Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: May 27, 2014-1
Featured
- Opposition to bayou erosion project grows louder (Kiah Collier – Houston Chronicle, 5/20/2014)
Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle Staff A $6 million plan to tame a mile-and-a-quarter stretch of Buffalo Bayou is drawing an ever-louder outcry from several prominent environmental and conservation groups who say the project aimed at reducing erosion and improving water quality would only make things worse. Opposition to the so-called Memorial Park Demonstration Project, targeting a segment of the historic bayou that snakes between Memorial Park’s secluded southern edge and the River Oaks Country Club golf course, has grown more vocal as a deadline to submit feedback to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approaches.
www.houstonchronicle.com - Texas Gets Poor Marks on Pedestrian Safety (Cathaleen Qiao Chen – The Texas Tribune, 5/20/2014)
Houston pedestrians better cross with care. The city is the seventh most dangerous in the nation for people on foot, according to a new report from the National Complete Streets Coalition at Smart Growth America, a nonprofit that advocates for neighborhood safety. Texas ranked as the 10th most dangerous state for walking commuters, with nearly 4,200 pedestrian deaths between 2003 and 2012. That’s roughly 10 percent of such deaths nationally during that time period, according to data compiled from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics. www.texastribune.org - Seeing Stars in Dripping Springs (Forrest Wilder – Texas Observer, 5/20/2014)
As Texas booms, the state is less and less able to brag that the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas. In the big cities and the sprawling suburbs, and even in Far West Texas near the McDonald Observatory, light pollution is increasingly limiting our ability to enjoy the night sky. But the Hill Country town of Dripping Springs is showing that the starry skies can be preserved or restored even as the state grows. Associate Editor Forrest Wilder writes about the growing dark skies movement and how unlike many environmental woes—climate change, for instance, or the extinction of species—light pollution is eminently reversible. [CEC note: Fort Bend County has had a light pollution regulation for years.] www.texasobserver.org
EcoNotes
- 23 May
- Houston METRO moving forward with Hughes Street Overpass to complete Green Line (RT&S News)
www.rtands.com - Houston pipeline companies investing billions to keep up with shale boom (Jordan Blum – Houston Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com - The Brief: White House Confirms Choice of Castro for HUD (John Reynolds – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Houston METRO moving forward with Hughes Street Overpass to complete Green Line (RT&S News)
- 22 May
- Cedar Bayou Watershed to hold public meeting June 5 (The Baytown Sun)
http://baytownsun.com - Senate approves $12.3 billion water bill (Henry C. Jackson – Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - Railroad Commission Sides With Driller on Well Protest (Neena Satija and Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Texas Got Millions From BP, But Lawmakers Didn’t Know Until Now (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
https://stateimpact.npr.org - As Zebra Mussels Spread in Texas, Boating Rules Will Apply Statewide (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
https://stateimpact.npr.org - Game Wardens Stress Water Safety (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
www.tpwd.state.tx.us - Recreational Trail Grants Fund Projects Statewide (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
www.tpwd.state.tx.us - Whole Earth Provision Co. Donates Funds to Texas State Parks (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
www.tpwd.state.tx.us - Zebra Mussel Rules Now Expanded Statewide (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
www.tpwd.state.tx.us
- Cedar Bayou Watershed to hold public meeting June 5 (The Baytown Sun)
- 21 May
- Dry California gets attention now, but drought persists in Texas, too (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org - TCEQ rejects LCRA Water Plan, Suggests Fewer Downsteam Releases (Aelx Dropkin – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org - How Drug Smugglers Are Taking Advantage of the Texas Oil Boom (David Brown & Rhonda Fanning – KUT News)
http://kut.org - Sierra Club sues Environmental Protection Agency to force tougher action on Dallas-Fort Worth smog (Randy Lee Loftis – Dallas News)
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com - Top Ten Bicycle Stories of 2014 (so far) (EarthShare)
www.earthshare.org - Animatronic insects invade Houston Zoo (Syd Kearney – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - Sierra Club sues EPA, seeks tougher pollution controls in North Texas (Randy Lee Loftis – Dallas News)
www.dallasnews.com - Council to consider asking HGAC for bus grant (John Wayne Ferguson – The Galveston County Daily News)
www.galvestondailynews.com - ​Illegal dumping of fracking fluids in Texas highlights risk (RT News)
http://rt.com - EPA Finalizes Greenhouse Gas Permit for Hydrocarbon Plant; $3 billion facility will bring jobs to Freeport, TX (EPA News)
http://yosemite.epa.gov
- Dry California gets attention now, but drought persists in Texas, too (Texas Climate News)
- 20 May
- Seeing Stars in Dripping Springs (Forrest Wilder – Texas Observer)
www.texasobserver.org - Texas Environmental Protection Issues (Larry Soward – Air Alliance Houston)
http://airalliancehouston.org - Beautification Project in the Works for Hobby Airport Area (Pooja Lodhia – ABC 13 News)
http://abc13.com - Texas Gets Poor Marks on Pedestrian Safety (Cathaleen Qiao Chen – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Drought forces park in Texas to use trucked water (KXII News)
www.kxii.com - Opposition to bayou erosion project grows louder (Kiah Collier – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - Texas economy faces rough waves if water shortages ignored, panelists say (Kritika Kulshrestha – Houston Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com - Space-based techniques can successfully verify international regulations on fossil energy emissions (Nancy Ambrosiano – Phys.org)
http://phys.org - Kerry calls on U.S. college graduates to face down climate change (Scott Malone – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org - Design Workshop Announces Expansion with a New Office Location in Houston (Business Wire)
www.businesswire.com - In Texas, Less a Duck Dynasty than a Duck Dilemma (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
http://stateimpact.npr.org - Court refuses to reconsider BP oil spill resettlement case (Laura Barron-Lopez – The Hill)
http://thehill.com -
Texas cities among most affordable vacation destinations — but Houston lags (Madison Henry – Houston Business Journal)
www.bizjournals.com
- Seeing Stars in Dripping Springs (Forrest Wilder – Texas Observer)
- 19 May
- Livin’ the wild life: technical and financial help for habitat management (Robert Fears – The Eagle)
www.theeagle.com - Illegal Dumping of Texas Frack Waste Caught on Video (David Hasemyer – InsideClimate News)
http://insideclimatenews.org - Barton Springs Pool pollution source sought (Seattle Pi)
www.seattlepi.com - Dozens of Texas communities with less than 90 days of water (Joe Conger – KHOU News)
www.khou.com - Declining bird population could help mosquitoes thrive (KXAN News)
http://kxan.com - In Letter, Perry Faults Obama’s Energy Policies (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Marvin Nichols Reservoir Plan Gets Another Boost (Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune – My High Plains)
www.myhighplains.com - New Pilot Reporting Program Aims to Ensure Texas Anglers Get Share of Red Snapper (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
www.tpwd.state.tx.us - TCEQ Proposal Could Mean More Dry Years for Rice Farmers (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- Livin’ the wild life: technical and financial help for habitat management (Robert Fears – The Eagle)
- 17 May
- TCEQ rejects LCRA water management plan (John A. Salazar – Austin Water News)
http://austin.twcnews.com
- TCEQ rejects LCRA water management plan (John A. Salazar – Austin Water News)
- 16 May
- Sizable Solar Plant in the works for West Texas (Marfa Public Radio)
http://marfapublicradio.org - Obama Said to Consider Power-Plant Rule That Tests Law (Mark Drajem, Jim Snyder, and Jonathan Allen – Bloomberg News)
www.businessweek.com
- Sizable Solar Plant in the works for West Texas (Marfa Public Radio)
- 15 May
- Oil refineries required to reduce toxic pollution into the air communities breathe (Earth Justice)
http://earthjustice.org - Pundt Park: What I Love About Forests (State of Wilderness)
http://stateofwilderness.com
- Oil refineries required to reduce toxic pollution into the air communities breathe (Earth Justice)
- 14 May
- No Joke: Most Drinking Supplies Flush With “Potty Water” (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- No Joke: Most Drinking Supplies Flush With “Potty Water” (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
- 13 May
- Significant, Costly Part of Litter (Got My Bag)
http://gotmybag.org - Salmon Migrating to the Sea (Turtle Island Restoration Network)
https://seaturtles.org
- Significant, Costly Part of Litter (Got My Bag)
- 11 May
- Poaching Crisis: Africa’s Wildlife on the Brink (Mike Rooney – EarthShare)
www.earthshare.org
- Poaching Crisis: Africa’s Wildlife on the Brink (Mike Rooney – EarthShare)
- 10 May
- The Road to the International Sea Turtle Symposium (Turtle Island Restoration Network)
https://seaturtles.org
- The Road to the International Sea Turtle Symposium (Turtle Island Restoration Network)