ECONOTES 2013-03-18: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region
Featured
- Judge orders Texas to protect whooping cranes (Mike Tolson – Houston Chronicle, 3/12/2013)
A federal judge has ruled that the state of Texas failed to take necessary steps to provide enough water to maintain the habitat of the endangered whooping crane – a decision which could have implications on how water in some areas is rationed in future droughts. TCEQ will need to devise a plan that will supply fresh water into bays where the cranes live by exercising authority that it already has under state law during an emergency.
http://www.chron.com/ - Critics Smell Trouble With Sewage Spill Bill (David Barer – StateImpact, 3/6/2013)
Lawmakers and critics voiced various concerns about a sewage spill bill at a House Natural Resources Committee meeting at the Capitol. The bill, HB 824, would put a floor on the size of spills that must be reported by utilities to the TCEQ. If the bill passes, most spills below 1,500 gallons would not need to be reported to authorities.
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Prize-winning recycling plan could start in 2 years (Carol Chrisitan – Houston Chronicle, 3/13/2013)
Houston’s plan to increase its dismal recycling rate fivefold got a boost Wednesday, when Mayor Annise Parker accepted a $1 million prize from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The city’s “One Bin for All” idea would allow residents to mix trash, recyclables, yard clippings, food and other waste in a single container, to be automatically sorted at a first-of-its-kind $100 million plant to be built and run by a private firm. The city plans next month to issue a request for proposals from companies interested in the plan, with construction starting as early as next year.
http://www.chron.com/
EcoNotes
- 18 March
- U.S. vehicle fuel economy rose to 23.8 mpg in 2012 -EPA (Bernie Woodall – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org/
- U.S. vehicle fuel economy rose to 23.8 mpg in 2012 -EPA (Bernie Woodall – Planet Ark News)
- 16 March
- It’s time to consider long-term costs of fracking (Jane Dale Owen – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/
- It’s time to consider long-term costs of fracking (Jane Dale Owen – Houston Chronicle)
- 15 March
- UPDATED: AG Stay Request Denied in Whooping Crane Case (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Boy Harnesses Wind, Spotlight Envelops Boy (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Divided Opinions make for Tense Hearing on Unitization (Olivia Gordon and Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - New EPA Report: Initial Data Shows Significant Gains in Fuel Economy for 2012 (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/
- UPDATED: AG Stay Request Denied in Whooping Crane Case (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
- 14 March
- Major Water Funding Bill Moves One Step Forward, Prioritizes Conservation (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Eminent Domain Comes to the Texas Legislature (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- Major Water Funding Bill Moves One Step Forward, Prioritizes Conservation (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
- 13 March
- Prize-winning recycling plan could start in 2 years (Carol Chrisitan – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - One bin for all (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - How Much Can the Gulf Coast Take? (Vicki Wolf – CLEAN)
http://www.cleanhouston.org/ - Houston Among Bloomberg Mayors Challenge Winners – One Bin For All (Jim Guidry – Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - How Can Humans Stop Light Pollution? (Melissa Lewis – National Geographic)
http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/ - Fracking Groundwater Rules Reflect Legal Ambiguities (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.texastribune.org/ - Houston Wilderness Board of Directors (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Road to natural gas vehicles vexes GM chief (Loren Steffy – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com/ - Scientists may finally shine a light on dark matter (Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/
- Prize-winning recycling plan could start in 2 years (Carol Chrisitan – Houston Chronicle)
- 12 March
- Judge orders Texas to protect whooping cranes (Mike Tolson – Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/ - Ruling on Water Policy Could Be Felt Across the State (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Retired NASA Scientists Enter Climate Change Fray (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- Judge orders Texas to protect whooping cranes (Mike Tolson – Houston Chronicle)
- 11 March
- Volunteers help Cleveland clean up at annual event (Vanesa Brashier – Cleveland Advocate)
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ - Galveston Park Board of Trustees – Vegetation Project on Seawall Beaches (Guidry News)
http://www.guidrynews.com/ - Teed Up: Slicing Texas Tax Breaks (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Metro starts using smaller buses (Matt Dietrichson – Houston Tomorrow)
http://www.houstontomorrow.org/ - Texas 9th for clean energy jobs in 2012, report says (Harry R. Weber – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com/ - Shifting role for federal transportation funding (Houston Chronicle)
http://blog.chron.com/ - Lawmakers Hear Support for Funding the State Water Plan (Olivia Gordon – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- Volunteers help Cleveland clean up at annual event (Vanesa Brashier – Cleveland Advocate)
- 9 March
- League City Invites Residents to Participate in a Water Wise “Harlem Shake†Video (Guidry News)
http://guidrynews.com/
- League City Invites Residents to Participate in a Water Wise “Harlem Shake†Video (Guidry News)
- 8 March
- Texans Create Cleaner, Greener Communities through the Great American Cleanup (Guidry News)
http://guidrynews.com/
- Texans Create Cleaner, Greener Communities through the Great American Cleanup (Guidry News)
- 6 March
- Jay Blazek Crossley talks transportation in Houston on KPFT (Jay Blazek Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
http://www.houstontomorrow.org/ - Critics Smell Trouble With Sewage Spill Bill (David Barer – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/
- Jay Blazek Crossley talks transportation in Houston on KPFT (Jay Blazek Crossley – Houston Tomorrow)
- 5 March
- Legislation to Allow Drought-Resistant Yards in HOAs Moves Forward (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ - Water flows through panel’s fracturing discussion (Emily Pickrell – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com/
- Legislation to Allow Drought-Resistant Yards in HOAs Moves Forward (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
- 2 March
- Drought Revives Interest in Reservoirs (Elena Schneider – The Texas Tribune)
http://www.nytimes.com/
- Drought Revives Interest in Reservoirs (Elena Schneider – The Texas Tribune)
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