Energy

Controversy over a professor’s failure to disclose financial ties to a drilling company while leading an academic study has erupted at the University of Texas at Austin. The professor, Dr. Charles “Chip” Groat, has called the charges unfounded and overblown.

A University of Texas at Austin professor who led a report that denied a link between fracking and groundwater contamination has come under scrutiny for not disclosing financial ties to the oil and gas industry.

A surge in oil and gas production has been a boon for the state’s economy, but it has come at the expense of the safety of oilfield workers, who not only face physical injury but also long-term health issues like fibrotic lung disease.

The 2011 drought wreaked havoc on the state’s trees, but according to a new report, few of them died directly from dehydration. Rather, trees weakened by the drought likely fell prey to a different culprit: diseases and insects.

Two smokestacks in El Paso — remnants of the smelting company ASARCO — remind many residents of a legacy of environmental damage. But to a local group, the stacks, now slated for demolition, are landmarks worth saving.

Texas likes to be No. 1 at everything. But the state is last when it comes to the reliability of our electrical system, according to a recent assessment by an outside group. Can higher prices and conservation solve the problem?

Though Texas has partly recovered from extreme drought conditions thanks to heavy rains, the Midwest is enduring one of its worst dry spells in decades. And as conditions in the Midwest drive food prices up, some say Texas farmers stand to benefit.

Population growth has strained energy resources in Texas, leading state officials to raise prices in an attempt to encourage new power plant construction. But some utility companies say the increases may not be nearly high enough to meet Texas’ growing needs.