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December 6, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: December 6, 2015

Featured

  1. Scenic Galveston plans 3,200-acre face lift (Harvey Rice – Houston Chronicle, 11/29/2015)
    “The emerald expanse of wetlands that line each side of Interstate 45 on the approach to the Galveston Causeway was once a forest of billboards, litter and junk. The eyesore turned into a verdant marsh populated by fish, crab and other wildlife through the efforts of a volunteer group determined to improve Galveston’s image. Scenic Galveston formed in 1993 and eventually purchased 2,500 acres between Bayou Vista and the causeway. Now Scenic Galveston is on the verge of adding 3,200 acres of coastal prairie that encompasses nearly the entire shoreline of West Galveston Bay, said Lalise Mason, Scenic Galveston habitat restoration director.”
    www.houstonchronicle.com
  2. Hold the Salt: Longtime Nuclear Disposal Method Called Into Question (Mose Buchele – Houston Public Media, 12/2/2015)
    “In some part of the world, including a site near the Texas New Mexico border, nuclear waste is kept in rock salt deposits deep underground.  It’s long been thought that these geologic formations were some of the safest places to store humankind’s most toxic waste, but new research suggests those places may not be as safe as we thought. Professor MaÅ¡a Prodanović, was on the team that published the research, which she says, is ironic because she doesn’t study nuclear storage. They’re in petroleum engineering, and they were studying rock salt deposits because that’s important in the oil business. Rock salt is generally thought to be almost impermeable because of how salt crystals fit together… Normally the crystals fit together with almost no porousness. That’s why canisters of nuclear waste are buried in rock salt, but Prodanović and her team say that under certain high temperatures or certain pressures ‘they will start melting in corners and that’s where you actually have the pore space that starts to form.'”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  3. Does drought recovery equal quail recovery (Leslie Lee – Texas Water Resources Institute)
    “Megabrood: that’s a term most Texas quail enthusiasts haven’t used in about a decade. But this year, it made a comeback. Rains that soothed and flooded landscapes across the state in May and June 2015 resulted in near-optimum conditions for quail in many regions. Good rainfall, habitat conditions and survival rates resulted in many ranchers spotting large coveys of quail, or megabroods. Some hens hatched nests of up to 20 chicks and many hens ‘double- clutched,’ or hatched more than one brood, experts said… Despite decent roadside counts and ranchers’ optimistic reports in 2015, quail are still in the midst of a long-term decline that won’t be fixed by one wet spring, experts said.”
    http://twri.tamu.edu

EcoNotes

  • 5 December
    • LCRA Fights Release of Data on New Reservoir (Kiah Collier and Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 4 December
  • 3 December
    • Overload: Big Utilities Battle Over Who Powers Houston (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • OPEC’s policy challenge in the age of shale oil (Antoine Halff – Center on Global Energy Policy)
      http://energypolicy.columbia.edu
    • Paxton carries on federal overreach fight in Texas (Mark Lisheron – Watchdog)
      http://watchdog.org
    • Judge Approves Energy Future Holdings’ Bankruptcy Plan (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • BP spill manslaughter charges dropped, one guilty of environmental crime (Letitia Stein – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • U.S. solar industry in urgent push to extend tax incentive (Nichola Groom – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • Exxon case revives the debate over corporate climate disclosures (Katie Reilly – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • State Street launches fossil fuel-free ETF, cites climate worries (Richard Valdmanis – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • NOAA Fisheries Announces Greater Amberjack Allowable Harvest and Management Measures in the Gulf of Mexico for 2016 and Beyond (Southeast Fishery Bulletin)
      http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov
  • 2 December
    • UN climate talks: A guide to coverage by TCN and others (Updated Dec. 3) (Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Hold the Salt: Longtime Nuclear Disposal Method Called Into Question (Mose Buchele – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Largest Power Company in Texas Settles Uranium Mine Dispute (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • TWRI offers watershed monitoring, planning to stakeholders (Kathy Wythe – Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Does drought recovery equal quail recovery (Leslie Lee – Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Planning for the next big one (Kathy Wythe – Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • TPWD’s Kills and Spills Team responds to fish, wildlife kills (Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Meet a Scientist: Dr. Lee Fitzgerald (Eva Vigh – Texas Water Resources Institute)
      http://twri.tamu.edu
    • Musical stories flow through Texas waterways. (Russell Roe – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
      http://tpwmagazine.com
    • Emmy-winning Texas Parks & Wildlife TV show celebrates three decades of wonder. (Lydia Saldaña – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
      http://tpwmagazine.com
    • Preliminary results from focus areas show growth in bobwhite populations. (Tom Harvey – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
      http://tpwmagazine.com
    • Anadarko ordered to pay $159.5 million fine for 2010 Gulf spill (Jonathan Stempel – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
  • 1 December
  • 30 November
    • Leaders of warming Earth meet in Paris to cut emissions (Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
    • Houston area was lucky during hurricane season that ends today (Harvey Rice – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Join the Holiday Fun at a Texas State Park (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • See how Grand Parkway compares in size to other land formations (Jessica Hamilton – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
  • 29 November
    • Scenic Galveston plans 3,200-acre face lift (Harvey Rice – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Texas Lawmakers Seek Abbott’s Blessing on Oil Theft Crackdown (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 27 November
    • Texas A&M joins research into water-saving pineapple that may help feed the world (Holly K. Hacker – The Dallas Morning News)
      www.dallasnews.com
  • 24 November
    • More Than 1,700 Acres of Coastal Habitat to be Protected in Chambers County, TX (Claire Everett – Galveston Bay Foundation)
      www.galvbay.org
  • 18 November
    • Keystone, the power of symbols, and prospects for a Paris climate accord (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org