From the Texas Tribune: With no end in sight to containing a spill that may have dumped 150,000 gallons of fuel oil into Galveston Bay on Saturday, the hit to Texas’ economy and environment is already huge — and sure to grow. The 50-mile Houston Ship Channel, one of the world’s biggest waterways for the [...]
As Texas decides how it will spend millions of dollars from a multi-state agreement with BP following the Deepwater Horizon spill, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) is proposing a fee on projects that restore damaged coastal areas. Some of the non-profit environmental and wildlife groups involved in the projects are not happy. Nine groups [...]
A new interactive infographic by The Texas Tribune allows users to track campaign contributions from some of the most powerful groups and names in the energy and environmental sectors. The energy and environmental lobbying tracker shows the dollar amounts in contributions each elected official has received since January 2011. With a drop-down menu, contributions from [...]
Texas is sitting on a massive amount of “brackish” water. Too salty to drink, but far less salty than ocean water. A lot of it is just sitting there, below our freshwater aquifers. And there’s enough of it to satisfy the current Texas population for a hundred and fifty years. But how do we get [...]
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s decision to not list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as an endangered or threatened species has everyone buzzing. Here’s a roundup of reactions from groups across the state. Ken Kramer, the director of Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter was critical of the decision: “Let’s be clear that these agreements are voluntary,” [...]
A recent ruling by the Texas Supreme Court wasn’t very well-received by the General Land Office (GLO). In a 5–3 opinion, the Court ruled that the GLO couldn’t force a beachfront homeowner, Carol Severance, to move her house after a Hurricane eroded the public beach in front of it. After the hurricane, that beach was gone, [...]
Planning to go to a Texas beach this summer? If you’re hoping to hit the public beach at Galveston’s West End, you might find it’s now private property, thanks to a new ruling from the Texas Supreme Court. In a 5-3 opinion, the Court ruled that “the State claims that it is entitled to an easement on [...]
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