Analyzing groundwater monitoring data that power companies are now required to report to the federal government, the Environmental Integrity Project found that groundwater under 16 Texas coal plants had unsafe levels of contaminants including arsenic. The pollution is linked to disposal pits for spent coal.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Blowout: Inside America's energy gamble
How a new oil boom is transforming West Texas and altering climate change math
Our series on the global implications of a new golden age for Permian Basin oil began with a very local story: How towns large and small are trying to deal with an explosion in drilling activity, population, traffic and other effects of the new boom.
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Blowout: Inside America's energy gamble
U.S. fossil fuel exports spur Asian building boom, climate worries
As American natural gas production soars, South Korea rushes to build tankers to move that energy to Asia’s top economies.
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Demographics
Catch up on some of The Texas Tribune’s top projects from 2018
The Texas Tribune produced several deep-dive investigations in 2018 that examined various issues that affect Texans across the state. Here’s a look at some of those standout projects.
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Environment
Rebuilding commission calls Hurricane Harvey a “wakeup call” for Texas
A report by the Commission to Rebuild Texas says there is an urgent need to “future-proof” the Gulf Coast.
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Protecting the Coast
Galveston residents weigh in on hurricane levee proposal that some call “a really bad, bad plan”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas General Land Office proposed a massive levee system for the Houston area in late October that would cost as much as $20 billion. It’s part of a larger plan to protect the state’s coastline from hurricane storm surge.
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Environment
Texas parks department, advocates pushing Congress to reauthorize key conservation fund
The chief of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says the absence of the 54-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund is a “substantial loss” for state parks and natural areas.
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Blowout: Inside America's energy gamble
Surge of oil and gas flowing to Texas coastline triggers building boom, tensions
For Texas ports, the rise in oil and gas exports is a windfall. For some communities, it’s not so simple.
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Economy
Amid industrial boom, Corpus Christi officials look to meet growing water demand
As more oil and gas facilities come online in the Coastal Bend, the city and port of Corpus — and a handful of private companies — are planning to build a bevy of seawater desalination plants.
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Environment
Federal report: Hurricane Harvey was a climate change harbinger
A major scientific report released Friday by the Trump administration says Hurricane Harvey and other recent extreme weather events are a sign of things to come as the earth warms.