Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: February 9, 2022
EPA nixes state take on toxic chemicals
(Houston Chronicle, Emily Foxhall, Updated 02/07/22. Photo: Mark Mulligan)
“The fight centers on a chemical that, like many produced in the Houston region, most enjoy the benefits and suffer the risks of, but few have any idea exists. It’s a colorless gas called ethylene oxide, best known for its effectiveness in sterilizing medical equipment. It’s also used to purify spices and make a range of household products.”
Oil firms’ climate efforts targeted
(Houston Chronicle, James Osbourne, Updated 02/09/22. Photo: associated press file)
“In recent years, major oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell have worked to move beyond the industry’s climate denial of the 1990s and 2000s, pledging to get their operations to net-zero emissions by 2050.
But that typically does not include greenhouse gasses from the products they sell, such as gasoline and jet fuel…Â “
Black farmers upset debt relief is held up
(The Texas Tribune, James Pollard [repost Houston Chronicle] Updated 02/07/22. Photo: Meridith Kohut/ for the Texas Tribune.)
“Recent data suggests the USDA continues to disproportionately reject Black farmers for loans. According to a CNN analysis, 42 percent of Black farmers were rejected for direct USDA loans in 2021, more than any other demographic group.”
Additional Headlines
- 02/09/22
- Battery-powered cars going mainstream (Marissa Luck- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- FEMA revising its flood risk rating system (R.A. Schuetz – Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- 02/08/22
- Refineries slowed by outages as demand increases (Amanda Drane- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- 02/07/22
- 11th Street changes aim to bolster safety (Dug Begley- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- Rising oil profits could mean new jobs here (Paul Takahashi- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- Exxon, Chevron plan oil surge in Permian as peers preach caution (Kevin Crowley, Sheela Tobben and David Wethe Bloomberg- [Repost Houston Chronicle]) www.houstonchronicle.com
- Gulf lease sale ruling sets up a lose-lose situation (Steve Hendrickson- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- 02/06/22
- White House to make changes to tariffs on solar projects (Ana Swanson New York Times – [repost Houston Chronicle]) www.houstonchronicle.com
- Cracking down on methane’s ‘ultra-emitters’ may be quick fix (Brady Dennis- Washington Post [repost Houston Chronicle] www.houstonchronicle.com
- 02/05/22
- Texas grid survives milder cold blast (Shelby Webb- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- Work to fix bridge used by trail fans will resume (Dug Begley- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- 02/04/22
- Cutting carbon is goal for new office tower (Marissa Luck – Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- WTI crude passes $90 for first time since ’14 (Julia Fanzeres and Sheela Tobben Bloomberg- [repost Houston Chronicle]) www.houstonchronicle.com
- Stopped train cars still vex Houston (Dug Begley- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- Biden pressured to restrict LNG exports (James Osbourne- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com
- Power grid is running on hope (Elizabeth Conley- Houston Chronicle) www.hosutonchronicle.com
- Winter storm descends on wary Houstonians (Andrea Leinfelder, Leah Brennan and Dug Begley- Houston Chronicle) www.houstonchronicle.com