ECONOTES 2013-03-11: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

1. Houston’s Plan To Make Landfills Extinct (Co.EXIST, 3/4/2013)
   To increase the city’s dismal recycling rates, Houston’s government is trying something else: One Bin for All. It will collect all trash together in one bin and then convert it to biofuel.
   http://www.fastcoexist.com/
2. Houston can tranform utility easements into greenways – Opinion (Houston Chronicle, 3/1/2013)
   As the city and private donors pour hundreds of millions into rejuvenating and connecting Houston’s bicycle paths, transmission-line easements could serve as the missing north-south piece to criss the bayou greenways that cross Houston east-west, linking them all together in a single network. Houston is spending money and effort to transform our bayous into gorgeous park space, but it would be for nothing if folks can’t get there.
   http://www.chron.com/
3. 2013 Healthy Communities Indicators Symposium (Guidry News, 3/7/2013)
   Nearly 300 of Houston’s healthcare professionals and advocates gathered at the George R. Brown Convention Center for the 2013 Healthy Communities Indicators Symposium presented by Center for Houston’s Future, The Region’s Think Tank. Houston’s ability to be globally competitive depends, in large part, on how the region addresses its numerous health challenges, from obesity to air pollution, identified in Center for Houston’s Future’s 2013 Healthy Communities Indicator Report.
   http://www.guidrynews.com/

EcoNotes

•  8 March
  • Keep Sugar Land Beautiful prepares for 20th Annual Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off (Sugar Land Sun)
    http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/
  • Changing How Texans Pay for Power (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • List of Texas Water Projects Draws Concerns Over Conservation (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Bill Would Change How Local Governments Regulate Drilling (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • In Texas, Water Use for Fracking Stirs Concerns (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
    http://www.texastribune.org/
• 7 March
  • Bills Would Help Bring Native Plants Back to Texas (David Barer – StateImpact; Texas Tribune)
    https://www.texastribune.org/
  • 2013 Healthy Communities Indicators Symposium (Guidry News)
    http://www.guidrynews.com/
  • Texas Parks and Wildlife Turns 50 This Year (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
  • Texas Turbine Parts to Feed $500M Canadian Wind Project (Andrew Schneider – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • How Does Your Diet Impact the Environment? (Earth Share)
    http://www.earthshare.org/
  • Local Food Beyond the Farmers Market (Earth Share)
    http://www.earthshare.org/
  • How One Lawmaker Wants to Tackle Leaky Water Supply Reporting (David Barer – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Who Opposes Native Seed Bills? Native Seed Sellers (David Barer – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
• 6 March
  • Report: Texas ranks among top 10 states for clean energy and clean transportation projects and jobs announced in 2012 (Sheryl Jean – Dallas Morning News)
    http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/
  • ‘Electric’ lakes generate warm water for great cold-weather outings. (Larry D. Hodge – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwmagazine.com/
  • With abundant supply and new research, Texas may become a top destination for catfishing. (Dyanne Fry Cortez and Ken Kurzawski – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwmagazine.com/
  • Texas board lists top water projects for GOP leaders (Paul J. Weber – Go San Angelo Times)
    http://www.gosanangelo.com/
  • Critics Smell Trouble With Sewage Spill Bill (David Barer – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Why a New Law Aims to Ban Shark Fins in Texas (Terrence Henry and Olivia Gordon – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Nearly 414,000 workers commute into Harris County, Census Bureau says (Olivia Pulsinelli – Houston Business Journal)
    http://www.bizjournals.com/
• 5 March
  • Drought forecast ‘not good’ for Hays County water provider (Wes Ferguson – Community Impact Newspaper)
    http://impactnews.com/
  • Water flows through panel’s fracturing discussion (Emily Pickrell – Fuel Fix)
    http://fuelfix.com/
  • Fracking Goes to the Texas Legislature (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
• 4 March
  • Houston’s Plan To Make Landfills Extinct (Co.EXIST)
    http://www.fastcoexist.com/
  • Bayou Greenway initiative gains momentum (John Rigg – Community Impact Newspaper)
    http://impactnews.com/
  • Making Walker County beautiful (The Huntsville Item)
    http://itemonline.com/
  • Legislation Would Require Water Well Owners to Report Usage (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Reservoirs Make Comeback in Parched Texas (Elena Schneider – The Texas Tribune)
    https://www.texastribune.org/
  • Connect Transit ridership increases on Galveston, League City route (Whitney Hodgin – KHOU News)
    http://www.khou.com/
  • Where’s the water of the future? Right here (Wynne Parry – NBC News)
    http://science.nbcnews.com/
  • Texas Bill to Ban Shark Fins Up For Hearing (Olivia Gordon – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Solar Stuggles to Shine in Deregulated Texas Electricity Market (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Sewage Bill Would Eliminate Reporting of Smaller Wastewater Spills (David Barer – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • 3rd Annual Galveston Island Dog Show – “A BARK IN THE PARK” (Guidry News)
    http://www.guidrynews.com/
• 3 March
  • Grand Parkway is coming – someday (Casey Stinnett – Dayton News)
    http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/
• 2 March
  • Bill aims to make it easier for businesses to pay for renewable energy features (Laylan Copelin – The Statesman)
    http://www.statesman.com/
  • Legislators will tackle a number of energy-related issues this year (Jeannie Kever – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/
  • Texas rice farmers hit with another water blow (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/
  • Ongoing drought forces second year of water withheld from rice growers (Guidry News)
    http://www.guidrynews.com/
  • Proposed highway improvements for SH 288 on display (Memorial Examiner)
    http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/
• 1 March
  • Houston can tranform utility easements into greenways (Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/
• 27 February
  • No laughing matter: Houston trending in wrong direction with quality of life eroding, report says (Clifford Pugh – Culturemap Houston)
    http://houston.culturemap.com/