T-Squared: New roles for Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera and Brandon Formby
Alejandro will serve as education and urban affairs editor, and Brandon as news editor. Full Story
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Credit: The Texas Tribune -
An oil company is seeking property tax breaks to finance its plans to remove carbon dioxide from Texas skies
Occidental’s tax break applications include new details about its carbon removal plans, which some experts see as important to countering climate change. Some environmentalists say the technology is unproven, expensive and only marginally useful at best. Full Story
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![Equipment used to process carbon dioxide, crude oil and water at an Occidental Petroleum Corp enhanced oil recovery project in Hobbs, New Mexico on May 3, 2017.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder -
EPA says it is looking for “super-emitters” of methane gas in Texas’ Permian Basin
The federal environment agency says it will continue flyovers of the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico until Aug. 15 using infrared cameras to survey oil and gas operations. Full Story
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![Dozens of stacked oil drilling rigs sit in a yard just north of Interstate 20 between Midland and Odessa, March 18, 2016.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
The EPA has identified 23 U.S. facilities that are emitting toxic air pollution that puts people at risk
One of them is in Laredo, which has elevated rates of cancer, according to a recent state analysis. The findings come after reporting by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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![Midwest Sterilization Corporation in Laredo Texas, operates 24/7 and emits more ethylene oxide than any other sterilizer plant in the country, according to the ProPublica analysis, which relies on self-reported emissions data from companies. That makes it the most toxic facility of its kind in the country and the 11th most toxic overall.]()
Credit: Kathleen Flynn, special to Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
“A perfect storm”: Drought, extreme heat and two faulty wells threaten a North Texas town’s water supply
“We’re on the brink. We’re teetering. It’s a balancing act. It’s a 50/50 proposition,” said Gunter City Manager Rick Chaffin. Full Story
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![Gunter is a small town about 50 miles north of Dallas.]()
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U.S. Senate approves bill containing Texas’ “Ike Dike” coastal protection project
The U.S. Senate voted to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning for a massive coastal barrier project in Galveston Bay meant to protect against hurricanes’ storm surge. Funding is not yet secured. Full Story
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![MacKenzie Edmundson walks along the shore of Galveston's coast on April 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas, New Mexico pushing for settlement in Rio Grande water fight
The case sparked from a series of lawsuits over Rio Grande water and escalated with Texas arguing that New Mexico pumping prevents Texas from receiving its fair share. Full Story
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![The approximate location where Texas, New Mexico and Mexico meet the Rio Grande on Saturday, December 7, 2013 in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Homeless Texans left with few places to cool off during record heat
Heat-related emergency calls have spiked amid historic heat. Cooling centers are available in major cities but often close in the late afternoon — during the hottest parts of the day. Full Story
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![Michelle Smith, Outreach and Engagement Manager at The Bridge, hands a health kit to a homeless man sleeping outside of the Dallas Public Library in Dallas, Texas on Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Black and Latino residents’ complaints about illegal trash dumping in Houston lead to federal investigation
The U.S. Justice Department says it has launched a civil rights investigation to determine whether the city’s response to residents’ complaints about illegal dumping was discriminatory. Full Story
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![Houston City Hall on October 2, 2017. The Department of Justice announced Friday that it will investigate the City of Houston's policies in regards to illegal dumping and its impact on Black and Latino residents.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
How to know the difference between a local power outage and rolling blackouts
Power outages are a possibility during any severe weather event. But a local power outage is different from a larger power grid problem. Full Story
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![Electrical power lines near the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center in Del Valle on March 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Limiting crypto helped the Texas power grid weather a heat wave
Cryptocurrency mining requires huge amounts of electricity, prompting concerns over the industry’s environmental impact — and whether the state’s grid can keep up. Full Story
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![Power lines outside of Whinstone's Rockdale facility on Oct. 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Still wary of the electric grid’s reliability, some Texans complied with ERCOT’s requests to conserve power this week
As extreme weather becomes increasingly frequent, Texans said the power grid operator’s calls to conserve energy were a reminder the state still struggles to keep up with the growing power demand. Full Story
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![Paddleboarders walk to Barton Springs on July 13, 2022.]()
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Smog levels in Texas surge during heat wave, bringing worst summer air quality in a decade
Emissions are reacting with the summer heat to create high levels of smog, hazardous air pollution that damages the lungs. But state officials are pushing back on ozone pollution controls proposed by the EPA, arguing such rules would compromise the electric grid. Full Story
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![The Austin skyline on July 13, 2022.]()
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The Odessa water outage underscores a growing problem: Aging pipes in Texas cities are getting more fragile
Texas had 3,866 water boil notices in 2021, the most in the last decade. Aging water systems threaten water supply and quality — and for many small towns across the state, they won’t be cheap to repair. Full Story
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![Lightning from a passing storm strikes in the vicinity as City of Odessa Water Distribution employees work through the night to repair a broken water main Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa. According to Mayor of Odessa Javier Joven, repairs were completed around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Volkswagen argues that Greg Abbott’s choice of judges in lawsuit could tilt emissions case in Texas’ favor
Because the state is a party in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s cases against the companies, Volkswagen lawyers have argued that allowing the Texas governor to appoint justices to a case for which the state stands to win a substantial amount of money would give “the impression that the State has had undue influence.” Full Story
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![The Volkswagen Group logo at a car dealership in Germany in 2020.]()
Credit: IMAGO/Christoph Hardt via REUTERS -
Biden plan could allow new offshore drilling in Gulf of Mexico
His campaign promise to end fossil fuel development on public lands was thwarted by U.S. courts, high gas prices and Russia’s domination of Western European energy. Full Story
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![Unused oil rigs sit in the Gulf of Mexico near Port Fourchon, Louisiana August 11, 2010.]()
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U.S. Supreme Court ruling limits EPA’s authority in regulating greenhouse gases
The high court said a cap on power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions that forces a transition to other fuels may be a “sensible” solution to the climate crisis, but that Congress did not give the Environmental Protection Agency the broad authority to make such requirements. Texas was one of 17 states that joined in the suit. Full Story
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![The entrance to the San Miguel Electric Cooperative coal-burning power plant on April 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
West Texas farmers and ranchers fear the worst as drought, heat near 2011 records
2011 was the driest year on record for Texas, causing an estimated cost of $7.62 billion in crop and livestock losses. A dry and hot June has many sounding alarm bells about 2022. Full Story
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![Cotton fields near the High Plains town of Ralls, about 30 miles east of Lubbock, on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Like much of Texas, the High Plains and Panhandle are facing drought conditions and extraordinary heat.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Texans tell environmental agency: Stop being reluctant to regulate industry
A report from the state Sunset Advisory Commission found that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners have become “reluctant” regulators and often encourage industry to “self police.” Full Story
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![Dozens of Houston residents arrived at the Texas Capitol to testify during a Sunset Advisory Commission meeting in Austin on June 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Tens of thousands of people in Odessa have endured nearly 48 hours without water to drink, wash or flush toilets
The outage left about 165,000 people without water in Odessa and some surrounding areas. It has been attributed to a main line break in the city’s aging water system and comes amid a dayslong heat wave. Full Story
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![Ector County resident Jose Hernandez fills up jugs of water from a fire hydrant that was opened to reduce pressure on the system as City of Odessa Water Distribution crews work to resolve a water crisis Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa, Texas. Hernandez stated that he was using the water to operate the toilets in his home. The majority of Ector County was placed on a boil water notice after a water main ruptured sometime between Monday night and early Tuesday morning, leaving residents with little to no running water across the city. City officials state they hope to resolve the issue within 48-72 hours.]()
Credit: Courtesy Odessa American/Eli Hartman