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February 21, 2016

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: February 21, 2015

Featured

  1. Jacinto City passes anti-idling ordinance (airCurrent News, 2/17/2016)
    “Last week the City of Jacinto City, Texas became the third Houston-area city to pass an ordinance banning heavy truck idling. Jacinto City joins Galena Park and Houston among the cities that are saying ‘No!’ to deadly diesel emissions. Air Alliance Houston has been advocating for anti-idling ordinances in Houston for several years. Diesel engine idling is costly, dirty, and unnecessary. By simply turning off their engines, truck drivers can save money and reduce pollution. Jacinto City’s ordinance, which was voted on in last Thursday’s city council meeting, bans trucks over 14,000 pounds and older than 2008 from idling their engines for more than five minutes at a time. There are exceptions to the rule, including for emergency vehicles and for air conditioning or heating for the comfort of the driver or passengers.”
    http://airalliancehouston.org
  2. What Scalia’s death means for global efforts to combat climate change (John Upton – Texas Climate News, 2/17/2016)
    “Just days after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling clouded the future of a new United Nations climate pact, the passing of one of its justices has boosted the pact’s chances of succeeding. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia died at a resort in Texas on Saturday. Scalia, 79, was the court’s conservative leader and his death means it is now more likely that key EPA rules that aim to curb climate pollution from the power industry will be upheld… Following decades of failed efforts to meaningfully regulate greenhouse gas pollution through the U.N., a new approach to tackling climate change was agreed to by international negotiators during December’s landmark meetings in Paris. The cornerstone of the Obama administration’s pledge in Paris was the Clean Power Plan, designed to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. Importantly, the sweeping set of rules that the EPA finalized last year bypassed Congress, which is opposed to passing laws regulating greenhouse gas pollution. But coal companies and some two dozen states have sued, arguing that the plan violates federal law. Their legal challenge is expected to eventually reach the Supreme Court.”
    http://texasclimatenews.org
  3. Monarch butterfly numbers flutter up, but still off recent highs: study (Jon Herskovitz – Planet Ark News, 2/19/2016)
    “Favorable weather conditions at breeding grounds for monarch butterflies in Mexico are expected to help raise their numbers to possibly more than 100 million this year, about triple of a few years ago, a study released on Thursday said. But the overall number of the majestic orange and black butterflies that travel thousands of miles (km) on a migration into the United States and Canada is still well below the 1 billion range of two decades ago, the study from a Texas A&M University researcher said. ‘It seems conditions have been successful for monarchs overwintering – not too wet or cold, which can be a lethal combination for them,’ said Craig Wilson, a senior research associate at the university in the Center for Mathematics and Education. The butterflies have suffered from the expansion of farmland, sprawling housing developments and the clear-cutting of natural landscapes along their migration path.”
    http://planetark.org

EcoNotes

  • 20 February
    • Geoscientist’s Latest Experiment: Running for Statewide Office (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 19 February
    • UT Poll: Vast majority of Americans backs action against climate change (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Monarch butterfly numbers flutter up, but still off recent highs: study (Jon Herskovitz – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • In Major Water Case, Win for Ranchers is Loss For Cities (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • EPA cites 12 counties for exceeding SO2 standards under NAAQS regulation (Gavin Bade – Utility Dive)
      www.utilitydive.com
    • Water worries (Susan Olasky – World Magazine)
      www.worldmag.com
    • Feds Pull 31,000 Texas Acres From April Fossil Fuel Auction Due to Concerns Over Fracking Impacts to Land, Water, Climate (Real Estate Rama)
      www.realestaterama.com
  • 18 February
    • Katy Prairie Conservancy and local universities answer call to create Monarch butterfly habitat (Your Houston News)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
    • Clean Power Plan Stay is Bad News for Texans and Natural Gas Producers (David Spence & David Adelman – UT News)
      http://news.utexas.edu
    • What Scalia’s death means for the environment and climate (Raw Story)
      www.rawstory.com
    • Clean Power Plan: Inside the uphill battle against carbon trading (Emily Holden – E&E Publishing)
      www.eenews.net
    • Spring into Fishing at Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
  • 17 February
  • 16 February
    • Houston Residents Breathe Easy Thanks to Air Alliance Houston (Adrian Shelley – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • Environmental Experts, Leading Agency Officials Discuss Clean Air Act Impacts (Texas Environmental News)
      www.texasenvironmentalnews.com
    • Will More Texas Money For Training Volunteers Prevent A Repeat Of The West Tragedy? (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Research offers new evidence about the Gulf of Mexico’s past (Science Codex)
      www.sciencecodex.com
    • Historic Legislation Promises Bright Future for Texas State Parks (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Count on METRO for free ride to polls Super Tuesday and Saturday early voting (Guidry News)
      www.guidrynews.com
    • Valero Energy sues U.S. EPA over biofuels plan (Chris Prentice – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
  • 14 February
  • 13 February
    • More than half the world suffers from ‘severe’ water scarcity, scientists say (The Times-Picayne, The Washington Post)
      www.nola.com
  • 12 February
    • Texas GLO needs volunteers to clean area beaches (Mike Gillaspia – KRISTV)
      www.kristv.com
  • 11 February
    • Model suggests carbon dioxide could cause loss of planetary water as easily as increased solar radiation (Bob Yirka – Phys.org)
      http://phys.org
    • Texas Leaders: Supreme Court Stay On Obama’s Clean Power Plan Is A Victory (Andrew Schneider – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  • 10 February
    • Texas officials, fighting Obama’s climate-protection plan, win a pause (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Mysterious Smell Has Pearland Residents Complaining, Texas Investigating (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • The Best Ideas to Fight Pollution May Be Too Risky (Anna Hirtenstein – Bloomberg Business)
      www.bloomberg.com
  • 8 February
    • City Waiting For More Information On Alternative LED Street Lights As Some Call For Change (Florian Martin – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  • 7 February
  • 6 February
  • 5 February
    • New park along Buffalo Bayou to open soon (Laura Furr – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • Captivated by always present gulls (Gary Clark – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Solar energy grows 30 percent in Texas, keeping pace with country (James Osborne – Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
    • Is climate change making El Niños worse? That remains a scientific mystery (Randy Lee Loftis – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Will climate change play a future role in the spread of the Zika virus? (Brian Kahn – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Texas Runs On Natural Gas, Less On Coal (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • A Vision to End the Hassle of Urban Parking (Living On Earth)
      http://loe.org
  • 1 February
    • Katy Prairie Conservancy Fundraiser to Benefit Houston Universities (Kristina Michel – University of Houston)
      www.uh.edu
  • 18 January
    • What Happened To Houston’s ‘One Bin For All’ Program? (Florian Martin – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org