Cities and nonprofits are using a variety of strategies to keep unhoused people warm. But some organizations warn they’re already at capacity as El Paso sends migrants across the state.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Energy
Texans should prepare for “life-threatening” wind chills, but officials remain confident in power grid
Gov. Greg Abbott and other leaders say Texans should protect their homes and vehicles as large portions of the state will experience dangerously cold temperatures.
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Environment
Watch: Panhandle cotton farmers, rural economies struggle under “exceptional” drought conditions
“A year like this, where everything is disaster, is just, I’d say, devastating,” cotton farmer Steven Walker said.
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Economy
Army Corps of Engineers withdraws plan to dredge Texas Gulf Coast Superfund site for oil tanker traffic
The reversal follows a challenge by Earthjustice and Gulf Coast community groups alleging flaws in the corps’ environmental review of Matagorda and Lavaca bays.
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Energy
Federal report identifies cause of 2019 Port Neches chemical plant explosion
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board found that TPC Group LLC failed to identify problem areas where dangerous chemicals might cause explosions and didn’t implement a safety recommendation that could have prevented the blast.
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Economy
Texas power grid expected to withstand extreme cold this week
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas expects sufficient electricity generation as much of the state will plunge into frigid temperatures.
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Energy
To ease looming West Texas water shortage, oil companies have begun recycling fracking wastewater
Oil and gas companies are increasingly reusing “produced water” as West Texas aquifers are being depleted and the practice of injecting wastewater into disposal wells triggers more earthquakes.
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Energy
GOP lawmakers accuse investment firms of breaking a law that prohibits divesting from oil and gas
At a senate committee hearing in Marshall, Texas Republican lawmakers accused investment firms of pulling back on fossil fuels, running afoul of a 2021 law that prohibits the state from contracting with or investing in companies that “boycott” oil, natural gas and coal companies.
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Economy
A boil-water notice in Houston made national news. In rural Texas, it’s a way of life.
Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources.
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The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
Justice Department tried to hide report warning that private border wall in Texas could collapse
The report confirms a ProPublica and Texas Tribune investigation that found the privately built fencing could collapse during major flooding. The federal government resisted making the findings public for more than a year.