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March 5, 2012

ECONOTES 2012-03-05: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

  1. Texas cities find it can take a lot of green to be ‘green‘ (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 03/03/2012)
    Due to hard economic times, some Texas cities are having trouble keeping up with green efforts and policies. For example, College Station recently had to abandon its green-at-all-costs approach to fight global warming because of a lack of funding. However, Houston is still setting goals to be more energy efficient. There is a competition in Houston that challenges more than 400 businesses to reduce energy and water usage. Houston also has plans to install 200 charging stations for electric cars and to expand its curbside recycling program. Houston is a large city with a supportive mayor, two factors that help attract corporate partners and grants.
    http://www.chron.com/
  2. Water cutoff to rice farmers typifies contentious issues confronting Texas (Texas Climate News, 03/03/2012)
    For the first time, The Lower Colorado River Authority made a decision to deprive downstream rice farmers of water. This decision was part of an emergency drought policy that was negotiated by farmers and other stakeholders in the river basin. Even with the recent rains, the historic Texas drought continues to have a huge impact. Climate experts have warned that manmade climate change will result in hotter, drier conditions in Texas as the population continues to grow.
    http://texasclimatenews.org/
  3. Harris County Flood Control District to excavate 1.5 million cubic yards of soil in next phase of Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin Project (Guidry News, 02/29/2012)
    The next phase of the Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin Project is set to begin soon. This project will remove about 1.5 million cubic yards of soil from the basin located in southwest Houston in an effort to prevent flooding of many businesses and homes. The Flood Control District designed the Willow Waterhole basin to be environmentally friendly. The basin has been designed to hold a permanent pool of water year-round and have specifically-chosen wetland plants that will attract many types of birds.
    http://www.guidrynews.com/

EcoNotes