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Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: Life’s a Beach in Texas
Texas beaches aren’t awash in oil like the sands are in some other Gulf Coast states, but they could be cleaner, a group of environmental advocates said today as it released an annual review of the nation’s beaches.
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Energy
A Toxic Issue
In Texas and nationwide, controversy is escalating over the practice of shooting water, sand and chemicals underground to retrieve natural gas. Some companies have responded by using less dangerous chemicals.
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Energy
TribBlog: The Sound and the Fury
Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a legal challenge on Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the agency’s rejection of Texas’ pollution-permiting system constitutes “improper overreach by the federal government.”
Posted in
Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Ramshaw’s question about an insurance company denying coverage for an infant vaccine prompts a reversal; Stiles’ new app lets you poke through mid-year campaign reports on donations and spending; Ramsey finds foreshadowing of the state’s big fall races in the campaign finance reports; Aguilar interviews Henry Cisneros about current politics; Dawson finds Texas environmentalists getting advice from an unexpected place; Galbraith on “demand response” that might cut the need for power plants and on the next wave of electric cars; Aguilar on increasing trade through Texas ports of entry; M. Smith on affirmative action battles in higher education; Titus on Mexican college students’ drift from border universities to UT-Austin and Texas A&M; and Hamilton on controversy over private, for-profit colleges: The best of our best for the week of July 19 to 23, 2010.
Posted in
Energy
Electric Avenue
Plug-in cars — which are touted as green because they use little if any gasoline and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 49 percent and 75 percent compared with a conventional vehicle — will soon be a viable option in Texas. By the end of this year, Austinites should be able to buy the new electric car from Chevrolet, called the Volt. By next February, hundreds of Leafs, Nissan’s plug-in car, will be on the roads around Houston. The new influx, fueled by government subsidies, should more than double the number of plug-in vehicles in the state.
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Energy
A Pollution Solution?
Texas environmentalists have adopted a pragmatic strategy for winning tougher control of industrial air pollution through the Sunset Advisory Commission’s review process: They’ve teamed with a former commissioner of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to craft recommendations. They’re speaking with a unified voice. And they’re pursuing limited changes in existing practices.
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Energy
Water, Water Anywhere?
This month, parts of Central Texas will decide how much water will be in the aquifers below the land for the next 50 years. The decisions will affect Dripping Springs, Johnson City, Wimberley and other towns south and west of Austin that rely on groundwater supplies. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: PACE Slows
A national program to encourage energy-efficiency and solar in homes is generating interest in Texas cities — even as it has encountered setbacks in Washington.
Posted in
Energy
The Off Switch
Rather than building new power plants just to meet peak electricity demand on hot summer afternoons, why not just persuade people and companies to use less electricity? “Demand response” is quickly taking hold in Texas.