Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: July 8, 2014
Featured
- Residents, experts fear cap over toxic chemicals won’t hold up (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 7/3/2014)
Three years ago, two pits of paper mill sludge that had long been polluting the San Jacinto River were capped and sealed. This has helped keep that sludge out of the river. However, with increasing storms and flooding, residents are now calling for the removal of the chemicals from the pits. The recurrent flooding could weaken the integrity of the pits and allow cancer-causing dioxins into the environment.
www.houstonchronicle.com - Court: Texas not liable for death of cranes (Matthew Tresaugue- Houston Chronicle, 6/30/2014)
Recently a federal court overturned a lower court ruling and determined that Texas was not to blame for the high number of deaths of the endangered whooping cranes. The court ruled that this was a unique event that could not have been predicted or controlled. This overturned the previous ruling that ordered the state to supply enough water for habitat maintenance before issuing any new permits for water withdrawal.
www.houstonchronicle.com - Water-cleanup catalysts tackle biomass upgrading (RICE News, 6/26/2014)
Rice University chemical engineer Michael Wong has been researching the catalytic potential of palladium-gold nanoparticles in cleaning polluted water. These metallic specks break down carcinogenic and toxic compounds. Wong’s latest study tested whether palladium-gold nanocatalysts could convert glycerol, a waste byproduct of biodiesel production, into high-value chemicals. Data showed that an ideal catalyst could be formed with the right balance of palladium and gold.
http://news.rice.edu
EcoNotes
- 7 July
- Dow Chemical’s Water Woes Signal Trouble (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Is the Oil Boom Helping Prices at the Pump? (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org
- Dow Chemical’s Water Woes Signal Trouble (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
- 5 July
- Houston a top-20 city for traffic congestion, study says (Josh Cain – Houston Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com
- Houston a top-20 city for traffic congestion, study says (Josh Cain – Houston Business Journal)
- 3 July
- Residents, experts fear cap over toxic chemicals won’t hold up (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - Houston giant named top green energy company of 2014 (Nora Olabi – Houston Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com - Seem Hazy in Central Texas? It’s All Saharan Dust in the Wind (Dylan Baddour – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org - An Expedition on the Disappearing Rio Grande (Brandi Grissom – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Residents, experts fear cap over toxic chemicals won’t hold up (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
- 2 July
- Announcing the merger of Houston Tomorrow & BetterHouston (5 Corners District)
http://5cornersdistrict.org - Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan sues 10 companies, demands $23 million for Gulf oil spill (The Spring Observer)
www.yourhoustonnews.com - Door Knocking for a Healthy Gulf (Anna Dvorak – Gulf Restoration Network Blog)
https://healthygulf.org - Texas cities are embracing their rivers again. (Russell Roe – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
http://tpwmagazine.com - The sand and surf of Padre Island National Seashore create a place of isolation and beauty. (Chase A. Fountain – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
http://tpwmagazine.com - When there’s not enough for all, who gets water from the Colorado River? (Jenna Craig – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
http://tpwmagazine.com - Four years after Gulf oil spill, some Texas restoration projects are set to begin. Â (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
http://tpwmagazine.com
- Announcing the merger of Houston Tomorrow & BetterHouston (5 Corners District)
- 1 July
- Texas wins a round in court fight over whooping cranes, water allocation (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org - Groundbreaking for new grocery store in Houston food desert (Atara Lindenbaum – Houston Tomorrow)
www.houstontomorrow.org - Boat draining now mandatory at all Texas lakes (Mark Haslett – KETR News)
http://ketr.org - Don’t Pick Up Aquatic Hitchhikers: New Texas Boating Rules Start Today (Dylan Baddour – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org - New state law aimed at protecting Texas waterways (Jeremy Desel – WFAA 8 News)
www.wfaa.com - EPA’s CO2 Rule and the Back Door to Cap & Trade (The Energy Collective)
http://theenergycollective.com - The Q&A: Blair Fitzsimons of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (John Reynolds – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Texas wins a round in court fight over whooping cranes, water allocation (Texas Climate News)
- 30 June
- A chance to protect Texas’ fish, wildlife (Andrea Hance – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - Keeping Cool While Learning About Our Cool Redesign (Sajana Palla – Write On Metro)
http://blogs.ridemetro.org - Court: Texas not liable for death of cranes (Matthew Tresaugue- Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - First-Of-Its-Kind Desalination Plant Unveiled In Texas (Sara Jerome – Water Online)
www.wateronline.com - New study will examine urban development and displacement (Jessica Wiggins – Houston Tomorrow)
www.houstontomorrow.org - Houston era of ‘white flight’ slowing (Atara Lindenbaum – Houston Tomorrow)
www.houstontomorrow.org - Climate Change: Doing What We Can to Avoid Worst-Case Scenarios and Prepare for Rough Weather Ahead (Vicki Wolf – CLEAN)
www.cleanhouston.org - A step forward for Uptown BRT (Charles Kuffner – Off the Kuff)
http://offthekuff.com - Rising Oil and Gas Boom Does Little for Poor in Texas (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org - 5th Circuit Opinion Favors Water Suppliers (Eli Okun – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Wildfire season forecast: Moderately active (Texas Water Resources Institute)
http://twri.tamu.edu - From our director: The state of the institutes (Roel Lopez – Texas Water Resources Institute)
http://twri.tamu.edu - Automated meter infrastructure project: How technology can reduce water usage (Amy Buice – Texas Water Resources Institute)
http://twri.tamu.edu - River course: TAMU graduate students gain experiential learning on Rio Grande (Leslie Lee – Texas Water Resources Institute)
http://twri.tamu.edu - TSSWCB commemorates 75 years of soil and water conservation (Sara Carney – Texas Water Resources Institute)
http://twri.tamu.edu - Rainwater harvesting soaking in (Texas Water Resources Institute)
http://twri.tamu.edu - Quail Index taking off (Conservation Matters)
http://twri.tamu.edu - Water/Wastewater short course for professionals Aug. 5–6 at Texas A&M (Conservation Matters)
http://twri.tamu.edu - And the Terry Hershey Bayou Stewardship Award Goes to . . . Jim Robertson! (The Bayou Beat)
www.bayoupreservation.org - BPA Welcomes New Education Director, Amanda Brown (The Bayou Beat)
www.bayoupreservation.org - Linda Shead Receives Volunteer Houston Award (The Bayou Beat)
www.bayoupreservation.org - Lawrence Spence Recognized By Keep Texas Beautiful (The Bayou Beat)
www.bayoupreservation.org - BPA Supports the Memorial Park Demonstration Project (The Bayou Beat)
www.bayoupreservation.org - Young Professionals Group Combines Brews and Bayous (The Bayou Beat)
www.bayoupreservation.org - Spotlight is on Sims Bayou Paddling Trail (The Bayou Beat)
www.bayoupreservation.org - BPA Interns Hard at Work This Summer (The Bayou Beat)
www.bayoupreservation.org
- A chance to protect Texas’ fish, wildlife (Andrea Hance – Houston Chronicle)
- 29 June
- Boom Meets Bust in Texas: Atop Sea of Oil, Poverty Digs In (Manny Fernandez and Clifford Krauss – The New York Times)
www.nytimes.com
- Boom Meets Bust in Texas: Atop Sea of Oil, Poverty Digs In (Manny Fernandez and Clifford Krauss – The New York Times)
- 28 June
- Down the drain: Nearly 300 million gallons of water for 10 Texas cities in 2013 (Nicole C. Brambila – Lubbock Avalanche Journal)
http://lubbockonline.com
- Down the drain: Nearly 300 million gallons of water for 10 Texas cities in 2013 (Nicole C. Brambila – Lubbock Avalanche Journal)
- 27 June
- Chicken kicks up legal skirmish in oil patch (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - Everglades restoration project has had modest impact, report shows (Reuters)
www.reuters.com - TxDOT pledges $25 million for Uptown BRT (David Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
www.houstontomorrow.org - Why Transit Matters for Houston’s Future (Kelsey A. Walker and Stephen L. Klineberg – Kinder Institute, Rice University)
http://kinder.rice.edu - Council Endorses EPA Emissions Rule (Lizzie Jesperson – The Austin Chronicle)
www.austinchronicle.com
- Chicken kicks up legal skirmish in oil patch (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
- 26 June
- Water-cleanup catalysts tackle biomass upgrading (RICE News)
http://news.rice.edu
- Water-cleanup catalysts tackle biomass upgrading (RICE News)
- 25 June
- Drought conditions continue to improve but at slower rate (Ron Smith – Southwest Farm Press)
http://southwestfarmpress.com - Is Wilderness Still Relevant? (Orion Magazine)
www.orionmagazine.org - Texas Breaks Wind Power Production Record (Bobby Magill – Climate Central)
www.climatecentral.org - Crumbling U.S. Grid Gets Jolt in Smart Houston Power System (Mark Chediak, Jim Polson and Ken Wells – Bloomberg)
www.bloomberg.com
- Drought conditions continue to improve but at slower rate (Ron Smith – Southwest Farm Press)
- 24 June
- Houston Parks and Recreation Department Community Gardens Will Grow For Good (City of Houston)
www.houstongovnewsroom.org
- Houston Parks and Recreation Department Community Gardens Will Grow For Good (City of Houston)
- 23 June
- Texas a Testing Ground for Energy Storage (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org -
Houston Increasing Its Walkability (Camilo Smith – Houston Press Blogs)
http://blogs.houstonpress.com
- Texas a Testing Ground for Energy Storage (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)