In a study slated for publication next month, two Texas Tech University scientists may have made their biggest discovery yet: DNA from antibiotic-resistant bacteria in cattle feedlots is airborne.
Energy
In-depth reporting on oil, gas, renewable power, and policies shaping the future of energy in Texas from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Energy
Former U.S. Energy Official: Texas Needn’t Fret Over Climate Rules
Jon Wellinghoff, the former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman, talks about what looming federal climate regulations mean for Texas, whether the state should link its grid to others and how to incentivize energy conservation.
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Energy
See How Local Drilling Rules Vary Across Texas
The debate over whether some Texas city drilling ordinances go too far has become a much-discussed issue during the Texas legislative session. Use our tool, with data from the Texas Municipal League, to see if your city has an ordinance.
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Energy
Railroad Commissioner Rallies for Natural Gas
Railroad Commissioner David Porter has kicked off an initiative to tout the benefits of natural gas, whose low price has benefited some power generators but bedeviled operators and other energy companies that bet big on it years ago.
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Blood Lessons: An Investigative Series on Refinery Deaths
Take a look back at Blood Lessons, a Texas Tribune/Houston Chronicle investigation into whether the nation’s oil refineries learned the lessons of the deadly explosion at BP’s Texas City plant in 2005.
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Energy
Hays County Water Fight Tumbles Into Committee
Dripping Springs state Rep. Jason Isaac went before the House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday to make the case for his four-bill cocktail aimed at stopping a controversial groundwater pumping project in Hays County.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Latest Texas v. EPA Challenge
Texas again went head-to-head with the EPA before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, this time challenging federal limits on the emission of pollutants like mercury, acid gases and other toxic metals from power plants.
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Blood Lessons: Refining Still a Deadly Industry
How many people die at oil refineries each year? Longstanding federal record-keeping practices make it incredibly tough to answer that simple question. Review the deaths at refineries in the 10 years before and after the infamous Texas City explosion.
Posted inEnergy, Environment
New in Trib+Water: New Threats to Texas Coastal Bays
In this week’s edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Shellfish face threat in acidification of Texas bays, a new report says sprinklers are used too much and an interview with Wenwei Xu, a professor and corn breeder based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock.
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Energy
Senate Committee Advances “Denton Fracking Bill”
A Senate committee has advanced legislation to limit local control over oil and gas activities across Texas. The proposal is among nearly a dozen filed in response to a North Texas town’s vote to ban hydraulic fracturing.
