ECONOTES 2012-03-05: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- Texas cities find it can take a lot of green to be ‘green‘ (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 03/03/2012)
Due to hard economic times, some Texas cities are having trouble keeping up with green efforts and policies. For example, College Station recently had to abandon its green-at-all-costs approach to fight global warming because of a lack of funding. However, Houston is still setting goals to be more energy efficient. There is a competition in Houston that challenges more than 400 businesses to reduce energy and water usage. Houston also has plans to install 200 charging stations for electric cars and to expand its curbside recycling program. Houston is a large city with a supportive mayor, two factors that help attract corporate partners and grants.
http://www.chron.com/ - Water cutoff to rice farmers typifies contentious issues confronting Texas (Texas Climate News, 03/03/2012)
For the first time, The Lower Colorado River Authority made a decision to deprive downstream rice farmers of water. This decision was part of an emergency drought policy that was negotiated by farmers and other stakeholders in the river basin. Even with the recent rains, the historic Texas drought continues to have a huge impact. Climate experts have warned that manmade climate change will result in hotter, drier conditions in Texas as the population continues to grow.
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - Harris County Flood Control District to excavate 1.5 million cubic yards of soil in next phase of Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin Project (Guidry News, 02/29/2012)
The next phase of the Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin Project is set to begin soon. This project will remove about 1.5 million cubic yards of soil from the basin located in southwest Houston in an effort to prevent flooding of many businesses and homes. The Flood Control District designed the Willow Waterhole basin to be environmentally friendly. The basin has been designed to hold a permanent pool of water year-round and have specifically-chosen wetland plants that will attract many types of birds.
http://www.guidrynews.com/
EcoNotes
- 5 March
- Climate change made the drought worse, scientists say (Colin McDonald – My SA News)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/ - 4 March
- Winds of fortune sweep West Texas (Simone Sebastian – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - 3 March
- Texas cities find it can take a lot of green to be ‘green’ (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Water cutoff to rice farmers typifies contentious issues confronting Texas (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - Anglers flock to contaminated Texas reservoir (Christopher Sherman – Boston.com)
http://articles.boston.com/ - Farmer’s Restraining Order Against Keystone XL Pipeline Reinstated (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - 2 March
- Texas Supreme Court Reinforces Denbury Decision, Favors Landowners (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - State Climatologist Has Eye on the Sky for Texas (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.texastribune.org/ - 19th Annual Trash Bash Set for March 31 (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Wildlife for Lunch webinar to cover pond/lake management (Guidry News)
http://guidrynews.com/ - EPA Holds Meeting on Port Arthur Environmental Justice Showcase Community Project (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Opponents Question EPA Authority In Greenhouse Gas Case (Valerie Volcovici – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - Oceans’ Acidic Shift May Be Fastest In 300 Million Years (Deborah Zabarenko – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - EPA Provides $15 Million to Help Small Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems Across the Country (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - No LCRA water for rice growers (Matthew Tresaugue – My SA News)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/ - 1 March
- Rice growers unlikely to receive water (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - In Their Own Words: What No Water Would Mean for Rice Farmers (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Texas drought twists migrations of many birds (Ramit Plushnick-Masti – Google News)
http://www.google.com/ - Prospect of continued drought bodes ill for Texas trees (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - ERCOT Expects Enough Summer Capacity On Grid (Ed Mayberry – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Arguments Preview Fight On EPA Greenhouse Gas Rules (Emily Stephenson – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - 29 February
- It’s Going to Be Close, But Outlook is Grim for Rice Farmers This Year in Texas (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/ - Journalist Dan Rather to be Featured Speaker At Galveston Arbor Day Celebration (Guidry News)
http://guidrynews.com/ - Harris County Flood Control District to excavate 1.5 million cubic yards of soil in next phase of Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin Project (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rebound 3.3 Percent (Rory Carroll – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - Jim Blackburn: Sharing Wisdom from 30 Years of Environmental Advocacy (Vicki Wolf – CLEAN News)
http://www.cleanhouston.org/Â - 28 February
- Hosting a Green Event (Susan Pollard – Keeping Kingwood Green News)
http://www.keepkingwoodgreen.org/Â - Drought-Weary Texans Welcome Rains, Wildflowers (Jim Forsyth – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/ - Dunes sagebrush lizard Texas Conservation Plan approved (Conservation Matters)
http://twri.tamu.edu/ - The drought persists, says state climatologist (Conservation Matters)
http://twri.tamu.edu/ - 27 February
- Is There An Air Pollutant Watch Near You? (Larry R. Soward – Air Alliance Houston)
http://airalliancehouston.org/ - Knowing The Value Of Water (Pat Hernandez – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - 26 February
- League City: Drought, population force city to find more water (Christopher Smith Gonzalez – KHOU News)
http://www.khou.com/ - 24 February
- What Are the Different Levels of Drought? (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - 22 February
- Drought threatens closure of Texas fish hatchery (ABC 13 News)
http://abclocal.go.com/