Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: May 30, 2015
Featured
- Climate change, runaway development worsen Houston floods (Frank Bajak – Seth Borenstein – The Columbus Dispatch, 5/18/2016)
“With clay soil and tabletop-flat terrain, Houston has endured flooding for generations. Its 1,700 miles of man-made channels struggle to dispatch storm runoff to the Gulf of Mexico. Now the nation’s fourth-largest city is being overwhelmed with more frequent and more destructive floods. The latest calamity occurred April 18, killing eight people and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. The worsening floods aren’t simple acts of nature or just costly local concerns. Federal taxpayers get soaked too.”
www.dispatch.com - Are Houston’s Sinking Suburbs Suffering Worse Flooding? (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 5/23/2016)
“What made last month’s flooding, especially in north Harris County, so bad? Simple: a whole lot of rain says Mike Talbott, executive director of the Harris County Flood Control District. ‘It has a lot to do with this phenomenal rainfall … people don’t want to talk about the rainfall,’ Talbott tells News 88.7. But people are talking about how other factors, besides the massive rainfall, may have made things worse. And one those people is a professor of geology at the University of Houston, Shuhab Khan. ‘It’s making it worse,’ says Khan. What Professor Khan believes is making flooding worse in certain neighborhoods is a geological condition Houston and many cities suffer from and have for decades: subsidence. It’s where many acres of ground sink. Historically in Harris County, subsidence has been worse in areas where over the decades, groundwater and oil and gas have been sucked out from under the ground, causing the land to sink by fractions of an inch a year, in some places by feet over many years.”
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - With water issues, could Texas be in the same boat as California? (Samantha Fox – TribTalk, 5/26/2016)
“When it comes to water, everyone knows by now that California’s in trouble. They’re in the fifth year of the worst drought in a century and are scrambling to manage their water better. Some wasteful practices were banned permanently this month, like hosing sidewalks and washing cars with hoses that don’t have shut-off nozzles . Even though El Niño rains have topped off some reservoirs, rain can’t recharge aquifers fast enough, and groundwater depletion remains a serious problem for California. Texas is no stranger to drought and flooding, of course; it’s currently out of its last drought status and suffering through another flood season. But Texas isn’t as bad off as California — or is it? The truth is, when it comes to water, these two states are more alike than they are different. Texas and California both endure extremes of drought and flooding. They both contain a variety of climate regions, from arid deserts to fertile valleys to coastal cities, which leads to highly localized and fragmented water management. Population in both states is growing. They’re both home to eternal battles over water, with homeowners, farmers, industries and water providers vying for a scarce resource.” www.tribtalk.org
EcoNotes
- 30 May
- Texas and California Share Water Woes: Too Much, or Too Little (Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - USCG briefly Closes Houston Ship Channel, Restrict Barge Traffic (Joseph R. Fonseca – Maritime Professional)
www.maritimeprofessional.com - Beekeeping getting plenty of buzz in Central Texas (AgriLife Today)
http://today.agrilife.org
- Texas and California Share Water Woes: Too Much, or Too Little (Houston Public Media)
- 27 May
- Houston’s Floods, Austin’s Apartments; and Arlington’s Ballparks: Urban Insights From Around The Web (Ryan Holeywell – The Urban Edge)
http://urbanedge.blogs.rice.edu - Greenwashing or Progress? Exxon Shareholders Issue Calls for Climate Accountability (Candice Bernd – Truthout)
www.truth-out.org - In Weighty Water Ruling, Texas’ High Court Backs Landowner (Kiah Collier – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Houston’s Floods, Austin’s Apartments; and Arlington’s Ballparks: Urban Insights From Around The Web (Ryan Holeywell – The Urban Edge)
- 26 May
- What the Evolution of Two Frank Sharp Developments Says About Houston (Kyle Shelton – The Urban Edge)
http://urbanedge.blogs.rice.edu - With water issues, could Texas be in the same boat as California? (Samantha Fox – TribTalk)
www.tribtalk.org - Taxable Value Of Oil Wells Plummet But Houston Firm Questions If It’s Still Too High (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission Awards $3.54 million in Grants to 22 Recreational Trail Projects (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwd.texas.gov -
When the River Rises (Texas Monthly)
http://features.texasmonthly.com - Oil sands operations a major source of air pollution, according to study (William Weir – Phys.org)
http://phys.org - Grace Deal Wins Earth Week Drawing for Foldable Bicycle (Kristina Michel – University of Houston)
www.uh.edu
- What the Evolution of Two Frank Sharp Developments Says About Houston (Kyle Shelton – The Urban Edge)
- 25 May
- Planned Pollution: Dow Chemical and Mallet CO2 (Adrian Shelley – airCurrent News)
http://airalliancehouston.org - Why Do Roaches Have to Exist? Houston Entomologist Answers Your Bug Questions (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
www.houstonmatters.org - ExxonMobil wards off climate resolutions, oil still faces long-term challenges (Randy Lee Loftis – Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org - Wetlands as a Water Strategy (HARC)
www.harcresearch.org - Mosquito Hunters Set Traps Across Houston, Search for Signs of Zika (Carrie Feibel, KUHF – Capital Public Radio)
www.capradio.org - Third Ward Looks to Shift the Gentrification Conversation (Leah Binkovitz – The Urban Edge)
http://urbanedge.blogs.rice.edu - CH2M selected as design-build partner for two major infrastructure projects in Texas and California (Financial Content)
http://markets.financialcontent.com - Environmental favorability and tolerance of stress drives freshwater species distribution (Phys.org)
http://phys.org
- Planned Pollution: Dow Chemical and Mallet CO2 (Adrian Shelley – airCurrent News)
- 24 May
- US insurance aid props up climate-risk homes, leading company charges (Kieran Cooke – Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org - Bullet train backers: Not trying to take any land yet, just want to know how much we’d owe you (Christine Gerbode – Swamplot)
http://swamplot.com - Water Purification Device And USF Student Proving Themselves In The Field (Mark Schreinder – WGCU)
http://news.wgcu.org - Lantrip Elementary Celebrates 100 years! (Leticia Ablaza – airCurrent News)
http://airalliancehouston.org - FEMA centers opening in Montgomery County (Matthew Treasaugue – Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - Office of Sustainability Student Places Third in National Competition (University of Houston)
www.uh.edu - Winning the big prize in fishing (Jamie Drake – Maryland Independent)
www.somdnews.com - Texas Leads Country in New Housing Units Built (Leah Binkovitz – The Urban Edge)
http://urbanedge.blogs.rice.edu - US insurance aid props up climate-risk homes, leading company charges (Kieran Cooke – Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org
- US insurance aid props up climate-risk homes, leading company charges (Kieran Cooke – Texas Climate News)
- 23 May
- Are Houston’s Sinking Suburbs Suffering Worse Flooding? (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Why Houston Needs More Weather Balloons (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
www.houstonmatters.org - Power To Complain: Houston And Dallas Customers Say State Electricity Website Is Rigged (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Sierra Club denies Texas’ many claims against EPA’s regional haze plan – Whitney Wright – SE Texas Record)
http://setexasrecord.com - Newsroom: Texas A&M Forest Service Confirms Emerald Ash Borer Found in Texas (Texas A&M Forest Service)
http://txforestservice.tamu.edu - Where Transportation Makes Affordable Housing Unaffordable (Andrew Keatts – The Urban Edge)
http://urbanedge.blogs.rice.edu - National Safe Boating Week Encourages Boating and Water Safety Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwd.texas.gov - Texas Nature Challenge Encourages Kids to Explore the Outdoors (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwd.texas.gov - Texas steps up anti-zebra mussels effort going into summer (Waco Trib)
www.wacotrib.com - Warming has created a hot new job in America’s coastal cities (E&E Publishing)
www.eenews.net - Could biodegradable six-pack rings save the sea turtles? (Lonnie Shekhtman – The Christian Science Monitor)
www.csmonitor.com
- Are Houston’s Sinking Suburbs Suffering Worse Flooding? (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
- 22 May
- Earth-Kind techniques enhance enjoyment, protect environment (Chad Gulley – Tyler Morning Telegraph)
www.tylerpaper.com
- Earth-Kind techniques enhance enjoyment, protect environment (Chad Gulley – Tyler Morning Telegraph)
- 21 May
- Running water and progress come slowly to Texas colonias (Ashley Madonna and Abbie Maynard – My Statesman)
www.mystatesman.com
- Running water and progress come slowly to Texas colonias (Ashley Madonna and Abbie Maynard – My Statesman)
- 20 May
- Boaters Urged to “Clean, Drain and Dry†to Protect Texas Lakes from Invasive Zebra Mussels (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwd.texas.gov - Bike to Work Day (Adrian Shelley – airCurrent News)
http://airalliancehouston.org - With April temps, 2016 stays on track to be Earth’s hottest year on record (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org - What to do if your home floods in Houston (Paul Takahashi – Houston Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com - How Texas plans to not run out of water (Austin Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com
- Boaters Urged to “Clean, Drain and Dry†to Protect Texas Lakes from Invasive Zebra Mussels (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
- 19 May
- Texas Water Board Approves $US 62 Billion Water Plan (Brett Walton – Circle of Blue)
www.circleofblue.org - The Death and Birth of the American Dam (Lizzie Wade – WIRED)
www.wired.com - Doctoral Candidate Wins National Award for Research (Baylor)
www.baylor.edu - What is Houston Doing Right and Wrong When it Comes to Development? (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
www.houstonmatters.org
- Texas Water Board Approves $US 62 Billion Water Plan (Brett Walton – Circle of Blue)
- 18 May
- Climate change, runaway development worsen Houston floods (Frank Bajak – Seth Borenstein – The Columbus Dispatch)
www.dispatch.com - Report: Texas Must Increase Water Conservation Efforts (Madlin Mekelburg – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - ‘99 Percent Chance’ 2016 Will Be Hottest Year (Andrea Thompson – Climate Central)
www.climatecentral.org - How water towers are inspected in South Texas (Justin Horne – KSAT)
www.ksat.com
- Climate change, runaway development worsen Houston floods (Frank Bajak – Seth Borenstein – The Columbus Dispatch)
- 17 May
- Texas forests face major changes, “cyberforests†climate model indicates (Tim Radford – Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org
- Texas forests face major changes, “cyberforests†climate model indicates (Tim Radford – Texas Climate News)
- 16 May
- Threats to prairie show tension between growth, flood protection (Mike Snyder – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - Houston’s Energy Corridor Works To Promote Bike Commuting (Gail Delaughter – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Ecological method for cleaning oil from lakes (Science Daily)
www.sciencedaily.com
- Threats to prairie show tension between growth, flood protection (Mike Snyder – Houston Chronicle)
- 3 May
- City Of Houston Wants To Study Feasibility Of High-Speed Rail Terminal Downtown (Florian Martin – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
- City Of Houston Wants To Study Feasibility Of High-Speed Rail Terminal Downtown (Florian Martin – Houston Public Media)
- 2 May
- UH Students Learn About ‘The Natural Resource Curse’ (Jeannie Kever – University of Houston)
www.uh.edu - Community Outdoor Outreach Program Provides Opportunity to Get Outside (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwd.texas.gov
- UH Students Learn About ‘The Natural Resource Curse’ (Jeannie Kever – University of Houston)
- 28 April
- UH Architecture Students Envision New Housing, Amenities for Houston’s Third, Fifth Wards (University of Houston)
www.uh.edu
- UH Architecture Students Envision New Housing, Amenities for Houston’s Third, Fifth Wards (University of Houston)