The federal EPA has proposed scaling back some requirements of its contentious cross-state rule for reducing air pollution. The rule has infuriated many Texas officials, and the revisions are not appeasing them.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Can Texas Make It Rain?
Speculation that the drought gripping the state could last through 2020 has scientists in Texas looking to so-called weather modification, which, as Matt Largey of KUT News reports, involves using the power of science to play Mother Nature.
Business Groups Back Water Ballot Measure
Next month, Texans will go to the polls to decide whether to authorize $6 billion in bonding authority dedicated to building and fixing water infrastructure. But some conservatives and Tea Party members have concerns about the measure.
2011 Texas Tribune Festival Keynote: John Cornyn
Full video of the keynote speech by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the Energy and Environment track at the 2011 Texas Tribune Festival.
Giant Algae Tubes Could Provide New Biofuel Solution
For decades, scientists have been trying to find ways to mass-produce algae as a source of fuel for vehicles, but financial and environmental roadblocks have gotten in the way. The solution may be inside giant tubes at the University of Texas.
Video: Perry Fields Questions at N.H. Town Hall
A little more than a week after his embarrassing debate performance, Rick Perry this weekend got back to doing what he does best โ pressing the flesh with voters.
How is a Grid Smart? New Project Aims to Find Out
An Austin smart-grid project known as Pecan Street is continuing its roll-out with an announcement on Friday that a handful of major companies, including Whirlpool, Best Buy and Chevrolet, will test new-age products on the grid.
Hearings Begin on Controversial Canada-Texas Oil Pipeline
As the U.S. State Department convenes hearings in Texas this week on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring tar sands crude from Canada to Texas, environmentalists are revving up their opposition.
Draft Water Plan: Texas “Will Not Have Enough”
The Texas Water Development Board’s just-released 295-page report says that if Texas does not spend tens of billions more on water infrastructure, a drought as bad as that of the 1950s could cost Texans $116 billion per year by 2060.
Donna Nelson: The TT Interview
The chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission on how close Texas came to rolling blackouts this summer, what consumers can expect to pay as wind-power transmission expands, and how the historic drought affects the reliability of the power grid.


