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June 22, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: June 22, 2015

Featured

  1. Rice survey: 58% in Houston agree with pope that warming’s mainly man-made (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
    “Pope Francis’ call to moral action against climate change this week will find one perhaps surprising group already in growing agreement with his key point that ‘the bulk of global warming’ is being caused by people’s use of fossil fuels and other polluting activities. According to a recent Rice University poll, nearly six in 10 residents of Houston and other parts of Harris County now see human fingerprints on climate change – a sizable increase in just a few years. That finding may startle some, since the city famously prides itself as the capital of the oil industry and many industry leaders haven’t historically been very enthusiastic about appeals to reduce consumption of their products to protect the climate.”
    http://texasclimatenews.org
  2. EPA Mapping Tool Shows Houston’s Hot Spots Of Toxic Risk (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 6/15/2015)
    “What neighborhoods in Houston are most vulnerable to bad ozone days? Which ones are most at risk because of facilities that use extremely hazardous chemicals? Which have buildings with the most lead paint? ‘It was hard to find solid data,’ says Mark Corrales, a senior analyst with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington. ‘What we have now with this tool, we’re able to apply the latest technology and huge data sets,’ Corrales told News 88.7. Corrales is talking about a mapping tool he helped develop and that you can now use on the EPA’s website. We went to the site and pulled up a map of Houston and, not surprisingly, the eastern half of it showed concentrations of vulnerable neighborhoods. It’s where so many refineries and chemical plants are located.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  3. Effects of Flooding at Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge (Meg Deeter – The Liberty County Vindicator, 6/17/2015)
    “Without a doubt, the flooding has proven to collect tremendous tolls on everyday life across the city. But beyond the city limits and suburban neighborhoods, the flooding poses an entirely different set of issues, particularly within the confides of the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge in Liberty County, TX. The refuge encompasses 29,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, 95% of which is currently submerged in water. Prior to the flooding, only 5% of the refuge resided underwater. Standing water is inherently troublesome, allowing for contamination of drinking water sources and the culmination of waterborne pathogens. Run-off often times causes substantial environmental damage, such as the contamination from submerged oil field areas.”
    www.thevindicator.com

EcoNotes

  • 20 June
  • 19 June
    • Texas health officials will further study Harris County cancer clusters (Susan Carroll – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • State Survey Finds Cancer Clusters in East Harris County (Greg Groogan – My Fox Houston)
      www.myfoxhouston.com
    • Is the pope an upstart? Texas energy industry reacts to environmental message (Sergio Chapa – Upstart Business Journal)
      http://upstart.bizjournals.com
    • Raising a Buzz for Bees and Butterflies (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Multifamily projects blossom near Buffalo Bayou Park (Paul Takahashi – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • Energy accelerator boasts several Houston success stories (Joe Martin – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • EPA defends controversial biofuels program at Senate hearing (Chris Prentice – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • U.S. researchers see auto fuel standards driving technology (David Morgan – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
  • 18 June
  • 17 June
    • Rice survey: 58% in Houston agree with pope that warming’s mainly man-made (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Effects of Flooding at Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge (Meg Deeter – The Liberty County Vindicator)
      www.thevindicator.com
    • Study: To Keep The Drilling Revolution Growing, Address Environmental Factors (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • NOAA, Partners Predict an Average ’Dead Zone’ for Gulf of Mexico (USGS)
      www.usgs.gov
    • Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trustees Extend Public Comment Period on the Draft Phase IV Early Restoration Plan to July 6 (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Summer at Ozone Theater Headquarters (Tifani Pust – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
  • 16 June
    • Texas introduces comprehensive battery recycling bill (Paul Ploumis – SMM News)
      www.metal.com
    • Focusing on Air Quality Could Prevent 2.1 million deaths per year (Environmental News Network)
      www.enn.com
    • Abbott Signs Bill to Limit Pollution Lawsuits (Jim Malewitz – Trib + Water)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Rainwater harvesting getting new flood of interest after recent rains (Paul Schattenberg – Phys.org)
      http://phys.org
  • 15 June
    • Rainwater harvesting getting new flood of interest after recent rains (AgriLife Today)
      http://today.agrilife.org
    • EPA Mapping Tool Shows Houston’s Hot Spots Of Toxic Risk (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • How Recycling Electronic Devices Can Help Save Gorillas (Syeda Hasan – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Are ‘Fake Profits’ Driving Up The Cost Of Electricity In Texas? (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • An End to Forgettable Stormwater Management? (Liz Camuti – The Dirt)
      http://dirt.asla.org
    • Five years later, Deepwater Horizon research continues but headlines fade (Kristan Uhlenbrock – Phys.org)
      http://phys.org
    • New Recycled Plastic Ninfa’s Parking Lot Surface to Be Puddle-Tested This Week
      http://swamplot.com
    • 5 things to know in Texas energy this week (Suzanne Edwards – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • Texas planners look to aquifers to prepare for next drought (Betsy Blaney – Buffalo Rewards)
      http://lubbockonline.com
  • 14 June
  • 13 June
  • 12 June
    • Health officials warn of flesh-eating bacteria in Gulf waters; how to avoid it, stay safe (Debbie M. Lord – AL News)
      www.al.com
    • Coast Guard Investigates Chemical Spill In Houston Ship Channel (Syeda Hasan – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  • 11 June
    • Texas Floodwaters Causing New Problems in Gulf of Mexico (5 NBC DFW)
      www.nbcdfw.com
    • From Drought to Flood-The Sudden Exchange of One Hazard for Another in Texas (Dr. Wei Du and Dr. Tom Jeffery – Insurance Journal)
      www.insurancejournal.com
    • Millions Of BP Spill Money Going To Galveston Birds And Turtles (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • GCHD Honors Outstanding Food Establishments and Public Health Heroes (Guidry News)
      http://guidrynews.com
    • Flooding could speed zebra mussels spread downstream (Steve Knight – Tyler Morning Telegraph)
      www.tylerpaper.com
    • Poll roundup: Climate-action candidates could win many voters’ favor in 2016 (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Rumors versus Facts About Texas Flood Disaster Assistance (FEMA)
      www.fema.gov
  • 10 June
    • Water woes still linger in Texas despite May’s downpour (John D. Harden – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Work underway to grow plants, bring Lake Livingston’s fishery back to life (Shannon Tompkins – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Abbott Nixes Water Conservation, Contract Bidding Bills (Patrick Svitek – Trib + Water)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 7 June
    • TV weathercasters’ doubt about climate change seems to be declining (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org

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