• 713-524-4CEC (4232)
  • info@cechouston.org
February 2, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: February 3, 2015

Featured

  1. Four Fort Bend park projects win regional recognition (Houston Chronicle, 1/26/2015)
    “Fulshear’s first butterfly and pollinator garden at the Irene Stern Community Center earned honorable mention from the Houston-Galveston Area Council in the Projects under $500,000 category. The regional group selected four Fort Bend County projects as part of the 2014 Parks and Natural Areas Award competition. These projects serve as models for planning and project implementation for parks and natural areas in the region. Fort Bend projects were honored in three categories: Policy Tools, Planning Process and Projects Under $500,000.”
    www.chron.com
  2. Houston suburbs reclaiming more wastewater (Jayme Fraser – Houston Chronicle, 1/10/2015)
    “Reclaimed wastewater soon will irrigate the trim lawns and wooded parks of some Houston suburbs. Instead of being dumped into the bayous, some of it might even undergo more extensive treatment in order to flow from kitchen taps. Economics is starting to trump the yuck factor of reusing water flushed down toilets and drained from sinks… As suburban water providers aim to meet state benchmarks for reducing reliance on groundwater, they have cringed at undertaking costly expansions to draw more water from Lake Houston via the city system.”
    www.houstonchronicle.com
  3. Preserving The Monarch Butterfly’s Migration (Laurie Johnson – Houston Public Media, 2/2/2015)
    “Ecologists know the Monarch butterfly migration is changing. But Dara Satterfield’s research out of the University of Georgia suggests butterflies that stay in the U.S. for the winter pass on more disease and parasites to their offspring. Preserving the full migration to Mexico is important for the health of the overall Monarch population… Satterfield’s research found there could be a simple reason the butterflies are sticking around. It’s tropical milkweed, and it’s what most butterfly enthusiasts plant in Texas… So while tropical milkweed does a good job of feeding Monarchs, it does too well at keeping them in town for the winter.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org

EcoNotes

  • 2 February
    • Preserving The Monarch Butterfly’s Migration (Laurie Johnson – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Five things you need to know in Texas energy this week (Jordan Blum – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
  • 31 January
    • Legislation Would Let Electric Generators Get Bigger (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Looking for a beer made from actual human piss? Urine luck. (Charley Cameron – Inhabitat)
      http://inhabitat.com
  • 30 January
  • 29 January
  • 28 January
    • How Hill Country Grazing Led to Cedar Fever in Texas (Daniel Ramirez – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Complete Streets – Safer, Efficient, Equitable (Bike Houston)
      www.bikehouston.org
    • Will There Be Enough Water for Greater Houston in the Years to Come? (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
    • Let’s Tackle the Grease in the Kitchen! (The Anahuac Progress)
      www.thevindicator.com
    • Mobile heat tech the Google maps of energy savings (Ben Gruber – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • LCRA: Drought conditions still exist (Joe Lanane – Community Impact Newspaper)
      http://impactnews.com
    • House OKs bill speeding up LNG export process (Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Washington Bureau – My SA News)
      www.expressnews.com
    • Texas State-Fish Art Contest Seeks Entries (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Spring Breaking at Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Conoco, BP, Chevron form new Gulf of Mexico partnership (Jordan Blum – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
  • 27 January
    • Public Comment Sought for Water Quality Project in Armand Bayou (Guidry News)
      www.guidrynews.com
    • Israeli company eager to solve Texas’ water woes with desalination (Michael Theis – Austin Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • BP turns to environmental impact, financial state in oil spill penalty trial (Collin Eaton – Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
    • Texas Lawmakers Want Money For Transportation Without Raising Taxes (Gail Delaughter – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • EPA to Host an Ozone Hearing in Arlington, TX, and You’re Invited (Elena Craft – EDF News)
      http://blogs.edf.org
    • Quiz: Beer, Coffee, or Crude Oil? Sometimes It’s Hard to Tell (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • BP executive takes stand in Gulf oil spill penalty trial (Eagle Ford Texas)
      http://eaglefordtexas.com
    • NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Modifications to Red Grouper Recreational Management in the Gulf of Mexico (Southeast Fishery Bulletin)
      http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov
    • NOAA Fisheries Announces Changes to King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, and Cobia Regulations in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic (Wakulla News)
      www.wakulla.com
    • NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Changes to Royal Red Shrimp Regulations (Oyster Radio)
      http://oysterradio.blogspot.com
    • Texas Lawmakers: Restore Clean Air Funding and Do the Right Thing for Texas (Christina Wolfe – EDF News)
      http://blogs.edf.org
  • 26 January
  • 25 January
    • Quenching Our Future, Part 6: Texas drought diminishes, but enormous water loss persists, satellites show (Marty Schladen – El Paso Times)
      www.elpasotimes.com
  • 23 January
    • Texas lawmakers take aim at taxes generated by water districts (Kimberly Reeves – Dallas Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • Groundwater Wars Brewing in Austin’s Suburbs (Neena Satija – Trib+Water)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 22 January
    • Fired TCEQ Investigator: Law Firm Triggered Dismissal (Neena Satija and Jim Malewitz – Trib+Water)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Local Park Grants Fund Projects Statewide (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      tpwd.texas.gov
    • TPWD Proposing Adjustments to Bass and Gar Fishing Regulations; Commercial Crab and Finfish Rules (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Inland Fisheries Chief Receives National Fish Habitat Award (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • SEAFWA Recognizes Game Warden and TPWD Employee (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
  • 21 January
  • 20 January
    • Five things you need to know in Texas energy this week (Jordan Blum – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • UH Selected to Lead Offshore Energy Research Center (Jeannie Kever – University of Houston)
      www.uh.edu
  • 13 January
  • 10 January
  • 8 January
    • Generating Less Trash Was One of the Goals of Sustainability Fest (Richard Zagrzecki – University of Houston)
      www.uh.edu