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December 22, 2014

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: December 23, 2014

Featured

  1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Builds Nature Preserve in East End to Restore and Grow Pollinators (The Pasadena Citizen, 12/11/2014)
    “When Harrisburg was founded in the mid 19th century by the Allen brothers, the Buffalo Bayou in what is now Houston, Texas, was teeming with native plants and wildlife. Early settlers found the rich soil and growing conditions ideal to grow their fruits and vegetables. What they didn’t know was that the native birds and pollinating insects was the key to having a harvest. Nearly two centuries later the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFW) in cooperation with the Greater East End Management District (GEEMD) is reversing time by creating the Lockwood Nature Garden Preserve.”
    www.yourhoustonnews.com
  2. Bayou Preservation Association and Harris County Sheriff’s Office Spearhead Successful 2014 Clean and Green Program (BPA Press Release, 12/16/2014)
    “Bayou Preservation Association (BPA) joined forces with Harris County Sheriff’s Office for an immensely successful Clean and Green Program, a bayou restoration project spearheaded by BPA’s Eyes on the Bayou, Eric Ruckstuhl. Over the course of 2014, Ruckstuhl worked with Harris County low risk offenders to remove invasive, exotic plant species from a number of Houston’s bayous… The Clean and Green Program 2014 focused their efforts on the following bayou areas: Telge Park, Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary/Rummel Creek, Spring Creek Park, Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center, Collins Park, Nassau Bay Peninsula Wildlife Area , Bud Hadfield Park, Barker Cypress and Little Cypress Preserve.”
    PRESS RELEASE – HSCO Clean Green-FINAL
  3. More trails coming to greenway dividing Montgomery, Harris counties (Cindy Horswell – Houston Chronicle, 12/14/2014)
    “Spring Creek’s white sandy beaches are lined with trees, some dating back to the Akokisa Indians, along with a plethora of native plants. It’s a largely untouched haven with a diverse collection of wildlife. But what makes this pristine ecosystem north of Houston especially rare is that it is located in the middle of an area that millions of people also call home – as it serves as the natural border between Harris and Montgomery counties, one of Texas’ fastest-growing regions. Over several decades, county officials and a conservation group have partnered to acquire property on both sides of the creek to keep it wild and free of development. Now the Spring Creek Greenway is one of the longest urban, forested greenways in the country.”
    www.houstonchronicle.com

EcoNotes

  • 22 December
    • Houston Continues Losing Streak For Citizen Lawsuits Over Pollution (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  • 19 December
    • New txH2O showcases land and water stewardship (Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Geographic Information Systems training course set for Jan. 20-21 in College Station (Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Meet a scientist: Jay Angerer (Sara Carney – Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Bounty of birds decorate Houston Arboretum for Christmas (Gary Clark – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • We believe everyone deserves to live in a neighborhood they love (David Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
      www.houstontomorrow.org
    • Volvo Created a Bike Helmet That Warns Drivers About Nearby Cyclists (Andrew Liszewski – GIZMODO)
      http://gizmodo.com
    • Texas Could Face 2.7 Trillion Gallon Water Shortfall by 2060 (Karen Boman – Rigzone)
      www.rigzone.com
    • Copenhagen Turns to Two Wheels and Takes Off (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Big ‘Green’ Groups Join Texas Anti-Frackers to Spread Bans Across State (Merrill Hope – Breitbart)
      www.breitbart.com
  • 18 December
  • 17 December
    • Exxon Mobil wins environmentalist lawsuit over Baytown plant (Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • TxDOT narrows route option list for high-speed rail line (Julie Butterfield and Ariel Carmona – Community Impact Newspaper)
      http://impactnews.com
    • What Spain Can Teach Texas About Solar Energy (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Game Warden Field Notes (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
  • 16 December
    • Bayou Preservation Association and Harris County Sheriff’s Office Spearhead Successful 2014 Clean and Green Program (BPA Press Release)
      PRESS RELEASE – HSCO Clean Green-FINAL
    • Walls: The call of sandhill cranes is worth waiting for (Jerry Walls – The Courier of Montgomery County)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
    • UH Students Peddling Bikes Designed for Houston (Mike Emery – University of Houston)
      www.uh.edu
    • Houston Gardens able to grow many fruits with little maintenance (University of Houston)
      www.uh.edu
    • Superconductivity fueled new era of energy research (Jeannie Kever – University of Houston Magazine)
      www.uh.edu
    • Master Naturalist Program Seeks Applicants (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Disappearing Rio Grande Expedition Recap (Colin McDonald and Jessi Loerch – Trib + Water)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Rural Landowners Key to Water Conservation, Experts Say (Trib + Water)
      www.texastribune.org
    • A Walkabout Around Big Spring (Trib + Water)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Conserving Private Lands Conerves Water (Kathy Wythe – Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Texas A&M at Qatar receives $9.16 million from Qatar National Research Fund (tamuTimes)
      http://tamutimes.tamu.edu
    • More Fracking Fumes: Studies Repeatedly Find Unsafe Levels of Air Pollution Near Fracking Sites (Switchboard)
      http://switchboard.nrdc.org
  • 15 December
    • EPA unveils SO2 scrubber-reliant haze plan for Texas (Barry Cassell – Utility Products)
      www.utilityproducts.com
    • Studying to Protect: Turtle Island Tracks the Movements of Endangered Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks (Turtle Island Restoration Network)
      https://seaturtles.org
    • The Tragedy of the Commons Becoming a Reality
      (Malcolm Skolnick, Ph.D, J.D. – CLEAN)
      www.cleanhouston.org
  • 14 December
    • More trails coming to greenway dividing Montgomery, Harris counties (Cindy Horswell – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
  • 12 December
  • 11 December
    • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Builds Nature Preserve in East End to Restore and Grow Pollinators (The Pasadena Citizen)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
  • 10 December
    • Report Documents Deadly Accidents, Toxic Spills, Corruption at Billionaire Rich Kinder’s Energy Firm (Adrian Shelley – AirCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • EPA Awards Texas $2.5 million to Reduce Water Contamination Risk in Underground Tanks (EPA News)
      http://yosemite.epa.gov
  • 9 December
    • UH Professor Honored for Materials Research, STEM Outreach (Lisa Merkl – University of Houston)
      www.uh.edu
  • 8 December
  • 3 December
    • UH to Offer Graduate Certificate in Upstream Energy Safety (University of Houston)
      www.uh.edu