Muskets, bayonets, Confederate war heroes. Just a sample of some of the cool stuff Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson keeps in his office. In our latest HuTube vlog episode, we get Patterson to give us a tour.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
What We Learned From the Oil Spill
As work crews struggle to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Mose Buchele of KUT News reports how others are already looking ahead at what lessons might be learned from this environmental disaster.
A Bonanza for Cleanup Firms
An oil spill of historic proportions like the one spreading through the Gulf of Mexico is bad news for most everybody, but it’s also a boon for those in the environmental cleanup business. Mose Buchele of KUT News caught up with some big winners at an industry convention in Austin.
Oil Spill: How Will It Affect Shrimping and Fishing?
People who catch shrimp and fish along the Texas Gulf Coast are waiting to see if the oil spill drifts closer and taints the water they depend on to make a living. Fritz Jaenike, the General Manager of Harlingen Shrimp Farms in the Rio Grande Valley, the oldest shrimp farm in Texas, talks to Jennifer Stayton of KUT News.
Oil Spill: AGs Look for Legal Remedies
Texas Attorney General Abbott and his colleagues in other Gulf Coast states are casting their legal eyes on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports.
Spill, Baby, Spill
A trio of pieces from our partners at public radio station KUT in Austin examines the potential impact on Texas of the disastrous oil spill off the Louisiana coast. Ericka Aguilar reports on Attorney General Greg Abbott’s meetings with other Gulf Coast states on potential legal action against British Petroleum, Nathan Bernier asks whether the oil might make its way to Texas — possibly driven by a hurricane, and Jennifer Stayton looks at the effects on fisheries.
Oil Spill: Texas Considers the Worst Case
Crude oil is still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and threatening a growing environmental catastrophe. Texas is expected to avoid the brunt of the spill, but that doesn’t mean it’s not affected. Nathan Bernier of KUT News looks at the worst-case scenario.
TribBlog: AG Takes Action on Oil Spill
The Gulf oil spill that currently spans almost 50 miles wide and 80 miles long is “growing worse by the day“ with “no end in legitimate sight,” Attorney General Greg Abbott said at a press conference this morning.
Is Claytie Williams All Wet?
Allies of the billionaire oilman are brandishing a study purporting to show that his proposed pumping of the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer will do no harm. Environmentalists and elected officials in the Rio Grande Valley still think he’s a water profiteer with their worst interests at heart.
Burn It Before It Spreads
Crews set fire to an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday in a last ditch effort to keep the spill from the eaching the coast. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has dispatched response teams and a special fire boom to help corral the mess, which resulted from the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig. David Brown of KUT News talked to Patterson about the clean-up efforts.

