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November 16, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: November 15, 2015

Featured

  1. Environmental Group May Have Overstated Power Plant Pollution (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 11/13/2015)
    “Back in September, the Texas chapter of the environmental group, the Sierra Club, said it had done its own analysis of pollution data from the Parish Power Plant. The huge plant burns tons of coal a day. It’s owned by NRG and sits on the southern edge of the booming suburb of Sugar Land. The Sierra Club said data showed air pollution from the plant was exceeding government health standards for sulfur dioxide. NRG disagreed. Now, two months later, the Sierra Club suggests in emails to News 88.7 that some of the data it used may have been incorrectly entered into a computer model and that their results may have overstated the impact of sulfur dioxide emissions.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  2. Wind Predicted To Power More Of Texas (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 11/9/2015)
    “Giant wind turbines that make a swooshing sound as they slowly spin are cranking out more and more electricity in Texas. ‘There’s roughly 8,000 turbines across the state,’ says Jeff Clark, who heads the Wind Coalition in Austin, a group promoting the industry. On average, wind accounts for about 10 percent of electricity made in the state with the rest mostly from natural gas, coal and nuclear. But one breezy night this past March, Texas was getting 40-percent of all its electricity from wind. And just last month Texas set a new record for the total amount of power ever made in the state from wind, enough to power about 6 million homes. Clark says within two years, another couple thousand turbines will have been added in the spots where it’s windiest: the Panhandle, West Texas, and along the Gulf Coast, which he says has a special benefit.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  3. Nonprofits, state, federal agencies working to restore the Monarch butterfly population (Cypress Creek Mirror, 10/29/2015)
    “Conservation efforts for the Texas monarch and other native pollinators took center stage at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas this morning when Former First Lady and Founder of Texan By Nature Laura Bush, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Executive Director Carter Smith, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Dan Ashe, and President and CEO Collin O’Mara of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) unveiled a conservation plan to help sustain native pollinators and their survival in Texas... The Texas Monarch/Native Pollinator Conservation Plan will be implemented by a task force of stakeholders and will focus on preserving the North American monarch migration. The plan outlines actions that will contribute to monarch and overall native pollinator conservation in Texas by highlighting four broad categories of: habitat conservation, education and outreach, research and monitoring, and partnerships.”
    www.yourhoustonnews.com

EcoNotes

  • 13 November
    • Environmental Group May Have Overstated Power Plant Pollution (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • When It Comes to Climate Change, Texas Is an Impediment — and a Leader (Ben Miller – GovTech)
      www.govtech.com
    • Save Money, Feed the Hungry, Fight Climate Change with EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge (EPA News)
      http://yosemite.epa.gov
    • Will New Clean Air Rules Cost Black Jobs? (North Dallas Gazette)
      http://northdallasgazette.com
    • El Nino-Driven Rains Spur Second Mosquito Season in Southern US (Heather Janssen – AccuWeather)
      www.accuweather.com
    • University of Texas plans Houston expansion (Joe Martin – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • License? Check. Training? Check. Now it all comes down to the moment you pull the trigger. (Stephanie Salinas – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
      http://tpwmagazine.com
    •  Land steward award winner says ‘failing better’ is key to conservation success. (Tom Harvey – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
      http://tpwmagazine.com
    • The incredible bond between a duck hunter and his dog. (David Sikes – Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine)
      http://tpwmagazine.com
    • 62 Organizations Cycling for Trip to New Zealand, as Houston Bike Challenge Heats Up (Energy Corridor)
      http://energycorridor.org
    • What a Ride: Volunteer Extraordinaire Steve Moskowitz Completes 12-year Marathon on ECD’s Board (Energy Corridor)
      http://energycorridor.org
    • The ECD Honored at Mayor’s Proud Partner Awards (Energy Corridor)
      http://energycorridor.org
  • 12 November
  • 11 November
    • I-10 speed limit to drop despite Beaumont council’s opposition (Dan Wallach – Beaumont Enterprise)
      www.beaumontenterprise.com
    • Watch Out Almonds! Pecans Aim to Displace America’s Nut (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
      https://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Patrick Calls on Miller to Halt Fee Hikes (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Woodlands rethinks synthetic fields amid cancer concerns (Bridget Balch – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • This time, Woodlands supported road bond by 2-to-1 ratio (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Patrick Calls on Miller to Halt Fee Hikes (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 10 November
    • State Lays Out Broad Plans To Fix The Gulf After The BP Spill (David Pitman – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • New York’s Top Enforcer Again Targets Texas Energy Giants (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Clean Power Plan Training in Port Arthur (Adrian Shelley – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • Pasadena Workshop Series Concludes with Community Monitoring (Adrian Shelley – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • EPA to hold four hearings on Clean Power Plan; none will be near Texas (Michael A. Lindenberger – The Dallas Morning News)
      http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com
    • USDA expands investment in water improvement in Ogallala Aquifer (AG Professional)
      www.agprofessional.com
    • First Responders Say UT’s New Flood Forecast Technology Will Save Lives (Stef Manisero – Time Warner Cable News)
      www.twcnews.com
    • New system could provide cheap water for growing cities (Miranda Wilcox – Herald Democrat)
      http://heralddemocrat.com
    • City of Houston Reaches Sustainability Fest Platinum Sponsor Status (Kristina Michel – University of Houston)
      www.uh.edu
    • TCEQ Toxicologists Establish Isoprene Risk Factor (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality)
      www.tceq.state.tx.us
    • More Than $80 Million for New Restoration Projects on the Gulf Coast Announced by NFWF (Market Wired)
      www.marketwired.com
    • Many states opposed to the CPP are working on compliance plans (Robert Walton – Utility Dive)
      www.utilitydive.com
    • Ag Agency’s Fee Hikes Plant Seeds of Discontent (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Denton Power Plan Draws Criticism (Christopher Connelly, KERA – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 9 November
    • Wind Predicted To Power More Of Texas (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Texas Confronts Continuing Drought (Jonathan Baker – High Plains Public Radio)
      http://hppr.org
    • EPA Head: Texas Should Want Its Own Clean Power Plan (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Will all-weather turf hold up to scrutiny? (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Obama Rejected Keystone XL, But Crude Flows Through Southern Part of Project (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
      https://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Attention Meteorologists: Dry Cold Front Brings Heightened Wildfire Potential (Texas A&M Forest Service)
      http://txforestservice.tamu.edu
  • 8 November
    • Methods to Reduce Water Pollution From Horse Manure (Christa Lesté-Lasserre, MA – The Horse)
      www.thehorse.com
    • Cracking The Problem Of River Growth (Science 2.0)
      www.science20.com
  • 7 November
    • Woodlands grapples with questions about turf’s health risk (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
  • 5 November
    • Symposium shines light on water conservation (Jessica Pina – The Shorthorn)
      www.theshorthorn.com
    • Human Cost Rises as Old Bridges, Dams and Roads Go Unrepaired (The New York Times)
      www.nytimes.com
    • Scientists Study Links Between Climate Change and Extreme Weather (John Schwartz – The New York Times)
      www.nytimes.com
    • Governor orders ‘immediate funding’ for flood prevention after KXAN Investigation (Josh Hinkle – KXAN)
      http://kxan.com
    • Texas cattle, land, forests also part of Paris conference climate agenda (Randy Lee Loftis – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
  • 4 November
  • 2 November
    • Bayou activists decry overflows of sewage (Doug Miller – KHOU 11 News)
      www.khou.com
    • How Does Your Plastic Bag Get Into the Ocean? (Patrick J. Kiger – Discovery News)
      http://news.discovery.com
  • 29 October
    • Nonprofits, state, federal agencies working to restore the Monarch butterfly population (Cypress Creek Mirror)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com

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