ECONOTES 2014-01-21: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- EPA Ponders Future Of San Jacinto Waste Pits Superfund Site (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News, 1/16/2014)
The San Jacinto Waste Pits were a dumping site in the 1960s for toxic sludge from a nearby paper mill. The Superfund site has partially subsided into the San Jacinto River, and leaking chemicals have spread to the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay. Harris County has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Waste Management and International Paper for mismanagement of the site. That litigation goes to trial in September.
http://app1.kuhf.org - Analysis: Sub-freezing temperatures less frequent in Texas cities (Texas Climate News, 1/11/2014)
The super-cold spell that recently afflicted Texas and other areas offered another opportunity for skeptics and deniers to mock scientists’ increasingly confident conclusion that manmade pollution is the main cause of the global warming trend driving multifaceted climate change. Climate scientists and their supporters like Gore have never actually said, of course, that global warming means an end to cold — or super-cold — winter weather. Climate Central, a website staffed by scientists and journalists whose articles appear in TCN’s Featured Reports department, published the results of its analysis showing that “intense cold such as this event is now occurring far less frequently in the continental U.S. than it used to,†with “winter warming trends due to manmade global warming and natural climate variability.â€
http://texasclimatenews.org - Big plans could bring small wild cat back to Texas (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 1/15/2014)
Nearly 30 years after the jaguarundi was last seen in South Texas, the federal government has a plan to return the small cat to its historic range in the state. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released recovery plans for the endangered species – which is slightly larger than a household cat – with the goal of creating a stable population of at least 500 jaguarundis in the Rio Grande Valley by 2050. The plan addresses a range of threats to the cat, including border fencing, roads, competition with other species and climate change.
www.houstonchronicle.com
EcoNotes
- 19 January
- Armand Bayou Nature Center to host adult outdoor programs (The Pasadena Citizen)
www.yourhoustonnews.com
- Armand Bayou Nature Center to host adult outdoor programs (The Pasadena Citizen)
- 17 January
- Exploring Nature: Basic Birdwatching with Gary Clark set Feb. 15 (Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - Public Asked For Input On Transit Options For The Woodlands (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org - Senator presses EPA to scrutinize refinery emissions (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com - Kerry: No rush to decide on Keystone XL pipeline (Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com - It’s winter and gardeners are busy (Kathy Huber – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com - Natural Gas Prices To Hold In $4-$5 Range Through 2035 (Andrew Schneider – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org - Talk of Tighter Flounder, Trout Restrictions Questioned (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Exploring Nature: Basic Birdwatching with Gary Clark set Feb. 15 (Houston Chronicle)
- 16 January
- EPA Ponders Future Of San Jacinto Waste Pits Superfund Site (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org - Timber theft is on the rise in Texas (tamu Times)
tamutimes.tamu.edu - Readers Pick Their Favorite Stories from 2013 (Earth Share)
www.earthshare.org - Tales of giant hogs don’t carry weight (Shannon Tompkins – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - After Latest Texas Earthquake Swarm, State Lawmakers Vow to Investigate (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
stateimpact.npr.org - 5 Predictions for the Year Ahead in Energy and the Environment (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
stateimpact.npr.org - Analysis: BP’s U.S. Gulf oil spill settlement challenges may backfire (Mica Rosenberg – Planet Ark)
planetark.org - UN climate chief urges investors to bolster global warming fight (Valerie Volcovici – Planet Ark News)
planetark.org - Wet, wetter; dry, drier: U.S. oceanographer has hit with climate-change haiku (Jonathan Kaminsky – Planet Ark News)
planetark.org - State reports rise in East Texas timber thefts (Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - Edwards Aquifer Plan Gets High Honor at Turbulent Time (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Effort to Avert Pipeline Accidents Under Scrutiny (Dave Fehling, KUHF News/StateImpact – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- EPA Ponders Future Of San Jacinto Waste Pits Superfund Site (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
- 15 January
- Big plans could bring small wild cat back to Texas (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - New Year brings big advances for Clear Lake’s Exploration Green (The Bay Area Citizen)
www.yourhoustonnews.com - Call Before You Dig: Does Texas Put Pipelines at Risk? (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
stateimpact.npr.org/ - As More Earthquakes Strike Azle, Residents Have More Questions (Doualy Xaykaothao, KERA News – StateImpact)
stateimpact.npr.org - Keystone XL Southern Leg Nears Activation (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Study Looks At Possible Site For A Train Station If High-Speed Rail Comes To Houston (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org - Call Before You Dig: Does Texas Put Pipelines at Risk? (Dave Fehling – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org
- Big plans could bring small wild cat back to Texas (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
- 14 January
- Combs renews push for state to up water efforts (Enrique Rangel – Amarillo News)
amarillo.com - Report Analyzes Economic Impact Of Texas Water Shortages (Rod Rice and Ed Mayberry – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org - North Texas Earthquake Swarm More Centralized Than Previously Thought (Mose Buchele and Andrew Weber – StateImpact)
stateimpact.npr.org - Texas A&M Forest Service participates in multi-agency research prescribed burn at Camp Swift (tamu Times)
tamutimes.tamu.edu - In Ag Commissioner Race, Hopefuls Expand Talking Points (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Combs renews push for state to up water efforts (Enrique Rangel – Amarillo News)
- 13 January
- Highway 36A would increase connectivity, but faces opposition to its northern path (Zach Haverkamp – Your Fort Bend News)
www.yourhoustonnews.com - U.S. carbon emissions climb in 2013 (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – My SA News)
www.mysanantonio.com - Gulf Coast Suffers Majority Of Coastal Wetlands Loss (The Chattanoogan)
www.chattanoogan.com - EPA Inspector General Report Supports Agency Dropping Fracking Case (Bonner R. Cohen – Heartland News)
news.heartland.org - Houston Energy Firms Await New Rules Before Plunging Into Mexican Waters (Andrew Schneider – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org
- Highway 36A would increase connectivity, but faces opposition to its northern path (Zach Haverkamp – Your Fort Bend News)
- 12 January
- Texas Nuclear Power Plants Seek New Workforce (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Texas Nuclear Power Plants Seek New Workforce (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
- 11 January
- Senator touts plan to address water, power issues (Laylan Copelin – Austin American-Statesman)
www.mystatesman.com - Analysis: Sub-freezing temperatures less frequent in Texas cities (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org
- Senator touts plan to address water, power issues (Laylan Copelin – Austin American-Statesman)
- 10 January
- Texas city wins Municipal Groundwater Conservation of the Year award (Water Technology News)
www.watertechonline.com - Industrial users seek hiatus on new gas export permits (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – My SA News)
www.mysanantonio.com - Border Towns Struggle to Protect Water Infrastructure (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Texas city wins Municipal Groundwater Conservation of the Year award (Water Technology News)
- 8 January
- Suburban Carbon Footprints Wipe Out City Gains (Pete Danko – Earth Techling)
www.earthtechling.com - Role of Texas wind power debated after winter emergency (Emily Pickrell – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com
- Suburban Carbon Footprints Wipe Out City Gains (Pete Danko – Earth Techling)
- 5 January
- Three M’s for Empowering Volunteer Urban Foresters: Mobilizing, Mapping, and Monitoring (Philip Silva – The Nature of Cities)
www.thenatureofcities.com
- Three M’s for Empowering Volunteer Urban Foresters: Mobilizing, Mapping, and Monitoring (Philip Silva – The Nature of Cities)
- 19 December
- Sinking Land Brings Calls for Pumping Alternative (Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune – The New York Times)
www.nytimes.com
- Sinking Land Brings Calls for Pumping Alternative (Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune – The New York Times)
- 11 December
- Fracking Bonanza Threatens Texas Suburbs (Julie Dermansky – EcoNews)
Ecowatch.com
- Fracking Bonanza Threatens Texas Suburbs (Julie Dermansky – EcoNews)