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March 9, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: March 9, 2015

Featured

  1. What Dallas can learn from Houston’s Buffalo Bayou for the Trinity River project (Mark Lamster – Dallas Morning News, 2/26/2015)
    “How do you transform the flood plain of a neglected urban waterway into a grand public park and metropolitan gateway? Dallas has been struggling with this challenge for more than 20 years, making incremental progress on the Trinity River corridor while debating whether to burden it with a toll road. Houston, meanwhile, has spent that same time successfully remaking a 10-mile stretch of the Buffalo Bayou, the sinuous river that runs through the heart of that city and down to Galveston Bay, into precisely the kind of urban amenity Dallasites have long imagined for themselves. The centerpiece of that project, the $58-million, 160-acre Buffalo Bayou Park, will be completed over the summer, bringing a wonderland of verdant landscapes, scenic bridges, bike and pedestrian trails, restaurants and cafes, watersport facilities, a skate park and performance and art spaces to Houston’s downtown.”
    http://res.dallasnews.com
  2. Houston Dry Cleaner at Center of Pollution Debate ( Neena Satija and Susan Carroll – The Texas Tribune, 3/7/2015)
    “In the 1950s, decades before LeRoy Melcher became a well-known real estate tycoon and philanthropist, he opened his first shopping center on San Felipe Road in the River Oaks neighborhood… Sixty years later, it sits in one of Houston’s most expensive neighborhoods and has become the epicenter of a contentious debate over the enforcement of the state’s environmental laws. On one side is Harris County, which blames the Melcher family and its tenant, River Oaks Cleaners, for a toxic plume of chemicals detected beneath the property. The plaintiffs are seeking penalties of between $50 and $25,000 per day going back nearly two decades – up to roughly $173 million. On the other side are Melcher’s heirs, who have refused to settle for anything more than $1. LeRoy Melcher, who died in 1999, and his wife donated millions to charities and the University of Houston, which has three buildings on campus bearing their names.”
    www.texastribune.org
  3. State climatologist optimistic about less severe drought for next two decades (Robert Burns – Mineral Wells Index, 3/3/205)
    “As far as drought is concerned, for the next 20 to 30 years, State Climatologist Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, College Station, said he is optimistic. ‘And then I turn seriously pessimistic,’ he said. While reports from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service personnel show an improvement in rainfall during the last six months, Nielsen-Gammon said rainfall patterns are only one of the major factors in drought. The other factor is evaporation from increased temperature, he said. Global warming has meant an average temperature increase in Texas of about 1.5 degrees since the 1970s. While this may not seem like much of an increase to most people, it’s enough to increase the evapotranspiration of plants and loss of surface water by several percent.”
    www.mineralwellsindex.com

EcoNotes

  • 8 March
    • T-Squared: An In-Depth Series on Undrinkable Water (Emily Ramshaw – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 7 March
    • Houston Dry Cleaner at Center of Pollution Debate ( Neena Satija and Susan Carroll – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 6 March
    • Texas company fined for taking water from river (WAPT News)
      www.wapt.com
    • Refinery Strike Is Not Just About Safety – It’s About Pollution (Mike Ludwig – Truthout)
      http://truth-out.org
    • Exxon settles New Jersey environmental lawsuit for $225 million (Hilary Russ – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • Texas city to replace existing lift station (Water Technology)
      www.watertechonline.com
    • METRO Board Presented Review of Transport Workers Health Benefits (METRO News)
      http://content.govdelivery.com
    • U.S. weather forecaster extends likelihood of El Nino through summer (Chris Prentice – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • Severe Winter Weather Brings Environmental Issues and Side Effects University Chronicle)
      www.ssuchronicle.com
  • 5 March
    • Houstonians Weigh In On Expanding NOAA’s Flower Garden Banks Marine Sanctuary (Syeda Hasan – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Trees for Houston – Dedicated to Preserving Woodlands and Planting Trees (AirCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • NOAA Fisheries publishes final recovery plan for threatened corals (NOAA Fisheries)
      www.fisheries.noaa.gov
    • Austin water long-term planning appears to have paid off in terms of supplies, costs (Andra Lim and Asher Price – The Republic)
      www.therepublic.com
    • This Dam Holds in Lady Bird Lake, So When Will It Get ‘Essential’ Repairs? (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • United Steelworkers Continue to Strike for Safety (Adrian Shelley – AirCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
  • 4 March
  • 3 March
    • State climatologist optimistic about less severe drought for next two decades (Robert Burns – Mineral Wells Index)
      www.mineralwellsindex.com
    • Timelapse photos show how the drought is changing Texas lakes (Chris Eudaily – My SA News)
      www.mysanantonio.com
    • Will That Be Unleaded Or Natural? More Trucks In Texas Using Natural Gas (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Many dam problems for Texas’ deteriorating infrastructure (Matt Levin – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Council chooses big transformers for stability and growth (Kelley Stanage – Argus)
      http://hometownargus.com
    • New specialty license plate supports Texas’ environment (William Taylor – Rowlett Lakeshore Times)
      http://starlocalmedia.com
    • House Republicans Want to Tell EPA what Science it Can and Cannot Use (Ring of Fire)
      www.ringoffireradio.com
    • Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s 2014 annual report is now available online (Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation)
      www.tpwf.org
  • 2 March
  • 26 February
    • What Dallas can learn from Houston’s Buffalo Bayou for the Trinity River project (Mark Lamster – Dallas Morning News)
      http://res.dallasnews.com
  • 25 February
    • The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change as a Gateway Belief: Experimental Evidence (PLOS One)
      http://journals.plos.org
  • 23 February