The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
The nuclear emergency in Japan, 6,500 miles away, has put plans for the expansion of a Texas nuclear facility on hold. And as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, utilities in San Antonio and Austin were in talks to buy power from the plant before the crisis began to unfold. Full Story
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In its first hearing since an earthquake and tsunami crippled Japan and threatened nuclear meltdown at several reactors, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission heard testimony today on whether to give early-stage approval to a new nuclear plant in Texas. Full Story
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The General Land Office has a lot on its plate these days — a controversial property rights lawsuit, the reopening of Texas’ favorite surf spot and an ongoing project to restore Texas’ most fertile fishing pier. Full Story
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Texas' renewed commitment to natural gas comes at a time of sharply increased scrutiny for the gas industry. Full Story
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With drilling on the rise, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality answer questions about whether Texans need to worry about radioactivity in their water. Full Story
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A new report says that Texas ranked 10th in installations of solar power in 2010, a jump from the previous year. But this is unlikely to deter solar proponents pushing for more legislative incentives. Full Story
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State parks, hunting lands and even the parks agency's magazine could suffer if the Legislature enacts a hefty budget cut for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Full Story
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Ramshaw and Stiles on the tepid growth of Big D during the last decade, Hamilton talks immigration with state Rep. Leo Berman, M. Smith on Texas education's Race to the Top efforts and more: The best of our best content from Feb. 28 to March 4, 2011. Full Story
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Many Texas lawmakers have forsworn taxes, but they also promised to educate kids, to build roads, to care for the needy and to do what government is expected to do. It’s the adult version of those mathematical story problems that made sixth grade so much fun. Full Story
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It sounds simple: Who owns the groundwater in Texas? But this issue, like others in the hot-button area of aquifer planning, is embroiled in an ongoing policy battle. Full Story
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With the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department facing budget cuts and park closures, Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports that lawmakers are looking at an unconventional solution — advertising in parks — to help pay for maintenance and promote tourism. Full Story
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With the one-year anniversary of the BP oil-rig explosion approaching, Ian Crawford of KUT News spoke with Carter Smith, executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, about the state of the Gulf and why researchers may be studying its effects for decades. Full Story
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It’s renewable energy lobby week at the Capitol, and as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, the budget shortfall — though sure to dampen hopes for some legislation — isn't keeping advocates from pushing for a number of energy programs. Full Story
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The power failures earlier this month have called into question one of Texas' most basic tenets: that we do everything, including deregulation, better than anyone else. Full Story
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What’s in a name? The Texas Railroad Commission — and the elected officials who run it — may soon find out. Full Story
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This week, lawmakers from two senate committees called the power players in the electricity industry to Austin to grill them about the rolling blackouts on Feb. 2. As it turns out, many of those executives and their companies' PACs have contributed thousands to the senators who were questioning them. Full Story
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The state grid operator on Wednesday released an updated — albeit still partial — list of power plants that went down during the statewide rolling blackouts on Feb. 2. Full Story
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The big power companies in Texas on the hot seat during a Senate hearing about this month's rolling blackouts have donated more than $400,000 since 2000 to members of the two committees asking questions. The donations are part of nearly $4 million in campaign money the companies and their employees have spent on political candidates during that time. Full Story
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As hearings continued this afternoon at the Capitol, power plant owners tried to explain why so many of their operations failed during the Feb. 2 rolling blackouts. Full Story
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At a state Senate hearing this morning on Texas's rolling blackouts earlier this month, ERCOT released the first list — albeit a very partial one — of power plants that failed during the Feb. 2 crisis. Full Story
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