Kate Galbraith
has covered energy and environment for the Tribune since 2010. Previously she reported on clean energy for The New York Times from 2008 to 2009, serving as the lead writer for the Times' Green blog. She began her career at The Economist in 2000 and spent 2005 to 2007 in Austin as the magazine's Southwest correspondent. A Nieman fellow in journalism at Harvard University from 2007 to 2008, she has an undergraduate degree in English from Harvard and a master's degree from the London School of Economics. She is co-author of The Great Texas Wind Rush, a book about how the oil and gas state won the race to wind power.
kgalbraith@texastribune.org
512-716-8631
Recent Contributions
An oil & gas drilling rig is drilling a well for Pioneer Natural Resources in the Eagle Ford Shale formation near Yorktown.
The Texas Railroad Commission passed a long-awaited rule on Friday to strengthen the construction of oil and gas wells. The commissioners hope to set an example for other drilling states.
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UPDATED: If lawmakers don't do something quickly, the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas in the state, could disappear.
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A bill allowing hotter radioactive waste from other states to be deposited in a dump in Andrews County passed the House on Wednesday, after a brief debate between state Reps. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, and Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa.
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photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
State Sen. Brian Birdwell, Republican of Granbury
State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, faces a growing and likely insurmountable challenge in his efforts to pass a bill allowing the concealed carry of firearms in buildings on university and college campuses.
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photo by: Texas Water Development Board
The Ogallala Aquifer suffered its second-worst drop since at least 2000 in a 16-county swath of the Texas Panhandle, new measurements show. With the drought showing little sign of abating, farmers face another tough year.
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From protecting endangered lizards to changing industry standards on fracking, energy and environmental groups have many competing interests in Texas. Use this interactive to track campaign contributions by some of the most influential such groups and donors.
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It's shaping up to be another difficult summer for the Texas power grid. A national nonprofit has projected that the Texas grid will have the lowest percentage of power reserves this summer of any region of the country.
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graphic by: Ryan Murphy / Todd Wiseman
Texas endured the worst drought in recorded state history in 2011, and it has yet to bounce back. Using data from the Texas Water Development Board's reservoir status tracker, our auto-updating map visualizes the current state of Texas reservoirs.
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Texas’ drought and water-supply problems have captured headlines. But with the state’s rapid population growth projected to continue, other infrastructure problems also loom, including clogged roads and a strained power grid.
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The University of Texas of the Permian Basin professor and expert on Texas oil history on the current fracking boom and how it compares to the great booms of the past, as well as the strange way in which the Railroad Commission came to regulate oil and gas drilling.
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photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Texas Department of Public Safety patch worn on uniform during graduation ceremony in Austin, Texas April 7th, 2011
The Texas Rangers and the McLennan County sheriff's office are launching a criminal investigation into the fertilizer plant explosion last month in West.
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photo by: Christina B. Castro
Groundwater levels in Texas dropped considerably between 2010 and 2011, according to a report published recently by the Texas Water Development Board. The Ogallala was among the major aquifers experiencing significant declines.
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A bill that would make significant changes to the Texas Railroad Commission, including renaming the Texas Energy Resources Commission, passed the Senate on Thursday after 40 minutes of discussion. The House now must act.
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Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, says his 83rd session priorities will be education and water while speaking at TribLive on Feb. 6, 2013.
UPDATED: The morning after a major bill to authorize spending billions of dollars on state water projects faltered in the House, Speaker Joe Straus' office released a statement saying he wouldn't "let a technicality seal the debate."
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A worker waits to load a piece of pipe, or casing, that will be lowered into the well at a Chesapeake Energy drill site in Dimmit County, Texas in the Eagle Ford Shale.
Besides boosting the economies of remote towns, the shale boom has big implications for the Texas economy and budget. Already, taxes on oil and gas production have soared above the comptroller’s estimates.
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