ECONOTES 2012-10-08: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- NRG makes a breathtakingly bad proposal – Opinion (Houston Chronicle, 10/3/2012)
NRG Energy is proposing a new cap-and-trade deal for pollution credits. NRG would like to build a power plant that would release 53 tons of volatile organic compounds into Houston-area air, but they cannot afford the credits for these emissions. Now the they have asked the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for permission to buy the credits it needs from the Dallas area, which has credits and clean air to spare.
http://www.chron.com/ - Buffalo Bayou – One of 10 Great Public Spaces for 2012 (Guidry News, 10/03/2012)
The American Planning Association (APA) designated Buffalo Bayou as one of 10 Great Public Spaces for 2012 under the organization’s Great Places in America program. APA singled out a nine-mile stretch of Buffalo Bayou, between Shepherd Drive and Turning Basin Overlook Park, for its distinctive design, amenities, and public art; high level of public and private support; and ecological restoration and protection efforts.
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Looking to lose hazardous junk? (Julie Masters – The Daily News, 10/01/2012)
Even though it is unlawful to include toxic chemicals in your regular household garbage, paint, pesticides, herbicides, oil, automotive fluids, and other chemicals are hidden in garbage cans of residential trash or poured down storm drains every day. Toxins emitting from these products seep into drinking water and into bayous and bays, tragically impacting the quality of our water, which ultimately affects our health and the health of fish and wildlife.
http://galvestondailynews.com/
EcoNotes
- 8 October
- Despite recent rains, long-running Texas drought drags on across most of the state (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org/ - This Week in Drought: What a Difference a Rain Makes (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Gulf Coast Glut: Domestic Crude Oil ‘Cascading’ to Refineries (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - EPA asks full court to rehear air pollution case (Valerie Volcovici – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/
- Despite recent rains, long-running Texas drought drags on across most of the state (Texas Climate News)
- 5 October
- SXSW Eco: The Promises and Challenges of Energy Along the Border (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - On Coal Ruling, EPA Asks For a Second Look (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- SXSW Eco: The Promises and Challenges of Energy Along the Border (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
- 4 October
- Potential Threats to the Safety of Our Drinking Water (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - SXSW Eco: Drive an Electric Car for Free, But Your Bike Could be Impounded (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Hands on Houston volunteers at Trinity River Refuge (Your Dayton News)
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ - Houston Oil Professor Really, Really Likes $500 Pens and Fogo De Chao (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - EPA Reaches Settlement with US Ecology Texas and TD*X Associates for Violation of Federal Environmental Laws (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ - WaterSense Partners of the Year Help Americans Save Water, Money on Utility Bills (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/
- Potential Threats to the Safety of Our Drinking Water (Guidry News)
- 3 October
- SXSW Eco: How ‘Big Data’ Can Lead to More Energy Efficiency (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Buffalo Bayou – One of 10 Great Public Spaces for 2012 (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Ragweed and Ozone Causing Air Problems in Houston (Carrie Feibel – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - Houston Honored for Buffalo Bayou Improvements (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - NRG makes a breathtakingly bad proposal (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Meet Ron Curry – the New EPA Regional Administrator in Dallas (Larry R. Soward – Air Alliance Houston)
http://airalliancehouston.org/ - Township approves amended resolution for flyover (Catherine Dominguez – Your Woodlands News)
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ - Fire, Drought and the Climate Wars: A Talk with Michael Mann (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Sen. Nichols’ road funding plan worth serious consideration (Your Conroe News)
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ - Sherman’s solid waste department to replace two collection vehicles (William C. Wadsack – Herald Democrat)
http://heralddemocrat.com/
- SXSW Eco: How ‘Big Data’ Can Lead to More Energy Efficiency (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
- 2 October
- Tarrant, Dallas Among Nation’s Top 10 Gas-Guzzling Counties (Fort Worth Weekly)
http://www.fwweekly.com/ - UT Austin: Over 12 percent of all U.S. energy consumption is directly related to water (David Wogan – Scientific American)
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/ - Cleaning Up Meth Labs in Texas: It’s a Dirty Job, And Nobody Has To Do It (David Barer – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - FM 518 repaving continues in Friendswood (Your Friendswood News)
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ - Mass transit eyed in Brazoria County plan (John DeLapp – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Houston bridge just a slice of congested, broken Texas pie (John Donnelly – My Fox Houston)
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/ - Bus reaches end of the line (Jeff Newpher – Your Pasadena News)
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ - Bad roads cost Texas drivers $23B annually (Olivia Pulsinelli – Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/ - Houston roads are a money pit for motorists, report says (Anita Hassan – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Study: Texas roads are crumbling (Click 2 Houston)
http://www.click2houston.com/ - Texas company’s ‘clean lines’ transmission plans progress despite tax credit stalemate (Daniel Cusick – E&E Publishing)
http://www.eenews.net/ - U.S. seeks to stamp out deceptive “green” advertising (Diane Bartz – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/
- Tarrant, Dallas Among Nation’s Top 10 Gas-Guzzling Counties (Fort Worth Weekly)
- 1 October
- Looking to lose hazardous junk? (Julie Masters – The Daily News)
http://galvestondailynews.com/ - How Power Outages Increase Pollution From Gulf Coast Refineries (Dave Fehling – KUHF News)
http://app1.kuhf.org/ - How a New Utility Rule Could Mean Less Energy Efficiency for Texas (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Why the Texas Grid May Need a Coal Plant to Keep Running This Winter (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - How Power Outages Increase Pollution from Gulf Coast Refineries (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - City of Cleveland raises property tax rate (Vanesa Brashier)
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ - Just How Strong Were Weekend Earthquakes in Dallas? (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- Looking to lose hazardous junk? (Julie Masters – The Daily News)