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The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.

  • Dust to Dust?

    By Kate Galbraith

    Texas has the most acres of any state enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program, which seeks to prevent another Dust Bowl by paying farmers to plant grass instead of crops. But the program has fallen on hard times, and its participants worry they will, too. Full Story 

    Lynn County Judge H.G. Franklin looks out over his land, which is enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program.
    Credit: Kate Galbraith

  • The Pelican Grief

    By Elizabeth Titus

    At Goose Island, near Rockport, some of the nearly 200 pelicans rescued from the Gulf oil spill and sent to Texas seem to be thriving. But officials are holding their breath to see whether the rescued birds stick around or fly back to habitats that may still be contaminated. "Wildlife do crazy things," says the manager of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. "That's why they're called 'wild.'" But the ones that stay could face survival struggles, too, from coastal litter and competition with other species for food. Full Story 

    Twenty brown pelicans now call Texas home after getting "oiled" in the BP spill off Louisiana's coast
    Credit: Spencer Selvidge

  • Reservoir Dogged

    By Morgan Smith

    In 2004, two brothers thought they had found the perfect ecologically friendly business venture: create a wetlands preserve on 4,000 acres of neglected farmland along the Sulphur River in Northeast Texas and make a pile of money selling mitigation credits to developers who build over environmentally sensitive lands elsewhere. Seven years later, the only thing stopping them from realizing that dream is the state of Texas, which has plans to submerge their property under 80 feet of water. Full Story 

    The Hearts Bluff Mitigation Bank as pictured with the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir.
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • Face-Off: Porter vs. Weems

    By Elise Hu

    The two men battling for a spot on the Texas Railroad Commission go head-to-head — virtually — in the latest installment of our Face-Off video series. Watch as political novice and certified public accountant David Porter, a Midland Republican, debates Democrat Jeff Weems, an oil and gas attorney from Houston, on their respective qualifications for the job, whether there are enough pipeline inspectors and and the proper balance between environmental regulation and economic growth. Full Story 

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  • Nelson Roach: The TT Interview

    By Kate Galbraith

    The past president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, who testifies before two House committees today, tells the Tribune that Texas liability law shortchanges workers caught in industrial accidents — an issue of renewed interest since the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Full Story 

    Nelson Roach, past president of the TTLA.
    Credit: Nix, Patterson & Roach LLP

  • TribBlog: Life's a Beach in Texas

    By Sarah Acosta

    Texas beaches aren't awash in oil like the sands are in some other Gulf Coast states, but they could be cleaner, a group of environmental advocates said today as it released an annual review of the nation's beaches. Full Story 

    Texas beach
    Credit: http://wwwdb.glo.state.tx.us/Beachwatch/images/beach1.jpg

  • A Toxic Issue

    By Kate Galbraith

    In Texas and nationwide, controversy is escalating over the practice of shooting water, sand and chemicals underground to retrieve natural gas. Some companies have responded by using less dangerous chemicals. Full Story 

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    Credit: Creative Commons/Daniel Foster

  • TribBlog: The Sound and the Fury

    By Kate Galbraith

    Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a legal challenge on Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the agency's rejection of Texas' pollution-permiting system constitutes "improper overreach by the federal government." Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Ramshaw's question about an insurance company denying coverage for an infant vaccine prompts a reversal; Stiles' new app lets you poke through mid-year campaign reports on donations and spending; Ramsey finds foreshadowing of the state's big fall races in the campaign finance reports; Aguilar interviews Henry Cisneros about current politics; Dawson finds Texas environmentalists getting advice from an unexpected place; Galbraith on "demand response" that might cut the need for power plants and on the next wave of electric cars; Aguilar on increasing trade through Texas ports of entry; M. Smith on affirmative action battles in higher education; Titus on Mexican college students' drift from border universities to UT-Austin and Texas A&M; and Hamilton on controversy over private, for-profit colleges: The best of our best for the week of July 19 to 23, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • Electric Avenue

    By Kate Galbraith

    Plug-in cars — which are touted as green because they use little if any gasoline and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 49 percent and 75 percent compared with a conventional vehicle — will soon be a viable option in Texas. By the end of this year, Austinites should be able to buy the new electric car from Chevrolet, called the Volt. By next February, hundreds of Leafs, Nissan's plug-in car, will be on the roads around Houston. The new influx, fueled by government subsidies, should more than double the number of plug-in vehicles in the state. Full Story 

    The Volt, a plug-in hybrid car made by General Motors, in front of the Texas Capitol.
    Credit: General Motors