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ECONOTES 2014-02-18: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
February 18, 2014

ECONOTES 2014-02-18: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

  1. Cy-Fair event focuses on benefits of trees (Flori Meeks – Houston Chronicle, 2/11/2014)
    Northwest Harris County gained more than 1,000 new trees earlier this month during the Houston Area Urban Forestry Council’s 2014 Tree Planting Competition. The event was co-sponsored by the Harris County Flood Control District, which actively encourages tree-plantings along the county’s bayous and stormwater detention basins. During the competition, each 10-member team was responsible for planting 100 trees as quickly as possible. One tree in an urban forest contributes approximately $3,000 in benefits to the community, according to Mickey Merritt, regional urban forest coordinator for the Texas A&M Forestry Service, adding that 10 trees represent $30,000 in benefits and 1,000 trees represent $3 million. Those benefits include water quality improvements, air pollution mitigation and energy conservation.
    http://www.chron.com
  2. Largest-Ever Clean Air Act Lawsuit Filed In Texas Goes To Trial In Houston Federal Court (David Pitman – KUHF News, 2/10/2014)
    A federal trial against Exxon Mobil is getting underway today in Houston. Citizens’ groups claim Exxon Mobil repeatedly violated clean air standards with the emissions from its refinery in Baytown. The Sierra Club and Environment Texas are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The groups say Exxon Mobil has had 4,000 so-called “emissions events” at its Baytown refinery since 2005. The lawsuit says those events dumped nearly 10 tons of pollutants into the air.
    http://app1.kuhf.org
  3. Impacts of historic drought linger in Texas (Ramit Plushnick-Masti – Houston Chronicle, 2/13/2014)
    Almost three years have passed since the rains returned and Texas emerged from a historic drought. Yet there still isn’t enough water. The impact of record-breaking heat and years of little or no rainfall can be felt long after a dry spell passes, and Texas is now struggling with the brunt of a historic yearlong drought that crippled the state’s lakes, agriculture and water supplies. Officially, the drought that parched Texas starting in 2011 and its lingering effects are not as severe as the yearslong, record-making “drought of record” that stretched through the 1950s. That drought has since been the foundation of all water planning in the state. But a combination of factors — including a rapidly expanding population, more upstream diversions to meet those growing needs and years without a major tropical system — have in some ways made this dry spell worse.
    www.chron.com

EcoNotes

  • 17 February
    • Recycled Wastewater Could Cut Cost Of Hydraulic Fracturing (Andrew Schneider – KUHF News)
      http://app1.kuhf.org
  • 14 February
    • STEM Pioneer KidWind Inspires Young Scientists (Kent Harrington – ChEnected)
      http://chenected.aiche.org
    • Texas rises among largest solar-energy workforces (Collin Eaton – Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
    • In the Garden with Urban Harvest: Pruning fruit trees requires skills, vision (Bob Randall – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Methane Hydrate: The Energy Source of the Future. (Maybe). (Matt Smith – Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
    • Subsidies Go to Anti-Federal Government Candidates (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 13 February
  • 12 February
    • IKEA Plugs-in 2 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Houston (EON)
      www.enhancedonlinenews.com
    • Fracking with Acid: Unknown Quantities Injected in Texas (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • VIDEO: Newest Elephant Addition To The Houston Zoo — Duncan (Matt Prendergrast – KUHF News)
      http://app1.kuhf.org
    • Houston Zoo’s Baby Asian Elephant Adapts To His Herd (Pat Hernandez – KUHF News)
      http://app1.kuhf.org
    • TCEQ Defers Decision on Colorado River Rice Farmers (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Use of Acid in Drilling Stirs Concerns (Dave Fehling, KUHF News/StateImpact – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Report: Ethanol’s role could diminish as biofuels grow (Ryan Holeywell – Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
    • Despite looks, sheepshead a worthy catch (Shannon Tompkins – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to Convene its Shrimp and Ad Hoc Artificial Substrate Advisory Panel (The Outdoor Wire)
      www.theoutdoorwire.com
  • 11 February
    • Cy-Fair event focuses on benefits of trees (Flori Meeks – Houston Chronicle)
      http://www.chron.com
    • Bench trial against ExxonMobil by environmental groups begins in Houston (Marilyn Tennissen – The Southeast Texas Record)
      http://setexasrecord.com
    • Hearings on water-supplies start in Conroe (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Proposed Texas 36A could serve Katy-area transportation needs (Bryan Kirk – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • On stand, locals blame oil giant for illnesses (The Baytown Sun)
      http://baytownsun.com
  • 10 February
  • 7 February
  • 6 February
  • 5 February
  • 3 February
    • State navigates course on how $2B water fund will be used (Danielle Abril – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
  • 1 February
    • A Pro-Business Stance That’s Bad for Business (Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune – The New York Time)
      www.nytimes.com
  • 29 January
    • “No net loss” – difficult to achieve, then and now (HARC News)
      www.harcresearch.org