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December 28, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: December 28, 2015

Featured

  1. The fight for Texas’ prairie wetlands (John S. Jacob and Jen Powis – Houston Chronicle)
    “To Texas developers, a coastal prairie wetland looks like profit waiting to be made: The expanses of grassland are easily bulldozed, easily platted and paved. So it’s no wonder that they’re disappearing quickly: According to a report from Texas A&M University, of the Texas coastal prairie wetlands that existed in Harris County in 1992, more than 30 percent have been lost. If you’ve lived in the Houston area awhile, you know what that means: The more we develop, the more we flood. Our wetlands serve as natural detention basins, absorbing and holding stormwater that would otherwise rush through our houses and streets. And that’s not all that those wetlands do. While wetland plants and soil retain that water, they also filter it, cleaning it before releasing it. They keep Galveston Bay healthy and fishable, and provide major habitat for the migratory birds that crisscross our area. The more scientists study Texas’ coastal wetlands, the more important we realize they are.”
    www.houstonchronicle.com
  2. Divers Find Hole In Cover At San Jacinto Waste Pits (David Pitman – Houston Public Media, 12/22/2015)
    “There’s a new problem at the waste pits along the San Jacinto River, east of Houston. Divers recently found a hole in the cap that’s supposed to keep toxic waste that a nearby paper mill produced in the 1960s from further contaminating the water as had happened in the 1970s and ’80s. But there is still much to be learned about the breach and its consequences. A team of divers working for the Environmental Protection Agency discovered the hole almost two weeks ago at the Superfund site along I-10, just west of Crosby-Lynchburg Road. This comes as no surprise to advocates of the river.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  3. A Legal Challenge To How Texas Made It Easier To Pollute (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 12/23/2015)
    “Refineries, petrochemical plants and electricity generation facilities need state permits to pollute the air and water. Earlier this year, big industrial companies complained that it took too long in Texas to get permits to pollute the air and water. One complaint was about the public hearings that could be held to challenge the permits. So the legislature streamlined the process, now making it more difficult and costly for citizens living near industrial sites to take part in those hearings.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org

EcoNotes

  • 26 December
    • Freakish Texas winter includes daily tornadoes, sudden snow storms (Seth Robbins – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
  • 25 December
    • This Is How Air Pollution Causes Changes In Dirtiest Cities In The World (Alyssa Navarro – Tech Times)
      www.techtimes.com
    • Carcass of beached Galveston whale has been reburied (Brian Rogers – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
  • 24 December
    • A Legal Challenge To How Texas Made It Easier To Pollute (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • In the seasonal spirit of affinity for trees, a roundup of worrisome forest news (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Texas, West Virginia attorneys general ask federal court to halt unconstitutional EPA power plan (Palestine Herald)
      www.palestineherald.com
    • Clean Water Rule survived polluter lobbying (Annalise Dobbelstein – The Times Herald)
      www.thetimesherald.com
    • Recreational Seasons reopen January 1, 2016 for Red Grouper, Gray Triggerfish, and Greater Amberjack (Fish Game)
      https://fishgame.com
  • 23 December
    • $20 million for street, trail improvements (Annette Baird – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • For NextEra, Texas strategy reflects flight from traditional merchant plants (Kristi E. Swartz and Edward Klump – E&E Publishing, LLC)
      www.eenews.net
    • EPA approves plan to assess damageto cover at toxic site (Longview News-Journal)
      www.news-journal.com
  • 22 December
  • 21 December
  • 18 December
  • 16 December
    • Largest Texas City Embraces Private Clean Energy Finance Program in Record Year (Charlene Heydinger – EDF)
      http://blogs.edf.org
    • Americans in Paris: A European journalist’s assessment of the US role (Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
  • 13 December
  • 11 December