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September 1, 2014

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: September 2, 2014

Featured

  1. Shelton, Vickery: Houston not chained to re-create sprawling past – Outlook (Kyle Shelton and Kate Vickery – Houston Chronicle, 8/29/2014)
    What will the Houston region look like in 2040? Based on new Houston-Galveston Area Council projections released in August, our future looks much like our past. But is such a future ideal for our region? With the city taking steps toward the Houston General Plan, a comprehensive planning effort that could guide future local development, we urgently need to consider projections that offer alternatives to the status quo. The Council’s Regional Growth Forecast – widely used to inform policy decisions – and its Regional Land Use Information System map use historical data to project future population, employment and land-use trends in the eight-county region. The current model predicts that an additional 3.7 million people will live in the region by 2040.
    www.chron.com
  2. City to get dedicated bike lane downtown (Mike Morris – Houston Chronicle, 8/26/2014)
    Houston may get its first dedicated, on-street bike lane as early as October, as city officials prepare to convert one lane of Lamar Street downtown to a two-way cycling route connecting the popular Buffalo Bayou trails west of downtown to Discovery Green and points east. The nearly three-quarter-mile path, from the edge of Sam Houston Park to the edge of Discovery Green, will be painted green and separated from the remaining three lanes of traffic by a barrier of striped plastic humps sometimes called “armadillos” or “zebras,” said Laura Spanjian, the city’s sustainability director.
    www.chron.com
  3. Emmett proposes Dome become ‘world’s largest indoor park’ (Kiah Collier – Houston Chronicle, 8/26/2014)
    Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday proposed turning the Astrodome into “the world’s largest indoor park” and recreation area, a concept he said would preserve a taxpayer-funded asset and honor the reason his predecessor built the iconic stadium nearly 50 years ago. The county’s top elected official did not present any blueprints or renderings on Tuesday, but discussed a loose concept for an evolving air-conditioned facility that he said could host festivals and other community gatherings, general exercise facilities, hike and bike trails on the upper levels, an amphitheater, a pavilion for concerts and other events, museums and special educational facilities for children.
    www.chron.com

EcoNotes

  • 31 August
    • On Environment Issues, Bush Takes More Moderate Tone (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • My First TWP Summer – A Leader’s Perspective (The Woods Project)
      www.thewoodsproject.org
  • 29 August
    • Shelton, Vickery: Houston not chained to re-create sprawling past – Outlook (Kyle Shelton and Kate Vickery – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • High speed rail could connect major Texas cities (Amber Downing – KHOU News)
      www.khou.com
    • Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Working Group to Meet (The Outdoor Wire)
      www.theoutdoorwire.com
    • Bauer Business Focus: Barbara Shook and Texas’ Second Petrochemical Boom (Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Abbott Opinion Murky on Plastic Bag Bans (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 28 August
    • METRO Invites Public to Share Views on Harrisburg Overpass(Guidry News)
      www.guidrynews.com
    • Burn permits up in smoke (Ty Johnson – Valley Morning Star) www.valleymorningstar.com
    • Meet a Scientist: Kirk Winemiller (Sara Carney – Conservation Matters August 2014)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Celebrate Protect Your Groundwater Day Sept. 9 (Conservation Matters August 2014)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Texas A&M research shows getting energy from oil and gas doesn’t require using fresh groundwater (Conservation Matters August 2014)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Drought-stricken trees offer study platform (Conservation Matters August 2014)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • ‘Riparian Restoration on Farms and Ranches in Texas’ is now available (Conservation Matters August 2014)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Social media training for natural resource professionals Sept. 10-11 in Austin (Conservation Matters August 2014)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • NOAA Seeks Public Comment on the Proposed Rule for the Aquaculture Plan for Federal Waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Julie Anderson Lively – Louisiana Lagniappe)
      http://louisianalagniappe.wordpress.com
  • 27 August
  • 26 August
    • City to get dedicated bike lane downtown (Mike Morris – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Emmett proposes Dome become ‘world’s largest indoor park’ (Kiah Collier – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • A life on the water (Lisa Gray – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Judge Emmett proposes turning Astrodome into world’s largest indoor park (Guidry News)
      www.guidrynews.com
    • Texas Lawmakers Hear Proposals for Confronting Man-Made Quakes (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Texas Finally Buys Long-Planned Conservation Land (Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune – Governing)
      www.governing.com
    • EPA to clean up abandoned plant in Houston area (The Brownsville Herald) www.brownsvilleherald.com
  • 25 August
    • Mandell Park renovation celebration draws mayor and large crowd for dedication (Guidry News)
      www.guidrynews.com
    • Who’s Getting The Best Deals On Electricity In Texas? (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Echoes Of The Past In Today’s Petrochemical Building Boom (Andrew Schneider – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • EPA to clean up abandoned waste site that has plagued Houston neighborhood (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Can the private space industry stabilize a boom-and-bust economy? (KXWT News)
      http://kxwt.org
    • Katy teen has perfected sewer fishing (Craig Hlavaty – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Flares emitting more pollution than refineries (Zachary Toliver – Bakken.com)
      http://bakken.com
  • 23 August
    • Is a drought-buster on the way for North Texas? (Bill Hanna – Star-Telegram) www.star-telegram.com
    • METRO’s System Reimagining Plan Moves to Next Step: Board Review on Aug. 28 (METRO – Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County) (WN News)
      http://article.wn.com
  • 21 August
    • Despite Delay in Vote, Little Change Expected in Proposed LCRA Water Plan (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • City Ramping Up Efforts to Reduce Pollution Going to Local Waterways (Radio NB News)
      http://radionb.com
    • Eddie Hood Named Midwest Officer of the Year (Texas Parks & Wildlife) www.tpwd.state.tx.us
    • TPWD Employee Named State Boating Educator of the Year (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      www.tpwd.state.tx.us
    • Game Warden Named “State Officer of the Year” by NASBLA (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      www.tpwd.state.tx.us
  • 20 August
  • 18 August
  • 17 August
  • 12 August
    • Did the Railroad Commission finally get its head out of the sand on “fracking” earthquakes? (Cyrus Reed – Sierra Club)
      http://texas2.sierraclub.org