The U.S. Senate voted to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning for a massive coastal barrier project in Galveston Bay meant to protect against hurricanes’ storm surge. Funding is not yet secured.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Environment
Texas, New Mexico pushing for settlement in Rio Grande water fight
The case sparked from a series of lawsuits over Rio Grande water and escalated with Texas arguing that New Mexico pumping prevents Texas from receiving its fair share.
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Homeless in Texas
Homeless Texans left with few places to cool off during record heat
Heat-related emergency calls have spiked amid historic heat. Cooling centers are available in major cities but often close in the late afternoon — during the hottest parts of the day.
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Environment
Black and Latino residents’ complaints about illegal trash dumping in Houston lead to federal investigation
The U.S. Justice Department says it has launched a civil rights investigation to determine whether the city’s response to residents’ complaints about illegal dumping was discriminatory.
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Economy
Limiting crypto helped the Texas power grid weather a heat wave
Cryptocurrency mining requires huge amounts of electricity, prompting concerns over the industry’s environmental impact — and whether the state’s grid can keep up.
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Energy
Still wary of the electric grid’s reliability, some Texans complied with ERCOT’s requests to conserve power this week
As extreme weather becomes increasingly frequent, Texans said the power grid operator’s calls to conserve energy were a reminder the state still struggles to keep up with the growing power demand.
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Climate Change in Texas
Smog levels in Texas surge during heat wave, bringing worst summer air quality in a decade
Emissions are reacting with the summer heat to create high levels of smog, hazardous air pollution that damages the lungs. But state officials are pushing back on ozone pollution controls proposed by the EPA, arguing such rules would compromise the electric grid.
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Environment
The Odessa water outage underscores a growing problem: Aging pipes in Texas cities are getting more fragile
Texas had 3,866 water boil notices in 2021, the most in the last decade. Aging water systems threaten water supply and quality — and for many small towns across the state, they won’t be cheap to repair.
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Environment
Volkswagen argues that Greg Abbott’s choice of judges in lawsuit could tilt emissions case in Texas’ favor
Because the state is a party in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s cases against the companies, Volkswagen lawyers have argued that allowing the Texas governor to appoint justices to a case for which the state stands to win a substantial amount of money would give “the impression that the State has had undue influence.”
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Energy
Biden plan could allow new offshore drilling in Gulf of Mexico
His campaign promise to end fossil fuel development on public lands was thwarted by U.S. courts, high gas prices and Russia’s domination of Western European energy.