ECONOTES 2013-04-01: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- Rice Sociologist: Improving Quality Of Life Crucial For Houston’s Economic Future (Florian Martin – KUHF News, 3/28/2013)
Houston has long been a great place to find a job, but it doesn’t have the best reputation for quality of life. As the proportion of oil-related jobs continues to give way to other types of employment, beautification and downtown development become essential to secure the city’s economic future. That’s according to one sociologist, who says Houston needs to change in order to attract new talent.
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - $446 million available for Houston region projects (Jay Blazek Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
Every year, the H-GAC Transportation Policy Council (TPC) decides how the region will allocate a pool of regionally discretionary transportation funds that can be used for walking, biking, transit, planning, demand management, maintenance, and new road transportation projects. This year, the TPC will decide how to spend $446 million, with $827 million in proposed projects. In the recent H-GAC survey posted at ourregion.org, a broad sample of over 6,000 Houstonians said they would allocate about 13% of available funding to new roads and highways, 26% to transit, and 14% to sidewalks and bikeways, amongst other projects. The public comment process ends on April 5th.
http://www.houstontomorrow.org/ - Severe Drought Moves To Houston, Most Of The State In Drought Conditions (Shomial Ahmad – KUHF News, 4/1/2013)
Latest reports from the U.S. Drought Monitor show most of Harris County in severe drought. The state is in better shape than it was at the height of the drought of 2011, but things are still not good. The state has been doing more, looking into increasing water supply and conservation, but measures put in place right now won’t be able to meet the most extreme of circumstances.
http://app1.kuhf.org/
EcoNotes
- 1 April
- Severe Drought Moves To Houston, Most Of The State In Drought Conditions (Shomial Ahmad – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/
- Severe Drought Moves To Houston, Most Of The State In Drought Conditions (Shomial Ahmad – KUHF News)
- 29 March
- Fracking Disposal Wells Pose Challenges In Texas (Terrence Henry and Kate Galbraith – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Here’s What They’re Saying about EPA’s Proposed Cleaner Fuels and Cars Standards (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - EPA Updates Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for New Power Plants (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - EPA Proposes Achievable Cleaner Fuels and Cars Standard, Slashing Air Pollution and Providing Extensive Health Benefits (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/
- Fracking Disposal Wells Pose Challenges In Texas (Terrence Henry and Kate Galbraith – StateImpact)
- 28 March
- Rice Sociologist: Improving Quality Of Life Crucial For Houston’s Economic Future (Florian Martin – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Adrian D. Shelley, III Chosen as Air Alliance Houston Executive Director (Air Alliance Houston)
http://airalliancehouston.org/ - Fracking Boom Spurs A Rush to Harness Brackish Water (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - EPA Finalizes Vessel General Permit (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - AgriLife Extension expands online feral hog reporting system across the state (Linda Causey – A&M Agriculture & Life Sciences News)
http://wfsc.tamu.edu/
- Rice Sociologist: Improving Quality Of Life Crucial For Houston’s Economic Future (Florian Martin – KUHF News)
- 27 March
- House approves way to pay for more water projects (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - $446 million available for Houston region projects (Jay Blazek Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
http://www.houstontomorrow.org/ - Heights Residents Talk About Mobility Problems (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Texas House Passes Major Water Bill (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - While South Texas Sees Dollar Signs, Roads See Damage and Accidents (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Waterless Fracking Makes Headway in Texas, Slowly (Kate Galbraith, Texas Tribune – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - The Shale Boom: Small Texas Towns, Big Paychecks (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Most streams, rivers in poor health for water life : EPA (Ian Simpson – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - EPA Announces Chemicals for Risk Assessment in 2013, Focus on Widely Used Flame Retardants (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - TCEQ approves fines totaling $1,560,174 (TCEQ News)
http://www.tceq.texas.gov/
- House approves way to pay for more water projects (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
- 26 March
- Federal court temporarily halts whooping crane decision (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Texas Wins Stay in Whooping Cranes Case From U.S. Court (Andrew Harris – Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/ - Bickering Erupts Among Texas Oil Regulators (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.texastribune.org/ - A Different Kind of Climate War: Global Warming and National Security (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Statement on Fifth Circuit Court Stay of TAP Lawsuit (TCEQ News)
http://www.tceq.texas.gov/ - American Shore and Beach Preservation Association – Water Resources Development Act (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - EPA and DOE Recognize 2013 Energy Star Partners of the Year (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - EPA Survey Finds More Than Half of the Nation’s River and Stream Miles in Poor Condition (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - University of Texas at Austin Awarded New Energy Department Investment To Develop Innovative Manufacturing Technologies (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/
- Federal court temporarily halts whooping crane decision (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
- 25 March
- What to Watch For This Week at the Texas Legislature (David Barer – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - New pilot program offers incentives to reduce electric use during summer peaks (Guidry News)
http://guidrynews.com/
- What to Watch For This Week at the Texas Legislature (David Barer – StateImpact)
- 23 March
- Forecasters predict more drought and water problems for Texas (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org/
- Forecasters predict more drought and water problems for Texas (Texas Climate News)
- 18 March
- Texas Fracker Accused of Bully Tactics Against Foes (Mark Drajem – Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/
- Texas Fracker Accused of Bully Tactics Against Foes (Mark Drajem – Bloomberg)
- 13 March
- After a Powerful Lobbyist Intervenes, EPA Reverses Stance on Polluting Texas County’s Water (Abrahm Lustgarten – ProPublica)
http://www.propublica.org/
- After a Powerful Lobbyist Intervenes, EPA Reverses Stance on Polluting Texas County’s Water (Abrahm Lustgarten – ProPublica)
- 8 March
- Major Grocer to Label Foods With Gene-Modified Content (Stephanie Strom – The New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/
- Major Grocer to Label Foods With Gene-Modified Content (Stephanie Strom – The New York Times)