The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
Texas' environmental regulators, already under fire from green groups for not doing enough to keep air and water pollution in check, are bracing for deep cuts as lawmakers hash out the budget. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/EnviroCuts.jpg)
Texas is summoning all of its political firepower to do battle against the Environmental Protection Agency. A newly announced task force of state and federal lawmakers will try to prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases and abolishing the state's flexible permitting system for refineries and other big plants. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9599a5f3951cff94f2e26260418170d4/DONT%20USE%20Abbott%20EPA%202010)
Grissom on threats to re-entry programs for criminals, Hamilton on the tempest over the direction of UT, E. Smith's interview with Joe Straus, Stiles and Chang's new lobbying app, M. Smith and Weber on where state officeholders send their children to school, Aaronson on allowing new nuclear power plants, Aguilar on how Hispanic Republicans are handling immigration issues, Ramshaw talks abortion with Planned Parennthood's Cecile Richards, Tan and Dehn on tapping the Rainy Day Fund and Galbraith on San Antonio and its water: The best of our best content from March 14 to 18, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/3-14-11tribweek-800x530.png)
Despite tough economic times, San Antonio is continuing an unusual and aggressive program to protect its aquifer, by using public money to purchase land or easements to prevent development in critical areas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_CountryHill_MS_2.jpg)
The Environmental Protection Agency announced a new national standard this week that will require coal-fired plants in Texas to reduce mercury emissions. As Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, the tighter regulations could prove costly for Texas' electric companies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/coalplant.jpg)
In its first hearing since an earthquake and tsunami crippled Japan and threatened nuclear meltdown at several reactors, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission heard testimony today on whether to give early-stage approval to a new nuclear plant in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ComanchePeak-prop.jpg)
The nuclear emergency in Japan, 6,500 miles away, has put plans for the expansion of a Texas nuclear facility on hold. And as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, utilities in San Antonio and Austin were in talks to buy power from the plant before the crisis began to unfold. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/texas-powerplant.png)
The General Land Office has a lot on its plate these days — a controversial property rights lawsuit, the reopening of Texas’ favorite surf spot and an ongoing project to restore Texas’ most fertile fishing pier. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasCoast.jpg)
With drilling on the rise, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality answer questions about whether Texans need to worry about radioactivity in their water. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Greener-Fracking.jpg)
Texas' renewed commitment to natural gas comes at a time of sharply increased scrutiny for the gas industry. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-NaturalgasRig-ES-04.jpg)
A new report says that Texas ranked 10th in installations of solar power in 2010, a jump from the previous year. But this is unlikely to deter solar proponents pushing for more legislative incentives. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Wayne_National_Forest-men_install-panel.png)
State parks, hunting lands and even the parks agency's magazine could suffer if the Legislature enacts a hefty budget cut for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/big_spring_sp_scenic_mountain.jpg)
Ramshaw and Stiles on the tepid growth of Big D during the last decade, Hamilton talks immigration with state Rep. Leo Berman, M. Smith on Texas education's Race to the Top efforts and more: The best of our best content from Feb. 28 to March 4, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Tribweek_03_04_2011.jpg)
Many Texas lawmakers have forsworn taxes, but they also promised to educate kids, to build roads, to care for the needy and to do what government is expected to do. It’s the adult version of those mathematical story problems that made sixth grade so much fun. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasMadeofMoney.jpg)
It sounds simple: Who owns the groundwater in Texas? But this issue, like others in the hot-button area of aquifer planning, is embroiled in an ongoing policy battle. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-JacobsWell-CCR013.jpg)
With the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department facing budget cuts and park closures, Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports that lawmakers are looking at an unconventional solution — advertising in parks — to help pay for maintenance and promote tourism. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e8d4dc009e54f9f2d3ecfcf3323ceb33/BD%20INC%20Big%20Bend%20307%202010)
With the one-year anniversary of the BP oil-rig explosion approaching, Ian Crawford of KUT News spoke with Carter Smith, executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, about the state of the Gulf and why researchers may be studying its effects for decades. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/BPOilSpill.jpg)
It’s renewable energy lobby week at the Capitol, and as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, the budget shortfall — though sure to dampen hopes for some legislation — isn't keeping advocates from pushing for a number of energy programs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/WindFarmCattle-ES.jpg)
The power failures earlier this month have called into question one of Texas' most basic tenets: that we do everything, including deregulation, better than anyone else. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f4dc9cd4e2ff0dd709bae366e7611714/BD%20INC%20Power%20170%202011)
What’s in a name? The Texas Railroad Commission — and the elected officials who run it — may soon find out. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RailRoadCommissioner_2.jpg)