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March 30, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: March 30, 2015

Featured

  1. In the garden with Urban Harvest: Stormwater management takes many forms in urban landscape (Chris LaChance – Houston Chronicle, 3/27/2015)
    “Detention ponds are required by developers when natural systems such as native prairies, wetlands, and woodlands are paved over to build roads, homes, parking lots and malls. They were designed as an attempt to make up for the natural porous, or permeable, areas lost to development. Nonetheless, rainwater, also referred to as stormwater, which once soaked into the soil and helped to replenish groundwater, rapidly runs off the solid, impervious surfaces. Along the way it picks up substances such as pesticides and synthetic fertilizers from landscapes, oil and grease from parking lots and pet waste. As a result, we see flooding, polluting of rivers, bayous and bays, and lowering of water levels in aquifers… Better, more natural ways to manage stormwater are fast becoming alternatives to conventional methods… The resulting techniques, often referred to a stormwater best management practices or BMPs are cheaper, more aesthetically pleasing and more effective at controlling pollution.”
    www.chron.com
  2. Greens Bayou project will provide flood control improvements (Marie Leonard – Community Impact Newspaper, 3/25/2015)
    “A project decades in the making will begin later this year to reduce the effects of flooding along the Greens Bayou watershed in northern Harris County. ‘The history of flooding on Greens Bayou goes back to the 1920s and ‘30s, and maybe even earlier,’ said Jill Boullion, executive director of the Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition. ‘The first study on the bayou was authorized by the federal government in 1948, so this project has its genesis in that 1948 study.’ The Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition began an advocacy effort in 2009 to secure funding for the project, which was going nowhere at the time, Boullion said. Members of the coalition traveled to Galveston, Dallas and Washington D.C. to meet with officials from the Army Corp of Engineers to discuss the project, which received $8 million in start-up funding in the federal 2015 fiscal year budget for the Corp Civil Works program. The $55 million project includes the construction of a 108-acre detention basin and 3.7 miles of channel improvements, which stretch from Cutten Road to Veteran’s Memorial Drive. The basin itself will be situated at Antoine and West Greens Road, near Beltway 8 in northern Harris County. Harris County purchased the property for the project in 1997, Boullion said.”
    http://impactnews.com
  3. Texas Scientists Find Antibiotic Resistance Blowing in Wind (Eva Hershaw – The Texas Tribune, 3/29/2015)
    “After years spent studying the dust that blows across the southern Great Plains, Phil Smith no longer looks at the dark haboobs that routinely rise over Lubbock without a healthy dose of apprehension. In a study slated for publication next month, he and Texas Tech University colleague Greg Mayer may have made their biggest discovery yet: DNA from antibiotic-resistant bacteria in cattle feedlots is airborne. For years, scientists have known that humans can contract antibiotic-resistant bacteria by consuming contaminated meat or water. The findings by Smith and Mayer indicate that humans could also be exposed to so-called ‘super bugs’ or ‘super bacteria’ traveling through the air. ‘This is the first test to open our eyes to the fact that we could be breathing these things,’ said Smith, an environmental toxicologist at Texas Tech.”
    www.texastribune.org

EcoNotes

  • 29 March
    • Texas Scientists Find Antibiotic Resistance Blowing in Wind (Eva Hershaw – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Metro writes off old light rail studies (Charles Kuffner – Off the Kuff)
      http://offthekuff.com
    • NOAA Seeks Comments on an Application for an Exempted Fishing Permit to Collect Red Drum in Federal Waters off Mississippi (Oyster Radio)
      http://oysterradio.blogspot.com
  • 27 March
    • In the garden with Urban Harvest: Stormwater management takes many forms in urban landscape (Chris LaChance – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Regional Haze, The ‘War on Coal,’ and How Environmental Policy Is Made (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Policing Pollution (Nick Anderson – Houston Chronicle)
      http://blog.chron.com
    • See How Local Drilling Rules Vary Across Texas (Jim Malewitz and Ryan Murphy – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Wasted effort from Metro studies was a team effort (Dug Begley – Houston Chronicle)
      http://blog.chron.com
    • Houston parks get millions to boost quality of life (Video) (Joe Martin – Houston BizBlog)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • Why Houston is spending millions to take a walk in the park (Video) (Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • U.S. gives approval for $350,000 rhino hunt sold at Texas auction (Jon Herskovitz – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
  • 26 March
  • 25 March
    • Is it Spring Allergies or Indoor Air Quality Issues Causing Running Noses and Itchy Eyes across Texas? (WebWire)
      www.webwire.com
    • Greens Bayou project will provide flood control improvements (Marie Leonard – Community Impact Newspaper)
      http://impactnews.com
    • Last Call for Comments on EPA’s Refinery Rule (Brian Butler – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • Urban Land Institute report says Dome should live on (David Taylor – The Examiner)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
    • U.S. Supreme Court Hears Latest Texas v. EPA Challenge (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Gulf Coast not immune to tsunamis, say researchers (Leigh Morgan – AL News)
      www.al.com
    • EPA call for comments raises questions over biofuel standards delay (Chris Prentice – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
  • 24 March
    • Volunteers ready to target trash along Cypress Creek (Bryan Kirk – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Report: Smart Lawn Watering Could Save Big (Trib+Water)
      www.texastribune.org
    • ACTion Alerts: Follow the Texas Legislative Session (Adrian Shelley – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • Precinct 4 recognizes first geocacher to finish 2015 GeoChallenge (The Humble Observer)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
    • Texas lawmakers get earful as they consider banning cities from banning fracking (Kimberly Reeves – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • Austin Launches Texas’ Inaugural PACE Program, Unleashes Private Funding for Water and Energy Efficiency (Charlene Heydinger – EDF)
      http://blogs.edf.org
  • 23 March
    • The virtues of rainwater harvesting (Monique Ching – Times Record News)
      www.timesrecordnews.com
    • Galveston Bay Oil Spill: One Year Later (Maggie Martin – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
    • Confusion Swirls Over Bill to Clarify Drilling Rules (The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Texas Lawmakers Consider Outlawing Local Anti-Fracking Ordinances (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Sugar Land installs solar-powered waste, recycling stations (David Pollan – Community Impact)
      http://impactnews.com
    • Five things you need to know in Texas energy this week (Video) (Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • What’s the Latest in the Fallout From the Houston Ship Channel Collision? (Maggie Martin – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
  • 22 March
    • Gosling road expansions in jeopardy with uncertainty over funding (Bridget Balch – The Courier of Montgomery County)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
  • 20 March
    • Galveston commits $41 million to improving island’s biggest beaches (Harvey Rice – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
  • 19 March
  • 17 March
    • Showdown In Austin: State Wants To Curb City Regulation Of Oil And Gas (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org

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