Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: September 9, 2014
Featured
- Army Nuclear Reactor Barge Headed For Dismantling In Galveston (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 9/8/2014)
Sometime this winter, a historic, radioactive sea vessel will float into Galveston and be torn apart for scrap. This ship was once used to generate electricity to operate the locks in the Panama Canal. After 7 years of use, the ship was no longer needed so the nuclear reactor was removed and it was de-fueled in 1977. Other parts still emitted nuclear radiation, so the Army Corps decided to let the ship sit for years so that it would become less radioactive. This winter, the ship will be towed into Galveston and docked at a shipyard on Galveston Island at a pier at the 37th street entrance to the Port of Galveston. Hans Honerlah, a project manager with the Army Corps, says that there will be no more radiation outside the vessel than is naturally-occurring, meaning there will be no extra exposure for Galveston residents.
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Ruling will provide increased funding for restoring the Texas Coast and Galveston Bay (The Bay Area Citizen, 9/4/2014)
A federal district judge in New Orleans ruled today that BP PLC was guilty of gross negligence in the actions it took leading up to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This ruling could potentially increase the total civil penalties under the Clean Water Act to upwards of $18 billion, 80% of which is expected to be appropriated to Gulf-wide ecosystem restoration under the terms of the RESTORE Act. Bob Stokes, President of the Galveston Bay Foundation, explains the importance of the ruling for the Gulf Coast and Galveston Bay.
www.yourhoustonnews.com - Houston’s congested roads spread far and wide (Dug Begley – Houston Chronicle, 9/2/2014)
Researchers used a massive amount of data to come to the conclusion, as reported last week, that Loop 610 in Uptown is the state’s most congested road. There are a lot of ways to look at the numbers Texas A&M Transportation Institute researchers amassed, but any way you slice them Houston area drivers contend with challenges no matter where they are.
http://blog.chron.com
EcoNotes
- 8 September
- Army Nuclear Reactor Barge Headed For Dismantling In Galveston (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
- Army Nuclear Reactor Barge Headed For Dismantling In Galveston (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
- 7 September
- Volunteer: Roll up your sleeves and help keep Texas beaches clean (Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com
- Volunteer: Roll up your sleeves and help keep Texas beaches clean (Houston Chronicle)
- 5 September
- BP ‘grossly negligent’ in 2010 U.S. spill, fines could be $18 billion (Anna Driver and Mica Rosenberg – Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com - Free Speech Case Springs From Fracking Dispute (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Texas Attorney General Questions Legality of Plastic Bag Bans for Solid Waste Management Reasons (Waste Management World)
www.waste-management-world.com - Salvor to Remove Beached Vessel in Texas (Eric Haun – Marine Link)
www.marinelink.com
- BP ‘grossly negligent’ in 2010 U.S. spill, fines could be $18 billion (Anna Driver and Mica Rosenberg – Reuters)
- 4 September
- Reservoir project in rice country gets financial assist (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - Ruling will provide increased funding for restoring the Texas Coast and Galveston Bay (The Bay Area Citizen)
www.yourhoustonnews.com - West Texas Solar Plant Comes Online (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Finding Land For Boom In Freight Trains (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org - Take Me Outdoors Houston Set for Sept. 13 at Discovery Green (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
www.tpwd.state.tx.us - BP shares battered by judge’s ruling on Gulf of Mexico oil spill (Michael Kunzelman and Janet Mcconnaughey – The Vancouver Sun) www.vancouversun.com
- Those puddles? They’re navigable, by EPA reckoning (Brian Breshnahan – Kearney Hub)
www.kearneyhub.com - Judge’s decision: BP’s reckless conduct caused Gulf oil spill; Houston-based Halliburton shares blame (The Magnolia Edition Potpourri) www.yourhoustonnews.com
- Anheuser-Busch Converts Houston Trucking Fleet to Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles from Ryder (Business Wire)
www.businesswire.com
- Reservoir project in rice country gets financial assist (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
- 3 September
- Big Thicket Association’s 50th Anniversary and Book Signing (The Liberty County Vindicator)
www.thevindicator.com - Report: Texas Loses Bid For Tesla “Gigafactory” (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Where Cotton Is King, Controversy Erupts Over Rail Yard (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org - Great Lakes Announces Over $30 Million Award to Widen Freeport Harbor Ship Channel Near Freeport, Texas (Business Wire)
www.businesswire.com - Texas Tribune Deceitfully Edits George P. Bush Remarks on Climate Change (PJ Media)
http://pjmedia.com
- Big Thicket Association’s 50th Anniversary and Book Signing (The Liberty County Vindicator)
- 2 September
- What Do New Houstonians Need to Know About Business, Energy and the Environment in Greater Houston? (Maggie Martin – Houston Matters) www.houstonmatters.org
- Houston’s congested roads spread far and wide (Dug Begley – Houston Chronicle)
http://blog.chron.com - Cypress Creek Regatta will promote paddling in area (Bryan Kirk – Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - ‘Self-serve’ vehicle rental expanding in Houston Jocelyn Kerr – Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - ‘Extraordinary’ Texas drought leaves lake dry (BBC News)
www.bbc.com - Finding Land For Boom In Freight Trains (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Judge calls Sierra Club air pollution suit “frivolous†(James Osborne – Dallas News)
http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com - Scientists Find ‘Alarming’ Amount Of Arsenic In Groundwater Near Texas Fracking Sites (Emily Atkin – Climate Progress)
http://thinkprogress.org - As Drought Persists, Cities Look to Texas ‘Lakes’ to Answer Needs (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org - Neches River Rally to showcase natural marvel in Beaumont (Red River Radio)
http://redriverradio.org
- 1 September
- Park playground closed due to bird activity (ABC 13 News)
http://abc13.com - Conservation group gets members on water (Minza Khan – The Spring Observer)
www.yourhoustonnews.com - EPA’s Clean Power Plan: Texas’s Last Stand or Last Hope? (Marita Mirzatuny – The Energy Collective)
http://theenergycollective.com - AgriLife growing colorful potatoes to appeal to younger consumers (Kay Ledbetter – The Eagle)
www.theeagle.com - MICHAEL JAMES BARTON: For a cleaner environment, support domestic natural gas production (Michael James Barton – Cypress Creek Mirror)
www.yourhoustonnews.com
- Park playground closed due to bird activity (ABC 13 News)
- 31 August
- On environment issues, Bush takes more moderate tone (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- On environment issues, Bush takes more moderate tone (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
- 29 August
- Bauer Business Focus: Barbara Shook and Texas’ Second Petrochemical Boom (Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
- Bauer Business Focus: Barbara Shook and Texas’ Second Petrochemical Boom (Houston Public Media)
- 28 August
- No city water needed at Houston’s greenest house; it’s an energy-saving wonder (Ralph Bivins – Culture Map Houston)
http://houston.culturemap.com - Looming water shortage worries Houston developers (Paul Takahashi – Houston Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com
- No city water needed at Houston’s greenest house; it’s an energy-saving wonder (Ralph Bivins – Culture Map Houston)
- 27 August
- Mom Completes 9-Day Kayaking Journey To Raise Water Pollution Awareness (Meg Baker – My Fox Houston)
www.myfoxhouston.com - Texas sees uptick in groundwater litigation (Justin Horne – KSAT 12 News)
www.ksat.com
- Mom Completes 9-Day Kayaking Journey To Raise Water Pollution Awareness (Meg Baker – My Fox Houston)
- 26 August
- Waste Management to cut jobs in Houston, elsewhere (Suzanne Edwards – Houston Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com
- Waste Management to cut jobs in Houston, elsewhere (Suzanne Edwards – Houston Business Journal)
- 20 August
- Time to step up to the plate and ask for the money (Cyrus Reed – Sierra Club)
http://texas2.sierraclub.org
- Time to step up to the plate and ask for the money (Cyrus Reed – Sierra Club)
- 18 August
- Is Texas slowly becoming the country’s radioactive waste dump? (Cyrus Reed – Sierra Club)
http://texas2.sierraclub.org
- Is Texas slowly becoming the country’s radioactive waste dump? (Cyrus Reed – Sierra Club)