ECONOTES 2013-06-04: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- In Houston, Too Much Fine Dust? (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune, 5/30/2013)
In Houston, air pollution concerns usually center on ozone. But Houston environmentalists and businesses are paying increasingly close attention to another pollutant — fine dust. It’s more dangerous than ozone, some say, and the federal government will decide by the end of next year whether the Houston area violates newly tightened federal standards. If Houston is found to be in violation of federal standards, it could be costly for local industries, which might need to install new controls to reduce dust. It could also hurt the reputation of a region that has been trying for decades to clean up its air.
https://www.texastribune.org/ - Houston, Galveston Push for Swifter Adoption Of Cleaner Fuels For Trucks (Andrew Schneider – KUHF News, 6/3/2013)
The Houston-Galveston Area Council is gearing up for the region’s annual Clean Fleet Technologies Conference this week. One of the main topics for this year’s conference will be the development of cleaner-burning fuel technologies for trucks. The Houston-Galveston Area Council is currently offering an incentive program to reimburse fleet operators up to 75% of the cost for switching from gasoline or diesel power to cleaner burning fuels, such as compressed natural gas.
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Texas Water Plan Being Questioned by Court (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune, 5/29/2013)
Just as Gov. Rick Perry and lawmakers finalize plans to spend $2 billion on water-supply projects around the state, a court decision could force Texas to rethink its water-planning process. Last week, Texas’ 11th Court of Appeals ruled that two regional plans feeding into the 2012 state water plan — a 300-page document that underlies the Legislature’s new water initiatives — contained conflicting recommendations.
http://www.texastribune.org/
EcoNotes
- 3 June
- Metro Is Preparing Houston Drivers To Share The Streets With Light Rail (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Houston, Galveston Push for Swifter Adoption Of Cleaner Fuels For Trucks (Andrew Schneider – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Dome Into A Parking Lot Idea Isn’t Gaining Much Traction (Jack Williams and Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - When Will the Texas Drought End? (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Restoration Week: Celebrating Marine Science in Action (Tom McCann – The Nature Conservancy)
http://blog.nature.org/
- Metro Is Preparing Houston Drivers To Share The Streets With Light Rail (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
- 2 June
- Bipartisan Caucus Lays Groundwork For Food Movement (Becca Aaronson, The Texas Tribune – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/
- Bipartisan Caucus Lays Groundwork For Food Movement (Becca Aaronson, The Texas Tribune – KUHF News)
- 31 May
- This Week in Drought: As Parts of Texas Slightly Improve, Panhandle Continues to Suffer (Olivia Gordon – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - All Signs Point to Strong Hurricane Season (Olivia Gordon – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- This Week in Drought: As Parts of Texas Slightly Improve, Panhandle Continues to Suffer (Olivia Gordon – StateImpact)
- 30 May
- In Houston, Too Much Fine Dust? (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
https://www.texastribune.org/ - How Much Can the Gulf Coast Take? Part IV: Loss of Home (Vicki Wolf – CLEAN)
http://www.cleanhouston.org/ - Tesla Plans Super-Charging Stations for Texas (But Still Can’t Sell Direct) (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - In the Hands of Voters, Texas Water Funding is No Sure Thing (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- In Houston, Too Much Fine Dust? (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
- 29 May
- Texas Water Plan Being Questioned by Court (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.texastribune.org/ - A Gusher of Work for Texas Oil & Gas Lawyers (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- Texas Water Plan Being Questioned by Court (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
- 28 May
- Texas governor signs bill key to $2 billion water plan (Corrie MacLaggan – WHTC)
http://whtc.com/ - All Metro transit riders will be eligible for guaranteed taxi service (Matt Dietrichson – Houston Tomorrow)
http://www.houstontomorrow.org/ - How Will ExxonMobil Adapt to Climate Change Crisis it Helped Create? (Jane Dale Owens – CLEAN)
http://www.cleanhouston.org/ - A Brief History of the Texas Water Plan (David Barer – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Wal-Mart Is Fined $82 Million Over Mishandling of Hazardous Wastes (Stephanie Clifford – The New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/
- Texas governor signs bill key to $2 billion water plan (Corrie MacLaggan – WHTC)
- 27 May
- 6 sea turtles in the Houston Zoo vet clinic on Memorial Day (Renee – The Wild Conservation Blog)
http://www.houstonzooblogs.org/ - Engineering Students Invent Shoes That Generate Energy From Walking (Rudie Obias – Giant Freakin Robot)
http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ - Recycling of fracking water is still rare, but it’s growing (Jim Fuquay – The Columbus Dispatch)
http://www.dispatch.com/
- 6 sea turtles in the Houston Zoo vet clinic on Memorial Day (Renee – The Wild Conservation Blog)
- 26 May
- Groundwater issues are vortex for river authority, water developers (Asher Price – Austin American-Statesman)
http://www.mystatesman.com/
- Groundwater issues are vortex for river authority, water developers (Asher Price – Austin American-Statesman)
- 24 May
- Texas Asks Feds for Help in Water Dispute With Mexico (Julián Aguilar – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.texastribune.org/
- Texas Asks Feds for Help in Water Dispute With Mexico (Julián Aguilar – The Texas Tribune)
- 23 May
- Higher emissions linked to coal-fired power plants in Texas and other states (Jeannie Kever – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com/
- Higher emissions linked to coal-fired power plants in Texas and other states (Jeannie Kever – Fuel Fix)