The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
With the 84th Legislature starting next week and new faces in every statewide office, it feels like a "Brand New Day" in and around the Capitol, so that's how we started this week's playlist off of the week's news. Full Story
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The incoming governor on Thursday equated local efforts to regulate single-use plastic bags or fracking to forms of collectivism. Full Story
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The plan to build the Marvin Nichols Reservoir has been a subject of contention between Dallas-Fort Worth officials and opponents in Northeast Texas. State officials voted Thursday to keep the lake in the state water plan, but the dispute is far from over. Full Story
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A swarm of small earthquakes started shaking the Dallas area a couple of days ago. But the tremors, while new to the region, are just the latest in a major increase in earthquakes in Texas over the last several years. Full Story
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Thousands of rural Texas homes get their natural gas from "farm taps," hooking up to nearby pipelines that carry raw gas on its way from wells to processing plants. One homeowner shut down his furnace when he learned of the risks. Full Story
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Another day and another threshold is crossed in oil's steady downward march in value. This time it was the price of U.S. oil dipping below $50 during the day on Monday. Full Story
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Three special elections are on tap for Tuesday, including two contests to find replacements for a pair of San Antonio Democrats who have opted to run for mayor. Full Story
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Last year, The Texas Tribune partnered with public media stations across Texas to produce Texas Perspective: Water, a magazine news program that examined water issues in various parts of the state. Watch the program here, courtesy of KLRU-TV. Full Story
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For this week's playlist of the news, we’re using our reporters' own predictions for 2015. Kicking things off: “The Best Is Yet To Come,” by Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, backed up by the Count Basie Orchestra. Full Story
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Big names in state and national politics gathered in the Texas Senate chamber Friday to welcome George P. Bush, the state's new land commissioner, into the family business. Full Story
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Ryan Sitton, the incoming Texas railroad commissioner, says he is following through on a campaign promise to step away from his oil and gas consulting firm and place its assets in a blind trust. Full Story
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According to recent data, average levels of ozone — more commonly known as smog — decreased by nearly 25 percent in Texas between 2000 and 2013. But does the credit for cleaning up Texas air belong to Gov. Rick Perry? Neena Satija writes that opinions vary. Full Story
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When Gov. Rick Perry first took office, Texas’ wind energy sector hardly existed. But the state has since become the nation’s leader in wind energy generation, Jim Malewitz writes, and Perry — more commonly associated with oil and gas — helped steer that boom. Full Story
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This week in the Roundup: The fate of Texas’ same-sex marriage ban is in question, as is the state’s budget as oil prices continue to tumble. Meanwhile, South Texas counties plan to lobby lawmakers to allow them to negotiate mineral rights leases. Full Story
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On June 19, Colin McDonald began exploring the incredibly important Rio Grande from its source in Colorado. Here are 10 posts that give a good representation, both in words and photos, of the journey. You can follow along here for the rest of his trip. Full Story
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A 54-year-old state attorney general’s opinion keeps counties from making money on mineral leases under their roads. But officials say they need the money to fix the damage caused by oil field traffic. Full Story
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Incoming Comptroller Glenn Hegar is on the hot seat as a nosedive in crude oil prices – and the increasingly gloomy forecasts that have followed – cast a pall over the next legislative session. Full Story
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Is Texas in danger of recession next year because of the current swoon in oil prices? An economist with J.P. Morgan Chase is raising an early warning flag about that possibility. Full Story
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The Railroad Commission wants to beef up oversight of oil and gas wells in cities, and ease tension between the industry and the growing number of urban Texans living next to well pads, compressor stations and disposal wells. Full Story
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The awarding of a no-bid Medicaid fraud detection contract to the 21CT company continues to draw scrutiny with three separate news reports published Wednesday evening. Full Story
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