ECONOTES 2012-01-25: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- Brazos battle pits water supplier against environmentalists, growers and industry (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 01/23/2012)
The Brazos River Authority is asking for the rights of all the Brazos River water in order to meet the future demands of a growing population. However, many people, including farmers, landowners, environmentalists, and the Dow Chemical Co., are voicing opposition. Diverting the water could have great impacts on rights holders, water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat.
http://www.chron.com/ - Endangered: Texas water and whooping cranes that winter on the Texas coast (Michael Berryhill – Texas Climate News, 01/19/2012)
The Aransas Project (TAP), a group of conservationists, is using the Endangered Species Act to challenge the management of surface water, which has been affecting the whooping crane. TAP members believe that, due to a lack of freshwater flowing from the Guadalupe into San Antonio Bay, the blue crab population (the primary food there of the whooping crane) has declined. In recent years, the number of whooping cranes has also declined. The current case will determine whether the lack of freshwater is the reason behind the loss of cranes, and this decision in this case could fundamentally change the way Texas manages the Guadalupe River and its estuary.
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - After record heat and drought, Texas parks face crunch (Corrie MacLaggan – Reuters, 01/17/2012)
The drought, high heat, and wildfires kept many people from visiting the Texas state parks last year. As a result, park officials have had to ask the public to donate money to help keep the parks open. Last week the officials said they had raised almost $1 million of the $4.6 million needed. Although there are signs that visitors are coming back to the parks to enjoy the cooler weather, the parks have a long way to go to reach their goal.
http://www.reuters.com/
EcoNotes
- 23 January
- Brazos battle pits water supplier against environmentalists, growers and industry (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - More Texas Water Woes, This Time at the Beach (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Texas Leads the Fight – Against Greenhouse Gas Regulations, But Not Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Larry R. Soward – Air Alliance Houston News)
http://airalliancehouston.org/ - Company Eyes Natural Gas Terminal in Corpus Christi (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - 2011 Was Ninth-Warmest Year Since 1880: NASA (Deborah Zabarenko – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - 22 January
- Texas A&M Study On Microbes Adds New Dimension To Carbon Dioxide Predictions (Guidry News)
http://guidrynews.com/ - Quick action taken after report of bayou trash (Mark Fleming – The Baytown Sun)
http://baytownsun.com/ - 20 January
- See Houston’s EPA offenders (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/ - 4 Theories on How Tiger Prawns Ended Up in the Gulf of Mexico (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Improvements Being Made In Blighted Area Of Houston (Bill Stamps – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - 19 January
- Endangered: Texas water and whooping cranes that winter on the Texas coast (Michael Berryhill – Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - Baytown’s parks plan honored by H-GAC (Mark Fleming – The Baytown Sun)
http://baytownsun.com/ - Volunteers to Re-Forest Houston Parks Devastated by Drought (Ed Mayberry – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Texas’ Water Rights System Gets Tested in Drought (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.texastribune.org/ - Houston Parks and Recreation – Houston-Galveston Area Council Parks and Natural Area Awards
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - New Paved Bike and Pedestrian Pathway Expands Missouri City’s Oyster Creek Trail (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - CPS To Buy Power From Texas Clean Coal Power Plant: DOE (Scott DiSavino – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - 18 January
- Opportunity Knocks: How the Proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area Could Attract Visitors, Boost Business, and Create Jobs (Jim Guidry – Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - 11th Anniversary of Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Program Coming Up (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/ - Obama expected to reject Keystone XL (Deon Daugherty – Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/ - Sierra Club files suit over coal plants’ emission permits (Farzad Mashhood – The Statesman)
http://www.statesman.com/ - 17 January
- H-GAC Announces Parks, Natural Areas Award Winners (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - H-GAC kicks off public portion of sustainability plan (David Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
http://www.houstontomorrow.org - After record heat and drought, Texas parks face crunch (Corrie MacLaggan – Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/ - 10 January
- Texas Senate Hears Warnings on Drought and Electricity (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.texastribune.org/