For the first time since March 2011, no part of Texas is under the worst stage of drought, according to new U.S. Drought Monitor data. But as Laura Rice of KUT News reports, some parts of the state are drier than they’ve been in the last few months.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Energy
Texas’ Blackout Avoidance Measures Could Cost Billions, Group Says
Texas’ efforts to stave off future blackouts could cost ordinary households hundreds of dollars per year, a filing by a Texas industrial group suggests. Texas regulators are due to vote on the proposal next week.
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Energy
In a More Urban Texas, Farmers Face Uncertain Future
The drought has permanently changed life for some Texans, but in many ways, the scarcity just underlined a looming crisis. For the latest installment in KUT News’ series on water issues, Mose Buchele looks at Wharton County, where water concerns have imperiled a generation of rice farmers.
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Energy
State’s Readiness for Hurricane Season Touted
The 2012 hurricane season is here. TxDOT officials point to recent drills and expanded social media efforts as evidence that they are better prepared to help Texans with potential mass evacuations.
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Energy
Urban Redevelopment Renews Concerns Over Industrial Sites
The federal government has spent millions of dollars cleaning up so-called brownfields, old industrial properties contaminated by toxic waste. But as Dave Fehling reports for StateImpact Texas, the re-development of some of the state’s urban cores has revived concerns over some of the sites.
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Energy
Hot Weather, Hot Seats, Hot Reptiles
As summer begins, the spotlight will be on the dunes sagebrush lizard (will it get an endangered listing or not?), former EPA regional head Al Armendariz (who’s testifying in Washington) — and, of course, the perpetual question of whether the electric grid has enough juice.
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Energy
Updated: Combs, Oil Groups Applaud Decision to Keep Lizard Off Endangered List
A federal decision not to list the dunes sagebrush lizard — whose habitat includes the West Texas oilfields — as threatened or endangered set off a round of cheering by state officials and oil groups. But some environmentalists fear for the lizard’s future.
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Energy
On Water Conservation, Seeing Room to Improve
As Texas recovers from the severe drought of the last two years, water experts say that conservation is the easiest way to make sure the state has enough water for future growth. But conservation doesn’t always come naturally.
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Energy
Texas Gets Creative With Plans for Recycling Water
Later this year, a plant in Big Spring will become the state’s first facility to process wastewater and send it back into the drinking water system. This is the ultimate use of “reclaimed water” — a source crucial to Texas’ future.
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Energy
Slideshow: A New Kind of Water Plant
The ultimate use of sewage water is converting it into drinking water — and a plant in the West Texas town of Big Spring will do exactly that when it begins operations at the end of the year. This is a slideshow of the plant, currently under construction.
