The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
Some districts will close for the day expecting traffic jams and busy city services. Others will stay open for parents who can’t find child care. Full Story
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Thursday’s hearing marked the end of the Legislature’s three-day marathon of public hearings. Full Story
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The Texas A&M Forest Service concluded that a fallen decayed utility pole caused the Smokehouse Creek fire. Full Story
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Attorney General Ken Paxton said the settlement will reimburse the state and feds for damages to natural resources. Full Story
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Llano residents are told to stock up on groceries. A Sulphur Springs church is renting its parking spots. And everyone’s watching the weather forecast ahead of Monday’s eclipse. Full Story
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A special legislative committee is investigating what caused the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history. Full Story
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A new operator was assigned to fix the well in Midland County, which is still not compliant with state standards. Full Story
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Texas has become an early hot spot for geothermal energy exploration as scores of former oil industry workers and executives are taking their knowledge to a new energy source. Full Story
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Supporters say developing hydrogen as a fuel is critical to slowing climate change. Critics are concerned that producing it with fossil fuels will prop up the oil and gas industry. Full Story
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As ranchers recover from the Smokehouse Creek fire, they face the agonizing choice of what to do with an unknown number of injured cattle. Full Story
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A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project compiled data on every U.S. plastics plant built, expanded or proposed since 2012, revealing massive growth in Texas. Full Story
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Laredo residents who live near a sterilization plant say the new federal limits on the pollutant will improve air quality and reduce their city’s high cancer risk. Full Story
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Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods like Cloverleaf unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe. Full Story
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Los datos públicos de una red de monitores de la calidad del aire alrededor del Canal de Navegación de Houston son difíciles de interpretar y a menudo son insuficientes, dejando a vecindarios de mayoría latina, como Cloverleaf, sin saber si el aire que respiran es seguro. Full Story
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The panel of three lawmakers and two residents will also look at disaster preparedness. Full Story
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As crews fight to keep deadly blazes under control, weather conditions could increase risk of more fires. Full Story
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Hemphill County Judge Lisa Johnson said the region has been overwhelmed with the response of support, but work remains. Full Story
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Experts say utilities need to be ready for extreme weather, which could be a challenge in a state where discussing climate change is often taboo. Full Story
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Blocked in Louisiana, Formosa Plastics looks to grow around Lavaca Bay instead. But it and other interested industrial plants are waiting for more water. Full Story
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The wildfires offers a reminder that most of rural Texas is protected by volunteers. And there aren’t many of them. Full Story
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