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May 11, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: May 11, 2015

Featured

  1. Water districts challenged to increase conservation (Robin Foster – Houston Chronicle, 5/5/2015)
    “Local water providers are between a rock and a hard place – trying to keep rates low while facing huge costs over the next decade to build the infrastructure needed to secure Greater Houston’s future water supply. At a recent breakfast of the Association of Water Board Directors, former Trinity County Judge Mark Evans, who chairs the Region H Water Planning Group that includes Greater Houston, said the Texas Water Development Board is prioritizing about $5.5 billion in applications seeking state funds for water projects, and more than half the amount is from this area, considered an ‘economic powerhouse’ for the state. Even with help from voter-approved state funds, regional water authorities that include local utility districts around Katy and Cy-Fair and in Fort Bend County are on the hook to borrow millions in the next 10 years to meet groundwater reduction goals set by local subsidence districts. Their plans expand existing surface water supply facilities, and much of the cost will be repaid by water rate hikes to customers in local utility districts.”
    www.chron.com
  2. As EPA Pushes For Cleaner Air, Refineries Push Back (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 5/11/2015)
    “If you lived in Houston in the 1980s, you might have noticed that something has changed about the air you breathe: back then, it was a lot dirtier. But whether it needs to be ‘cleaner’ than it is today is at the heart of debate heating up as new federal regulations are being written. In the past several decades, the air in Houston and other big cities has improved dramatically. One reason is that car engines emit far less pollution. And the same can be said for big industries. In fact, 25 years ago new air pollution rules, signed into law by the first President Bush, made industries spend billions to reduce their toxic emissions. And nowhere might that have had a bigger impact that in Houston with one of the largest concentrations of oil refineries and chemical plants in the nation.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  3. Coolers Full Of Toad Eggs: Zoo Scientists Work To Save Endangered Amphibians (Carrie Feibel – Houston Public Media, 5/6/2015)
    “The Houston toad, once native to this sprawling and humid metropolis, has not been found in the city for decades. Only three hundred are estimated to be left alive in the wild — mostly in the piney woods in and around Bastrop State Park. That leaves more Houston toads living at the Houston Zoo than in the wild. You can see two Houston toads in the regular zoo exhibit, but the rest — about 450 — live behind closed doors. Their homes are rows of clear tanks filled with pools of water and hillocks of fluffy moss, where the toads nestle quietly. If the Houston toad has a future, it begins here, in this biological ark. This captive group is the nucleus for a breeding program that has the goal of increasing the outdoors population until it can reach a stable and self-sustaining level.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org

EcoNotes

  • 11 May
  • 8 May
    • Campaign Aims to Stem Spread of Invasive Zebra Mussels (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • From Laboratory To Marketplace: New Houston Institute Will Focus On Commercializing Superconductors (Carrie Feibel – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Clean water is at hand, but a fractured system keeps it from some families (Alexa Ura & Neena Satija – Undrinkable)
      http://apps.texastribune.org
    • Texas Kicks Off Campaign To Halt Spread Of Zebra Mussels (CBS DFW)
      http://dfw.cbslocal.com
  • 7 May
    • Cheap natural gas crowding out coal on Texas grid (Gavin Bade – Utility DIVE)
      www.utilitydive.com
    • Deep-sea microbes called missing link for complex cellular life (Will Dunham – Planet Ark News)
      planetark.org
    • Metro Applauds Passage of Bill to Enhance Board Stability (Mass Transit)
      www.masstransitmag.com
  • 6 May
    • Coolers Full Of Toad Eggs: Zoo Scientists Work To Save Endangered Amphibians (Carrie Feibel – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • EPA Closely Watching Bill to Speed State Permits (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • EPA regulator says set to release key herbicide report, lauds biopesticides (Carey Gillam – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • EPA sends biofuels volumes targets to White House for review: sources (Chris Prentice in New York and Ayesha Rascoe in Washington – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • Shift in U.S. federal solar funding needed for large-scale deployment: report (Yeganeh Torbati – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
  • 5 May
    • What Should Be Done with the San Jacinto Waste Pits? (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
    • Water districts challenged to increase conservation (Robin Foster – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Texas Moves To Ban Own Cities From Banning Fracking (CBS Houston)
      http://houston.cbslocal.com
    • Texas to Sue Federal Government Over “Clean Power Plan” (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Bill gutting fracking bans advances in Texas (Anna Driver – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • New Study Questions Current System Of Transportation Funding (Gail Delaughter – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • EPA delays prompt $13.7 billion shortfall in biofuels investment: report (Chris Prentice – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • Penske Truck Leasing Receiving $1.1 Million In Texas Sustainability Grants (The Street)
      www.thestreet.com
    • Harvard study: Cutting carbon dioxide saves 3,500 US lives a year (Seth Borenstein – Business Insider)
      www.businessinsider.com
    • OTC: Award recepient’s first job after retiring from a 38-year Interior Department career was investigating the BP oil spill (Tanya Rutledge – Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
  • 4 May
    • Steven Chu discusses energy, climate change in Houston (Fountain’s Pen)
      https://kenfountain.wordpress.com
    • Harris County Judge Finds Confirmation Of Astrodome Plans In German Domed Resort (Florian Martin – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • What Will the New Memorial Park Look Like, Now that a Master Plan Has Been Approved? (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
    • Want to Save Thousands of American Lives Each Year? Cut Power Plant Pollution (Switchboard)
      http://switchboard.nrdc.org
    • TxDOT Floats Ideas for Rerouting I-45 Through Downtown Houston (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
    • Meetings over, but discussion of I-45 project continues (Dug Begley – Houston Chronicle)
      http://blog.chron.com
    • EPA delays prompt $13.7 billion shortfall in biofuels investment: report (Chris Prentice – EagleFord Texas)
      http://eaglefordtexas.com
    • Geologists Look At Past Earthquakes In Houston To Explain Present Tremors In North Texas (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Scientists: EPA’s curbs on coal-burning will save thousands of lives (Joby Warrick – The Washington Post)
      www.washingtonpost.com
    • Fracking linked to earthquakes and increased levels of radon in homes (Philip Guelpa – World Socialist Web Site)
      www.wsws.org
    • Sid Miller says Texas farmers ‘just about maxed out’ in water conservation (W. Gardner Selby – PolitiFact Texas)
      www.politifact.com
    • ERCOT Forecasts Sufficient Electric Capacity for Summer (Ed Mayberry – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  • 2 May
  • 1 May
  • 30 April
    • When comparing Texas and California droughts, there is no comparison (Carol Christian – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
  • 29 April
    • Researchers launch two-year study on the use of treated wastewater in agriculture (Water Tech Online)
      www.watertechonline.com
  • 28 April
    • Kingwood residents share thoughts on mobility plans (Jennifer Summer – The Kingwood Observer)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
  • 27 April
  • 25 April
    • EPA administrator visits Port of Houston Authority to make announcement (Memorial Examiner)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
  • 23 April
    • Expanded Service Meets the Demand of Area Park and Rides (Guidry News)
      www.guidrynews.com
    • 10 things to know about Montgomery County’s road bond (John D. Harden – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
  • 22 April
    • Big Thicket Reporters’ Recognition Reception (The Liberty County Vindicator)
      www.thevindicator.com
    • Township explores CNG option for buses (Catherine Dominguez – The Woodlands Villager)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
    • Construction on HOV lanes to begin in June (Catherine Dominguez – The Woodlands Villager)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com