The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
The Austin City Council has called for a dramatic expansion in solar power generation, earning accolades from environmental advocates. But the city-owned utility, Austin Energy, has balked at the proposal. Full Story
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A lingering fight over a failed petition drive aimed at the city of Houston's equal rights ordinance boiled over this week as subpoenas issued against area pastors allied with the petition effort drew the ire of conservative leaders. Full Story
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Houston officials say state regulators did little about dioxin pollution, so they're suing three companies themselves and asking for billions of dollars in fines. Full Story
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Hundreds of Texas landowners have already agreed to sell their groundwater for projects supplying growing cities with water. But other landowners worry that selling such rights will hurt the local sustainability of a finite resource. Full Story
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Wednesday amounted to a daylong series of body blows to those who thought that authorities had things under control in the response to the diagnosis of Ebola in Dallas. Full Story
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Rejecting a bankruptcy monitor's objections, a Delaware federal district judge on Wednesday said Texas' largest power company can pay its executives up to $20 million in bonuses. Full Story
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Tuesday turned into a topsy turvy day in the federal courts for the state of Texas with the voter ID law conserved for the Nov. 4 general election but a new delay placed on enforcing the new abortion law. Full Story
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Texans in 2014 complained more about their electricity service than in the previous fiscal year, reversing a trend of growing satisfaction, according to a new analysis. Full Story
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Texas is losing more farm, ranch and forest land than any other state, according to recent data. That has implications for water resources, which scientists say are better retained by undeveloped land. Use these maps to see the changes for individual counties. Full Story
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Confirmation came Sunday afternoon that a second person has been diagnosed with the Ebola virus in Dallas. Full Story
Water and sewer bills are going up substantially across Texas and in many other places around the country as utilities struggle to maintain aging infrastructure, deal with drought or come to grips with the rising costs of a scarce resource while searching for new supplies. Full Story
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As the banks of many of Texas' rivers and bayous crumble and erode, a debate is raging among conservationists: Should they engineer a change or let nature take its course? Full Story
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At a San Antonio City Council hearing on a $3.4 billion contract that would pipe 16 billion gallons of water a year into the city, residents called for more time before a vote to buy some of the most expensive water ever sold in Texas. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: San Antonio takes another step in pipeline project, baby wipes make mess in sewer pipes and an interview with Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio city councilman. Full Story
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GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott's $30 million campaign chest has captured a lot of attention, leading to the next question: why raise all that cash? Full Story
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A coalition aiming to encourage commercial and industrial property owners in Texas to invest in energy and water efficiency says it has made major progress. Full Story
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The environment track at the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on water planning, protecting the Texas Coast, the state of Texas agriculture and Texas vs. the EPA. Listen to audio of each session. Full Story
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GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott's tenure as attorney general was the focus of news coverage this weekend. And it wasn't the sort of coverage craved by campaigns. Full Story
The energy track at the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on the state of the electric grid, what Mexican energy reform means for Texas, hydraulic fracturing and a closer look at the state's drilling boom. Listen to audio of each session. Full Story
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Thirteen sparsely populated Permian Basin counties are considering a water company's plan to secure groundwater for the region from Val Verde County, hundreds of miles south of the region. Full Story
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