to EPA’s New Guidelines for Energy Star Qualified Homes/Over 400 builders pledge to develop the next generation of Energy Star qualified homes in 2012 (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - Is natural gas just hot air? (Deon Daughtery – Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/ - Fracking doesn’t contaminate drinking water, study shows (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/ - Oil Drilling Plan To Focus On Gulf Of Mexico (Ayesha Rascoe – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - 8 November
- Harris County Calls TCEQ ‘Offensive,’ Plans to Sue Polluters (Dave Fehling – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - City drainage fee sparks heated budget debate with county leaders (Deborah Wrigley – ABC 13 News)
http://abclocal.go.com/ - Beach City suing over rate hike (Ben Tinsley – The Baytown Sun)
http://baytownsun.com/ - 7 November
- United To Fly Houston-Chicago On Solazyme Biofuel (Braden Reddall – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - 6 November
- Building foundations crack as Texas drought shifts soil (Gail Burkhardt – The Monitor)
http://www.themonitor.com/ - Drought Raises Concerns About Texas Water Quality (Lara Lapin – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Capetillo discusses Ike repairs, recycling, waterpark at meeting (The Baytown Sun)
http://baytownsun.com/ - Group plans bayou protection strategy (Mark Fleming – The Baytown Sun)
http://baytownsun.com/ - 5 November
- Drought could expose Texas’ watery treasures (Allan Turner – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - 4 November
- Sunday protest illustrates Obama’s pipeline dilemma (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - EPA, DOE Partner to Develop Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Sites (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ment - 3 November
- Planet Earth: Seven billion of us…and growing (EarthShare News)
http://www.earthshare.org/ - Houston’s EnerVest Buys Out Encana’s Stake in Barnett Shale (Andrew Schneider – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - BP Settles Pollution Lawsuit With Texas (Bill Stamps – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Recycling Collection Resumes for Disabled and Elderly in Galveston (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - BP to pay $50 million to settle state blast claims (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Harris County Flood Control District Project Focuses on Five Harris County Drainage Ditches (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - BP fined $50 million for Texas City pollution (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/ - EPA’s WaterSense Program to Label Innovative Watering Technology (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - EPA Announces Final Study Plan to Assess Hydraulic Fracturing (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - 2 November
- Polls find renewable energy enjoys public favor despite criticism, problems (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - Texas drought endangers power projects (Ramit Plushnick-Masti – STL Today)
http://hosted2-2.ap.org/ - Tompkins: Drought harms conditions for migrating waterfowl (Shannon Tompkins – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Food Deserts Still Causing Problems In Houston’s Low-Income Neighborhoods (KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - 1 November
- Proposition 8: Access To Clean, Reliable Water Supply (Pat Hernandez – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - I-45 Expansion Could Wipe Out Homes (Sally Macdonald – MyFOX Houston)
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/ - Texas Parks and Wildlife Buys North Texas Land for Future State Park (Texas Parks and Wildlife News)
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/ - 31 October
- Regulators prepare to update fracturing rules (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - 30 October
- An Economy Powered by Clean, Renewable Energy and Green Jobs Too (Vicki Wolf – CLEAN News)
http://www.cleanhouston.org/ - Jim Hightower: Speaking out for the environment with life-affirming humor (Vicki Wolf – CLEAN News)
http://www.cleanhouston.org/ - Perry’s Texas Pollution Problem (Jane Dale Owen – CLEAN News)
http://www.cleanhouston.org/ - 27 October
- 38,000 Clean Air Act Violations in Texas Draw Lawsuit Threats (Environmental News Service)
http://www.ens-newswire.com/