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December 7, 2011

ECONOTES 2011-12-07: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

  1. Researchers at Odds with Texas Government Over Rise of the Gulf (Dave Fehling – StateImpact News, 12/05/2011)
    The sea level of Galveston Bay has risen as much as three feet over the past century, and scientists predict it will continue at the same rate. Knowing where and when the water might rise can help city planners determine where to allow construction of new buildings or relocate critical facilities. However, government officials do not seem to be taking the scientific reports into account in their plans.
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  2. Texas power grid operator says blackouts possible (Puneet Kollipara – Houston Chronicle, 12/01/2011)
    More blackouts may be expected in the coming year if extreme weather continues to stress the power grid more than normal. The ERCOT President, Trip Doggett, says that the risk is low. However, a 10-year report suggests that the state’s reserve cushion could keep dropping over the next decade without new capacity additions. Doggett does warn that the outages can be expected if plants are shutdown due to EPA rulings.
    http://www.chron.com/
  3. Drought has Christmas tree growers on pins and needles (Cindy Horswell – Houston Chronicle, 12/01/2011)
    An estimation of about fewer than half of the Texas’ 100 Christmas tree farms had watering systems. Even those who irrigated had trees that did not grow as fast or tall as usual. As a result, trees are being shipped from North Carolina, Washington, and Oregon to make up for the loss.
    http://www.chron.com/

EcoNotes

  • 7 December
  • 6 December
    • Lawsuit pits whooping cranes against chemical companies and State of Texas (Jay Blazek Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
      http://www.houstontomorrow.org/
    • Facing Budget Crunch, Texas Parks and Wildlife Pleads For Help (Kevin Lindsay – KUT News)
      http://www.kutnews.org/
    • Task force calls for BP fees to rebuild Gulf of Mexico ecosystems (Jay Blazek Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
      http://www.houstontomorrow.org/
    • Cornyn holds out on bill to bring spill money to Gulf region (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      http://www.chron.com/
    • Ocean Organisms Could Give Clues About Climate Change, Says Texas A&M Prof (Guidry News)
      http://guidrynews.com/
    • EPA Proposes to Remove State Marine of Port Arthur and Palmer Barge Line Superfund Sites from its Superfund List (EPA News)
      http://yosemite.epa.gov/
  • 5 December
    • Researchers at Odds with Texas Government Over Rise of the Gulf (Dave Fehling – StateImpact News)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org/
    • Feds give Gulf plan $50 million boost (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      http://www.chron.com/
    • Task Force Established by President Obama Releases Final Strategy for Reversing Deterioration of Gulf Ecosystem — USDA $50 million financial assistance for restoration projects announced as Task Force efforts shift from planning to action (EPA News)
      http://yosemite.epa.gov/
    • Strategy for Long Term Gulf Restoration (Pat Hernandez – KUHF News)
      http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • 4 December
  • 3 December
  • 2 December
    • Drought leaving rivers, lakes with more bacteria (Farzad Mashhood – The Statesman)
      http://www.statesman.com/
    • Cash for big clunkers – H-GAC can help owner-operators purchase new big rigs (Your Deer Park News)
      http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/
    • Timeline: How The World Discovered Global Warming (Alister Doyle, David Fogarty and David Cutler – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org/
    • Comptroller Combs Lauds 6-Month Extension on Proposed Listing for Dunes Sagebrush Lizard by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Guidry News)
      http://www.guidrynews.com/
  • 1 December
  • 30 November
    • Texas to Enact Five-Year Water Plan (Ian Crawford – KUT News)
      http://kut.org/2011/
    • EPA proposes standards for cleansing ship ballast water, leading pathway for invasive species (The Washington Post)
      http://www.washingtonpost.com/
    • GOP Senators press Obama on pipeline plan (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – Houston Chronicle)
      http://www.chron.com/
    • Sugar Land households get new garbage, recycling carts (Cody Tucker – Ultimate Fort Bend News)
      http://www.ultimatefortbend.com/
    • EPA Proposes Updated Vessel General Permit and Permit for Small Vessels/Action would help protect U.S. water quality and lower invasive species risk (EPA News)
      http://yosemite.epa.gov/
  • 29 November
  • 28 November