The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
More power generation could help could help Texas' increasingly strained electric grid. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports for StateImpact Texas, low natural gas prices are making it less attractive for investors to build power plants. Full Story
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The amount of Texas electrical power produced by coal plunged in January compared with a year earlier, and cheap natural gas appears to be the cause. Wind power production, meanwhile, has soared. Full Story
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In a case with potentially vast implications for groundwater rules, the court has unanimously ruled in favor of two farmers in the San Antonio area who challenged a local aquifer authority's restrictions on their well use. Full Story
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Mark Vickery, the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, will retire in May — and his successor has yet to be chosen. Full Story
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The Lower Colorado River Authority will soon decide whether rice farmers near the Gulf Coast will get water this year when the lakes near Austin are low because of the drought. Full Story
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Texas leads the nation in making and using electricity, which also makes it the nation's top polluter. But as Dave Fehling of StateImpact Texas and KUHF reports, the state's biggest power plant has found a surprising use for some of that pollution: drilling for oil. Full Story
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The Lower Colorado River Authority, the utility that controls water flowing from the Highland Lakes to the Gulf Coast, is set to approve a new plan for allocating water. But as Mose Buchele of StateImpact Texas reports, the authority will first hear from the various — and often feuding — communities relying on the affected water sources. Full Story
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The British period series Downton Abbey made headlines this year for drawing American audiences into its world of costumes and drama, but as Terrence Henry of StateImpact Texas reports, the show's affectionate portrayal at the past may offer Texans a look at their own energy future. Full Story
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A recent report from the University of Texas found no direct link between hydraulic fracturing and water contamination. But as Mose Buchele of StateImpact Texas reports, researchers say that doesn't mean the practice comes without significant environmental risks. Full Story
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A high-profile leak last week exposed an effort to undermine the teaching of climate change in schools. As Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, the subject also faces skepticism in Texas classrooms, where instructors must teach climate change denial alongside mainstream global warming theories. Full Story
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Aaronson interactively charts the legal wrangling between Texas and the feds, Aguilar on what Obama's budget means for the border, Galbraith on congressional ambivalence about a wind tax credit, Grissom on cuts to crime victims services, Hamilton on UT-Austin's plan to boost graduation rates, Ramsey on our woefully low voter turnout, Ramshaw on a new Super PAC targeting incumbents of both parties, Root on conservative opposition to the Keystone pipeline and M. Smith on cash-starved school districts in the advertising game: The best of our best content from February 13-17, 2012. Full Story
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As the drought drags on, many Texans are getting their own water wells drilled. But the growing demand has some worried that the groundwater could start drying up, too. Full Story
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The Canadian company that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline is using its land seizure powers to get property easements for the project. And it’s causing frustration in a conservative patch of Texas. Full Story
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Texas has a commanding lead over other states in wind-power production. But the looming expiration of a federal tax credit jeopardizes the boom — and Texas' congressional delegation does not appear to be clamoring loudly to save it. Full Story
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The drought's effect on Spicewood Beach, a community in Burnet County that recently became the first Texas town to run out of water, has raised concerns about areas of the state on the brink of similar situations. Mose Buchele of StateImpact Texas reports. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court could decide by this week whether it erred in allowing pipeline companies to force their way onto private land. As Dave Fehling of StateImpact Texas reports, the legal wrangling comes as drilling in the state is surging. Full Story
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2011 — the driest year in Texas history — delivered a huge blow to cattle ranchers. And as Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, the prospect of a continuing drought spells trouble for both ranchers and consumers. Full Story
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Aguilar on an environmental battle in South Texas, Galbraith on the impact of the drought, Grissom on the latest in the Michael Morton case, Hamilton and Theobald on plans for greater scrutiny of faculty performance, Murphy on Rick Perry's campaign donors and expenditures, Ramsey on where we stand on redistricting, Ramshaw on the intense interest in stem cell rules, Root on a congressman's controversial pipeline holdings, M. Smith on the backlash against student testing and Tan on the fight for a new medical school in Austin: The best of our best content from February 6-10, 2012. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, weighed in on several issues he'll face if he wins election to Congress, including Texas vs. the EPA, same-sex marriage and funding for Planned Parenthood. Full Story
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A brawl is brewing in South Texas, but this one has nothing to do with cartels or drug smuggling — it's an environmental battle over a proposed surface-mining site that some Eagle Pass residents worry will ruin their way of life. Full Story
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