ECONOTES 2013-06-18: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

1. TPWD leads efforts to restore oyster reefs and salt marshes after the 2008 hurricane (Lance Robinson – Texas Parks & Wildlife, 6/5/2013)
   Back in September of 2008, Hurricane Ike caused massive damage to homes and businesses in the coastal communities of the upper Texas coast. Less visible but significant damage also occurred to coastal habitats in the region and below the waters of Galveston Bay. Through a special appropriation by Congress, a $7 million fishery disaster grant was made available to Texas in 2009 from the National Ocean­ographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These funds were earmarked for oyster and marsh habitat restoration in the affected area. TPWD employees and volunteers have since done a lot of work to restore the marsh areas.
   http://www.tpwmagazine.com/
2. ULI Lays Out Its Vision For Downtown Houston And It’s Green (David Pitman – KUHF News, 6/13/2013)
   A new report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) is making the case for more green space in downtown Houston. The Urban Land Institute focused its study on 64 blocks of southeast downtown — bounded by Clay to the north, the Pierce Elevated to the south, Milam to the west, and U.S. 59 to the east. The institute also wants more affordable housing, and better walkable connections between various parts of downtown.
   http://app1.kuhf.org/
3. Jim Blackburn: Environmental attorney, advocate, author, professor (Texas Climate News, 6/17/2013)
   Jim Blackburn of Houston has been one of the most prominent and influential figures in the Texas environmental arena for more than three decades, often focusing on ecological and health issues in the Gulf Coast region. He plays a variety of interrelated roles – environmental attorney, environmental advocate, author, and professor at Rice University. Texas Climate News editor, Bill Dawson, recently interviewed Blackburn about about the concepts behind a one-day conference that will be held on Wednesday (“Evaluating and Trading Ecological Services: Is There a Role for Natural Capital in the Marketplace?”) and issues surrounding human-caused climate change.
   http://texasclimatenews.org/

EcoNotes

• 17 June
  • Jim Blackburn: Environmental attorney, advocate, author, professor (Texas Climate News)
    http://texasclimatenews.org/
  • Texas energy companies make top polluters list (Emily Wilkinson – Houston Business Journal)
    http://www.bizjournals.com/
  • Are People Riding Downtown Houston’s Free Bus? (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge earns Sponsor of the Round Award (Laurie Lomas – The Liberty County Vindicator)
    http://www.thevindicator.com/
  • Mexico Prepares To Ramp Up Imports Of US Natural Gas (Andrew Schneider – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • EPA Report Details How Development Can Impact Public Health, Environment (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/
  • EPA confirmation delay raises questions about U.S. carbon rules (Valerie Volcovici – Planet Ark News)
    http://planetark.org/
  • Obama leaves climate change-fighting tool on shelf for now (Patrick Rucker and Valerie Volcovici – Planet Ark News)
    http://planetark.org/
• 14 June
  • Friends of Trinity River Refuge awarded National Recreational Trails Fund Grant (The Liberty County Vindicator)
    http://www.thevindicator.com/
  • After Supreme Court Water Ruling, What’s Next for Texas? (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Texas Rivers Tested by Drought, Population Growth (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
    https://www.texastribune.org/
• 13 June
  • ULI Lays Out Its Vision For Downtown Houston And It’s Green (David Pitman – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • Contractor Illegally Clear-Cuts A Section of Houston’s Second Oldest Park (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • Interactive Map: Texas Public Water Systems At Risk (Ryan Murphy and Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
    http://www.texastribune.org/
  • EPA Announces More Than $3 Million in Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants to Help Facilitate Environmental Stewardship and Cleanup Across the Country (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/
  • Supreme Court Backs Oklahoma Over Texas Water District (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
    http://www.texastribune.org/
  • Why Oil and Gas Lobbyists Were Big Spenders This Session (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
• 12 June
  • What Would Texas Do? (Larry R. Soward – Air Alliance Houston)
    http://airalliancehouston.org/
  • Texas bill facilitates loans for water conservation, energy improvements (James Jeffrey – Houston Business Journal)
    http://www.bizjournals.com/
  • Why It’s Cheaper to Charge an Electric Car than Fill Up With Gas (Holly Heinrich – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • A Tale of Fledgling Birds, Invasive Species and Climate Change (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • EPA Awards $2 Million for Small Business Innovation Research: Promoting Green Jobs (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/
• 11 June
  • Natural gas and renewables key to Texas’ electricity future (Deon Daugherty – Houston Business Journal)
    http://www.bizjournals.com/
  • After Rice Farmers Cut Off Last Year, Water Use Cut in Half in Central Texas (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Vehicle Inspection Fraud Task Forces Running on Empty (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Outlying cities see major shifts in daytime populations (Dug Begley and Yang Wang – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/
  • Elite flyers pressure United Airlines to act on climate change (Valerie Volcovici – Planet Ark News)
    http://planetark.org/
  • U.S., China agree to reduce use of hydrofluorocarbons (Steve Holland – Planet Ark News)
    http://planetark.org/
• 10 June
  • Family Of Chimps Headed To Houston Zoo (Jack Williams and Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • Waste Connections to open multimillion-dollar facility in south Houston (Molly Ryan – Houston Business Journal)
    http://www.bizjournals.com/
  • As First Offshore Wind Turbine Launches In Maine, Is Texas Next? (Michael Marks – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
• 9 June
  • In Texas, Abandoned Oil Equipment Spurs Pollution Fears (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
    http://www.texastribune.org/
• 7 June
  • With a Broken Safety Net Abandoned, What’s Next For Low Income Texans? (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Wisconsin court ruling could mean Houston thinks more about transit (Houston Chronicle)
    http://blog.chron.com/
• 6 June
  • CenterPoint invests in new natural gas fueling stations, vehicle fleet (Molly Ryan – Houston Business Journal)
    http://www.bizjournals.com/
  • Judge sides with farmers in state water fight (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/
  • Soaring Temperatures Prompt City And Reliant Energy To Open Cooling Centers (Pat Hernandez – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • NOAA Fisheries Sets Gulf-Wide Red Snapper Season at 28 Days (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
  • This Week in Drought: The Two Sides of Texas (Terrence Henry – Terrence Henry)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • TPWD Texas State Parks Junior Ranger Explorer Packs Available at 30 Parks This Summer (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
  • EPA to issue ethanol use targets this summer (Ayesha Rascoe – Planet Ark News)
    http://planetark.org/
  • Feds give industry, environmentalists more time to study drilling rule (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – My SA News)
    http://www.mysanantonio.com/
  • Why Texas Cattle Ranching Continues to Decline (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
• 5 June
  • Data App: Track Texas Reservoir Levels (Ryan Murphy and Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
    http://www.texastribune.org/
  • Migratory Bird Conservation Commission Approves Acquisition Of 9,000 Acres Of Wetlands For National Wildlife Refuge System (Chattanoogan)
    http://www.chattanoogan.com/
  • What We Can Learn About a City by Mapping Its Parks (Emily Badger – The Atlantic Cities)
    http://www.theatlanticcities.com/
  • TPWD leads efforts to restore oyster reefs and salt marshes after the 2008 hurricane (Lance Robinson – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwmagazine.com/
  • What to see and do all along the Texas coast (Melissa Gaskill – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwmagazine.com/
  • High Wildfire Risk, Longer Fire Season Possible This Year (Holly Heinrich – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • The Toxic Risk When Hurricanes Hit the Texas Chemical Coast (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • EPA Awards More Than $4.3 Million in Partnership with NSF and NOAA for Climate and Air Quality Research (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/
• 4 June
  • EPA says Texas has big water needs (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/
  • In Texas, a mixed legislative session for green cars (James Jeffrey – Austin Business Journal)
    http://www.bizjournals.com/
  • More prominent role for cycling envisioned (Lindsay Peyton – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/
  • Take Care of Texas Campaign Helps Texans Conserve Water During Drought, Care for Air, Water, Parks (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
  • Summertime, and the Fishing is Easy (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
  • Report: As Natural Gas Displaces Coal, Carbon Emissions Fall (Holly Heinrich – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • State Tells River Authority Water Plan Needs More Review (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • EPA Survey Shows $384 Billion Needed for Drinking Water Infrastructure by 2030 (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/
  • EPA and USDA Join Together To Help Americans Reduce Wasted Food (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/
  • Honeybee food may contribute to U.S. colony collapse – study (Richard Valdmanis – Planet Ark News)
    http://planetark.org/
• 3 June
  • Study says climate is biofuel foe (Jeannie Kever, Houston Chronicle – My SA News)
    http://www.mysanantonio.com/
• 2 June
  • Busy city sidewalks need shady spaces (Lisa Gray – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/
  • Controversy over plans for Williamson County sewage facility (Shannon Murray – KHOU News)
    http://www.khou.com/
• 29 May
  • Texas A&M Researcher Discovers Bacteria That Cleans Up Estrogen Contamination In Water (Bio News Texas)
    http://bionews-tx.com/
• 24 May
  • $5.7 Million in Recreational Trail Grants Largest Award in Program’s History (The Katy News)
    http://thekatynews.com/