ECONOTES 2012-03-26: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- World Water Day: U.S. Can Achieve Sustainability in Water By Ending Corrosion in Piping Infrastructure (Trenchless Technology, 03/21/2012)
International World Water Day is celebrated each year on March 22nd. It was established 19 years ago to highlight water scarcity around the world and is now used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. One issue that was highlighted this year was the use of corrosion-prone iron piping in the nation’s water systems, which is likely the cause for a majority of the estimated 300,00 water main breaks that occur yearly throughout North America. Corrosion-proof technologies exist, but it will require a significant investment to modernize the water system.
http://www.trenchlessonline.com/ - Toxic Discharges Still Fouling Texas Waters; State Ranks 4th for Polluted Waterways (Carrie Feibel – KUHF News, 03/26/2012)
Texas ranks fourth in the nation for toxic releases into rivers, streams, and bays. The Houston Ship Channel releases the most amount of toxic chemical discharges in the state and ranks 16th in the nation. There are chemicals in the water known to cause cancer, harm women’s reproductive health, and harm the development of fetuses and babies. The pollution can potentially affect drinking water, but the biggest danger comes from eating contaminated fish. Currently environmentalists are supporting the EPA in an effort to strengthen the Clean Water Act.
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Looks like another bad year for Monarch butterflies (Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle, 03/21/2012)
The migrating Monarch population is estimated to be down about 25 to 30 percent. The decline is partly caused by last year’s severe drought and fires, which meant there was less nectar for Monarchs as they migrated for the winter. Another contributing factor is the loss of millions of acres of land by farmers who were either converting dormant land for crop use or overusing herbicides and mowing. Conservation and restoration of milkweeds can help prevent the declining trend.
http://blog.chron.com/
EcoNotes
- 26 March
- Why Texans Are Chasing Millions in Oil and Gas Royalties (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - 23 March
- Radioactive Waste: Coming Soon to a Texas Highway Near You (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - State struggling to find funds for water plan (Gary Scharrer – My SA News)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/ - Texas officials approve radioactive waste dump (Jim Vertuno – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Lost to the Drought: A Conversation with Ag Commissioner Todd Staples (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Perry Appoints New TCEQ Commissioner (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - 22 March
- Texas Lawmakers Mull Water Options for State (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.texastribune.org/ - TransCanada Responds to Obama’s Endorsement of Southern Leg of Keystone XL (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Running Dry: How the Drought Hit Texas (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Texans Asked to Visit State Parks as Business Partners Line up to Help with Budget Gap (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20120322a - Obama Pushes for Southern Leg of Keystone XL Pipeline to Texas (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - With Noise Pollution Growing at Sea, A Texas Team Looks for Answers (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Toxic Discharges Still Fouling Texas Waters; State Ranks 4th for Polluted Waterways (Carrie Feibel – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - 21 March
- Looks like another bad year for Monarch butterflies (Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle)
http://blog.chron.com/ - World Water Day: U.S. Can Achieve Sustainability in Water By Ending Corrosion in Piping Infrastructure (Trenchless Technology)
http://www.trenchlessonline.com/ - Drought cost Texas close to $8 billion in agricultural losses in 2011, study finds (The Statesman)
http://www.statesman.com/ - At Least One Texas Tornado Damages Homes, Storms Cause Flooding (Jim Forsyth – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - 2011 drought highlighted need for environmental flows, says Texas A&M researcher (Leslie Lee – Texas Water Resources Institute)
http://twri.tamu.edu/ - Extension expert: Just because it rains, it doesn’t mean we’re out of the drought (Danielle Kalisek – Texas Water Resources Institute)
http://twri.tamu.edu/ - 20 March
- Source: Obama to fast track southern portion of Keystone XL Pipeline (Brianna Keilar – CNN)
http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/ - Adopt-A-Beach lesson plans now available for grades K-8 (Guidry News)
http://guidrynews.com/story - 19 March
- Slimmer Majority of Americans Champions Renewables, Poll Finds (Diane Cardwell – The New York Times)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Texas Dispatch: ‘Cloud Juice’ Is One Man’s Solution to the Drought (Saskia De Melker – PBS Newshour)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/