Drought and strong winds mean that the number of wildfires is way up this year. But the Texas Forest Service, the lead fire-fighting agency, is also facing heightened scrutiny in the Legislature — and, of course, budget cuts.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Energy
Video: Fighting Fires With the Forest Service
The Texas Forest Service is the lead state agency tasked with fighting wildfires. Among its recent challenges: a 3,000-acre blaze on an army base near Brownwood.
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Energy
Bill Would Create Texas Energy Council
The Senate Natural Resources Committee heard testimony this morning on a bill that would create a Texas Energy Policy Council charged with formulating an energy plan for the state.
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Energy
Solar Backers Place Hopes in House Bill
Advocates of solar power made their case last night for passage of a bill that would add a dollar each month to residential electric bills to fund solar projects. Opponents worry about costs.
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Energy
House Takes Testimony on Groundwater
The House Natural Resources Committee is taking testimony today on a controversial groundwater bill that would give landowners “a vested ownership interest” in water below their land.
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Energy
On Energy, a Lesson for Texas From the 1970s
Unrest in the Middle East, rising oil prices and frustration with federal energy policy — for many Texans, today’s headlines must seem like déjà vu. While the situation is far less severe than the aftermath of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the parallels are unmistakable.
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Energy
Denton Paper Takes Close Look at Fracking
The Denton Record-Chronicle, a newspaper in the heart of the Barnett Shale gas-drilling region, has produced a series about “what it means to live in the midst of a modern gas boom” that is worth reading.
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Energy
Legislators Take Up the Great Plastic Bag Debate
This week, committees in both chambers heard testimony about bills to encourage recycling of plastic grocery bags. But environmentalists fear that the legislation would prevent local communities from banning plastic bags altogether, as three Texas cities have done.
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Energy
Senate Passes Groundwater Bill
The Texas Senate passed a much-discussed piece of groundwater legislation, voting 28-3 to approve a bill stating that landowners in the state have a “vested ownership interest” in the groundwater beneath their land.
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Energy
In Texas, an Upside to Higher Gas Prices
Oil prices hit $100 per barrel last month for the first time since 2008, and prices have continued to rise. But as Gretch Sanders of KUT News reports, paying more at the pump might not be bad news for Texas.