The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
Dramatic increases in oil and gas production, and the drilling technique called fracking, have been tied to elevated levels of air pollution in Texas, stirring concerns over health risks like cancer. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/MNFontainQuail18.jpg)
"Pocket prairies" have been popping up all over Houston, helping beautify the city while preserving the native plants that are now harder to find in Harris County. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PRAIRIE-2.jpg)
Through a nearly 40-year-old program run by the Texas General Land Office, several people hold permits to use cabins on remote, state-owned islands near the Intracoastal Waterway. Permit holders love the isolation — and the fishing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-FishermanCabins-006.jpg)
Houston conservationists reintroduce native plants to the area, and we examine how much money school districts spend per student. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/081612_Insider_ART.jpg)
At last Friday's quarterly meeting of the Texas Lyceum, I interviewed the energy magnate about his exit from the water business, the status of the Pickens Plan and Obama vs. Romney. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TboonEvan-1.jpg)
A federal appeals court on Monday handed Texas a victory in its long-running battle with the Environmental Protection Agency. But after years of squabbling between the two sides, who's winning — and at what cost — remains unclear. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/449ec7d6dea11eec4a202c1caeb90913/BD%20INC%20Greg%20Abbott%20Archival%202010)
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency unfairly disapproved of a Texas permitting program for air emissions. The opinion says the EPA must further consider the program. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/EPA-Emissions.jpg)
Triple-digit temperatures and parched lands may not be ideal for Texas farmers. But the dry conditions this summer have bestowed an unexpected gift on farmers' fruit and vegetable crops: enhanced flavor. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasFruit-Sweet.jpg)
Oil and gas production has soared in Texas since the introduction of the mining technique called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." But the boom in production has also raised concerns about air pollution. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Fracking-Rig.jpg)
Texans living near the Dallas-Fort Worth drilling area called the Barnett Shale may have recently noticed some tremors under their feet. A new study out this week from the University of Texas names the oil and gas industry as the culprit. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/FrackingWell.jpg)
Across Texas, cities are installing electronic water meters. The transition will save money, officials say, because meter readers will no longer have to go from yard to yard. Plus, the new meters make it easy to detect leaks. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-WaterMeters-007.jpg)
The former EPA regional administrator on his decision to resign, why he joined the Sierra Club and why he views climate change as the biggest environmental problem facing Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/DSC_0488.jpg)
A small number of Texas homeowners are signed up to help the electric grid when it is strained, by allowing their air conditioners to cycle off briefly during the hottest afternoons. It’s a concept that regulators in Austin are eager to spread. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Thermostat-2.jpg)
The state-regulated maximum price for wholesale electricity takes a big jump on Wednesday, but whether the cost of higher prices will be passed on to Texas consumers remains unclear. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Contract-PUC.jpg)
A judge this week reversed the air permit for a proposed coal plant in Corpus Christi called Las Brisas, handing environmental groups a victory and dealing a major blow to one of the few such plants still being planned in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CoalPlant.jpg)
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/FrackUT-1.jpg)
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. Full Story
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/OilWorker.jpg)
The Texas House Committee for Land and Resource Management heard testimony Monday regarding the use of eminent domain by oil and gas companies to build on private land for what they say is the public good. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Pipes.jpg)
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/DeadTree.jpg)