ENVIRONMENTAL HEADLINES, MARCH 3 – 9

HOUSTON MAYOR CUTS BACK CLEAN-AIR PROPOSAL
Houston Chronicle 3/9/07
Mayor Bill White has significantly scaled back a controversial plan to make Houston the first place in Texas with health standards for hazardous air pollutants, according to a draft circulated this week.

ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY PROPOSES STRICT STANDARD FOR SOME DIESEL ENGINES
New York Times 3/2/07
The Environmental Protection Agency, which for a decade has been ratcheting up its controls on off-road diesel equipment, diesel trucks and diesel fuel, proposed stringent new pollution standards Friday on diesel locomotives and marine vessels operating in the United States

U.S. PROPOSES RULES TO CUT TRAIN, SHIP EMISSIONS

US STATES UNDERCHARGE POLLUTERS BY US$50 MLN – REPORT

Reuters 3/9/07
States from Alabama to Wyoming collected such low fees from major polluters that they may have shortchanged efforts to fight air pollution by up to US$50 million, an environmental group reported on Wednesday.

BIOFUELS POWER FIRES UP BIODIESEL PLANT IN MONTGOMERY CO. Houston Business Journal 3/5/07
Biofuels Power Corp. said Monday that it has begun to produce and sell electricity from its biodiesel-powered generating plant in Oak Ridge North, in south Montgomery Co.

TIDE IS TURNING FOR PORT OF GALVESTON
Galveston County Daily News 3/8/07
GALVESTON – More than 300 people turned out to honor the Port of Galveston as the chamber’s “Business of the Year.”

DRIVERS SPUTTER AS GAS PRICES RISE EARLY
Houston Chronicle 3/7/07
Jack Varcados said if there is one abiding truth in the gas-retailing business, it is this: “When gas prices go up, people start complaining.”

DEMOLITION ON HOLD FOR OLD SIXTH WARD
Houston Chronicle 3/8/07
The Houston City Council on Wednesday approved a six-month ban on demolitions of historical buildings in the Old Sixth Ward neighborhood west of downtown.

WITH COAL PLANS CUT BACK, TEXAS FACES ENERGY GAP
New York Times 3/8/07
HOUSTON – Texas, as everyone knows, does everything big. Its giant oil and gas fields dominate America’s energy patch. It is now the nation’s largest wind power producer, with more than 2,000 turbines gathering some of the country’s strongest currents. It gets the booby prize for being the biggest producer of greenhouse gases.

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP BEHIND THE TXU DEAL HIRES A BANKER
New York Times 3/8/07
The environmental movement is about to take a page from Wall Street’s deal-making playbook that may give “green mail” a good name.

SPANISH TRANSLATION OF PESTICIDE SAFETY MANUAL NOW AVAILABLE
Environmental News Network 3/1/07
DAVIS, Calif. – To better serve Spanish-speaking people working in California agriculture, the University of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program has released a Spanish translation of Pesticide Safety: A Reference Manual for Private Applicators.