Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: January 3, 2015
Featured
- ‘Do the math’ on water, food situation (Bill Barker, For the Express-News – Houston Chronicle, 1/3/2016)
“The State Water Plan predicts that Bexar County water projects will provide enough water to meet household and business needs, but our entire 20-county water-planning district does not have enough agricultural water to grow the food we eat. It appears that a small percentage of our food could come from the water available for irrigation and livestock purposes in this region. It is not unusual for a large city to depend on the importation of food. François Ascher, a French urban planner and sociologist, has noted that a city is ‘a gathering of population which does not produce itself the food it consumes.’ Although a University of California, Merced, study recently concluded that there is enough cropland within a 100-mile radius of U.S. cities to meet 90 percent of national food demand, this study did not consider water supplies or climate.”
www.chron.com - 2015 was Texas’ wettest year on record (Dylan Baddour – Houston Chronicle, 12/29/2015)
“Texas saw ruinous hail storms, floods, tornadoes, blizzards and even an acute summer drought in 2015. Add it all up, and this past year was the state’s wettest since record-keeping began in 1895, according to official numbers through November and federal estimates for December. ‘I’ve called this year’s climate ‘Texas’ wild ride,” said state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon. ‘We recovered from one drought, then had another one, then recovered from it. Texas had its wettest month ever, and its wettest storm ever, and the wettest storm was not in the wettest month.'”
www.chron.com - Houston saw smoggier skies in 2015, analysis shows (Susan Carroll – Houston Chronicle, 12/20/2015)
“Houston’s smog problem worsened in 2015 after two years of record-lows, a new analysis shows, prompting calls by some environmentalists for stricter pollution enforcement. Monitors in and around the metro-area averaged 81 parts per billion of ozone in the air in 2015 – up from 65 parts per billion the year before, according to state data analyzed by the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC). Some air monitors downwind from the Houston Ship Channel recorded ozone levels not seen in nearly a decade. Other hot spots included the middle of downtown Houston and neighborhoods to the north and northwest.”
www.houstonchronicle.com
EcoNotes
- 3 January
- ‘Do the math’ on water, food situation (Bill Barker, For the Express-News – Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com
- ‘Do the math’ on water, food situation (Bill Barker, For the Express-News – Houston Chronicle)
- 1 January
- Views Around Every Bend – Candy-striped roadcuts and lava-bubble caves offer geological whimsy and breathtaking vistas (Melissa Gaskill – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwmagazine.com - State park enthusiast visits all 95 parks in 12 months (Dale Blasingame – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwmagazine.com - A formidable mesa defines this slice of northwestern Texas (Russell A. Graves – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwmagazine.com - From the Pen of Carter P. Smith (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwmagazine.com - Start Your Year With a Hike (Cynthia Pickens – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwmagazine.com
- Views Around Every Bend – Candy-striped roadcuts and lava-bubble caves offer geological whimsy and breathtaking vistas (Melissa Gaskill – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
- 30 December
- Environmental issues show impetus for change in 2016 (The Outdoor Page)
http://kpcnews.com
- Environmental issues show impetus for change in 2016 (The Outdoor Page)
- 29 December
- 2015 was Texas’ wettest year on record (Dylan Baddour – Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - Texas Fights For Dirtier Air, Sues EPA (Again)
www.houstonpress.com - Opinion: For Cities’ Sake, Address Stormwater Infrastructure (Sara E. Smith – Trib+Water)
www.texastribune.org - Should Millions In ‘Fake Profits’ Be Returned To Texas Electricity Market? (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
- 2015 was Texas’ wettest year on record (Dylan Baddour – Houston Chronicle)
- 28 December
- Texas Targets EPA Smog Rule in Latest Suit (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Spokesman: Wayne Christian Suspending Railroad Commission Bid (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Houston’s Smither Park Is Looking For A Few Good Artists (Amy Bishop – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - How A Neighborhood’s ‘Snake Pit’ Became Its Biggest Attraction (Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Texas Parks Could Join Your List of New Year’s Resolutions (Laurie Johnson – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
- Texas Targets EPA Smog Rule in Latest Suit (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
- 25 December
- It’s a wonderful life for the solar industry right now (Daniel Gross – Grist)
http://grist.org
- It’s a wonderful life for the solar industry right now (Daniel Gross – Grist)
- 22 December
- In 2015, Water, EPA Dominated Environment News (Kiah Collier – Trib+Water)
www.texastribune.org
- In 2015, Water, EPA Dominated Environment News (Kiah Collier – Trib+Water)
- 20 December
- Houston saw smoggier skies in 2015, analysis shows (Susan Carroll – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com
- Houston saw smoggier skies in 2015, analysis shows (Susan Carroll – Houston Chronicle)
- 17 December
- Fighting climate change in Texas with an eye on the bottom line (Taylor Kate Brown – BBC News)
www.bbc.com - Study: Barnett Shale Is Richer Than Previously Thought (Jim Malewitz – Trib+Water)
www.texastribune.org
- Fighting climate change in Texas with an eye on the bottom line (Taylor Kate Brown – BBC News)
- 16 December
- Strong Rhetoric, An Empty Promise: Together, We Must Fill the Paris Agreement’s Enforcement Gap (ZeroWaste Europe)
www.zerowasteeurope.eu
- Strong Rhetoric, An Empty Promise: Together, We Must Fill the Paris Agreement’s Enforcement Gap (ZeroWaste Europe)