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. Full Story
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![Unused oil rigs sit in the Gulf of Mexico near Port Fourchon, Louisiana August 11, 2010.]()
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U.S. Supreme Court ruling limits EPA’s authority in regulating greenhouse gases
The high court said a cap on power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions that forces a transition to other fuels may be a “sensible” solution to the climate crisis, but that Congress did not give the Environmental Protection Agency the broad authority to make such requirements. Texas was one of 17 states that joined in the suit. Full Story
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![The entrance to the San Miguel Electric Cooperative coal-burning power plant on April 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
West Texas farmers and ranchers fear the worst as drought, heat near 2011 records
2011 was the driest year on record for Texas, causing an estimated cost of $7.62 billion in crop and livestock losses. A dry and hot June has many sounding alarm bells about 2022. Full Story
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![Cotton fields near the High Plains town of Ralls, about 30 miles east of Lubbock, on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Like much of Texas, the High Plains and Panhandle are facing drought conditions and extraordinary heat.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Texans tell environmental agency: Stop being reluctant to regulate industry
A report from the state Sunset Advisory Commission found that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners have become “reluctant” regulators and often encourage industry to “self police.” Full Story
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![Dozens of Houston residents arrived at the Texas Capitol to testify during a Sunset Advisory Commission meeting in Austin on June 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Tens of thousands of people in Odessa have endured nearly 48 hours without water to drink, wash or flush toilets
The outage left about 165,000 people without water in Odessa and some surrounding areas. It has been attributed to a main line break in the city’s aging water system and comes amid a dayslong heat wave. Full Story
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![Ector County resident Jose Hernandez fills up jugs of water from a fire hydrant that was opened to reduce pressure on the system as City of Odessa Water Distribution crews work to resolve a water crisis Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa, Texas. Hernandez stated that he was using the water to operate the toilets in his home. The majority of Ector County was placed on a boil water notice after a water main ruptured sometime between Monday night and early Tuesday morning, leaving residents with little to no running water across the city. City officials state they hope to resolve the issue within 48-72 hours.]()
Credit: Courtesy Odessa American/Eli Hartman -
More than 165,000 people in Odessa still without water after aging line breaks
Officials haven’t specified what caused the break, but say the broken line is about 60 years old. Full Story
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![Motorists drive along Interstate 20 as rising gas prices begin to affect the Permian Basin on March 12, 2022 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. House approves massive $31 billion “Ike Dike” project to protect Texas coast from hurricanes
The U.S. House voted to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning for the massive coastal barrier project in Galveston Bay, but funding is not yet secured. The largest civil engineering project in U.S. history would permanently alter the Texas coast. Full Story
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![Floodwaters in Seabrook days after Hurricane Ike made landfall in Texas on Sept. 13, 2008.]()
Credit: Dave Levinthal for The Texas Tribune -
Decades after Texas took part of its historic farm, a family fights again to save its land from a highway expansion
Daniel Alexander was enslaved when he founded a farm before the Civil War. 175 years later, his family is fighting to keep it intact as Texas plans to expand U.S. Highway 183. Full Story
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![Bringing flowers to her family cemetery, Rosalind Alexander-Kasparik visits her parents, Marcellus Winston and Juanita Smith, in a shared grave.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Texas drought strengthens its grip, triggering wildfires, water restrictions and crop disasters
Hundreds of wildfires have broken out this spring. More than a dozen areas are under voluntary or mandatory water use restrictions, and more than 200 Texas counties have been designated as crop disaster areas. Full Story
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Hurricanes may be stronger, more frequent this year, NOAA says
The agency says there’s a 65% chance the Atlantic’s hurricane season will be busier than normal and predicts three to six major hurricanes. Full Story
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![Highway 225 in Deer Park along the Houston Ship channel during a heavy downpour from Hurricane Harvey on Saturday Aug. 26, 2017. Deer Park is in U.S. Congressional District 36.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Taylor County wildfire prompts evacuations as dry conditions raise risk in West Texas
Texas A&M Forest Service has responded to nine fires across the state this week, saying they “have the potential to exhaust state and local resources.” Full Story
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![Aerial view of the Mesquite Heat Fire in Taylor Co. on Wednesday, May 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Texas A&M Forest Service -
Seven ways climate change is already hitting Texans
Extreme weather events, water scarcity, risks of illness: Climate change is here, and it’s already affecting Texans. Full Story
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![Residents used boats to evacuate floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey along Tidwell Road in Houston on Aug. 28, 2017.]()
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Help us show how climate change is impacting Texans
Climate change is here. We want to document where its effects are being felt in Texas, how communities are adapting and what government officials should do to help. Full Story
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![A firefighter with Nueces County Fire Rescue surveys the burnt brush on March 31, 2022. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, a wildfire nearly 60,000 acres big, which was named the Borrega wildfire, burned through the King Ranch and surrounding areas.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texans asked to limit electricity use after six power plants go down ahead of a hot weekend
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is asking electricity consumers to keep their thermostats at 78 degrees or above and avoid using large appliances between 3 and 8 p.m. from Friday through Sunday. Full Story
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![A boat traveled along Lake Travis during a drought in the summer of 2011. Drier than normal weather in Texas with no precipitation for several months had caused lakes and rivers to run dry.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Joshua Lott -
Five Texas refineries polluted above federal limit on cancer-causing benzene last year, report found
Benzene is a known human carcinogen, according to the EPA. The Texas refineries were among a dozen industrial plants in the U.S. that emitted the highest levels of the chemical in 2021. Full Story
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![A house in the Hillcrest neighborhood in Corpus on Feb. 7, 2022. Houses in this neighborhood have co-existed with oil refineries like Flint Hills that spew air pollutants for decades.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas is great — and ought to be better
Texas is a great state, but there’s a lot of work to do, and it starts with the public — and what Texans really want. The political class isn’t going to do this on its own. Full Story
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![An aerial view of the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
New “resiliency center” at Houston Community College aims to prepare Texas’ largest city for disasters
After back-to-back major flooding events devastated Houston, the community college is launching a new program to ensure that citizens, businesses and emergency responders are better equipped to respond to catastrophic events. Full Story
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![Houston Community College Chancellor Cesar Maldonado speaks at a press conference after his state of the college address on April 26, 2022, in Houston.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
In Texas, thousands in fines paid by oil and gas polluters benefit the fossil fuel industry
The state allows a portion of fines to be directed to projects that remediate environmental harm. Some of those projects benefit the companies that are being penalized. Full Story
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![Refinery complexes along the Houston Ship Channel on Sept. 7, 2016.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
EPA seeks more smog controls in Houston, Dallas after they fail to meet standards
The Houston and Dallas regions may soon be designated as “severe” violators of federal smog rules, which would prompt more aggressive regulations. Full Story
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![The Houston Ship Channel and Houston in 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: The Texas Tribune and ProPublica share IRE Award for coverage of 2021 winter storm
“The team’s coverage of a large winter storm was not just hard-hitting accountability journalism, it was public service at its best,” judges for the Investigative Reporters and Editors award wrote. Full Story
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![An eastbound view of East Stassney Lane in south Austin on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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