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March 16, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: March 16, 2015

Featured

  1. Not Everyone Is Thrilled With Memorial Park’s Master Plan (Dianna Wray – Houston Press Blogs, 3/9/2015)
    “The Memorial Park Conservancy is finishing up gathering public input on the new master plan that will govern how the park evolves over the next 20 years, but not everyone is thrilled with the changes the conservancy is pitching. While the officials with the Memorial Park Conservancy say these changes are for the good of the park, some critics say the plan is just something cooked up by the Memorial Park Conservancy to design the park the way they see fit… The master plan will be enacted over a 20-year period and by the time it’s done it will have reshaped the park in a lot of ways. Shellye Arnold, executive director of the Memorial Park Conservancy, says that these changes will help the park continue to evolve and thrive even as the city continues to grow up around it… Arnold says that the master plan is necessary because of what Memorial Park has been through over the past decade during which the park endured a hurricane and a devastating drought that changed the its needs.”
    http://blogs.houstonpress.com
  2. Houston’s ‘Pollution Police’ Challenged By Oil And Gas, Petrochemical Industries (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 3/10/2015)
    “People file complaints; the city then investigates and then can cite violators under state and local pollution regulations… But big chemical plants and oil refineries are now taking issue with the work of Houston’s pollution police. In a case scheduled to be heard later this year before the Texas Supreme Court, a group of big energy companies will argue that the City of Houston is breaking Texas law. The big companies – which include ExxonMobil and Conoco Phillips – say only the state can legally enforce Texas environmental laws.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  3. Ship Channel reopens after damaged tanker moved (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 3/12/2015)
    “Shipping traffic through the Houston Ship Channel resumed Thursday after a three-day shutdown caused by the collision of two ships that spilled a flammable chemical into the vital waterway. The U.S. Coast Guard lifted the closure of the channel between Morgan’s Point and the Hartman Bridge, a five-mile stretch that connects Houston’s oil refineries and other port facilities to the Gulf of Mexico… The closure had raised concerns about the toll to one of the busiest ports in the nation, with at least one oil refiner cutting back on production because of traffic delays. While the economic impact was not immediately clear, officials said they were pleased with how quickly the Coast Guard had cleared the waterway… Environmentalists also said they were pleased by the emergency response but called for continued monitoring of the spill’s impacts on marine life. The Galveston Bay Foundation described it as a “ghost spill” because MTBE is a colorless liquid that dissolves easily in water.”
    www.houstonchronicle.com

EcoNotes

  • 15 March
  • 13 March
  • 12 March
    • UPDATE: Houston Ship Channel Reopens; Congresswoman Thinks Shallow Waters May Be To Blame In Collision (Pat Hernandez – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Ship Channel reopens after damaged tanker moved (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Small Cap Waste Management or Environmental Services Stocks That Could Cleanup for Investors (SMED, TRR & CESX) (Smallcap Network)
      www.smallcapnetwork.com
    • Houston Ship Channel Fully Reopens (Pat Hernandez)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  • 11 March
    • Air Alliance Houston Participates in the Houston Green Office Challenge (Paige Powell – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • Ship Channel could reopen Thursday after accident, spill (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • METRORAIL Harrisburg Overpass Ceremony Signals New Construction (Jo-Carolyn Goode – Houston Style Magazine)
      http://stylemagazine.com
    • Think tank says U.S. farm bill payments to peak with 2015 crop (Christine Stebbins – Planet Ark News)
      www.planetark.org
    • The EPA thinks you’re stupid (Alan Caruba – Renew America)
      www.renewamerica.com
    • The Bookshelf: March 11, 2015 (Christine Ayala – Trib+Water)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Prospects Good for Spring Turkey Hunting (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
  • 10 March
    • Houston’s ‘Pollution Police’ Challenged By Oil And Gas, Petrochemical Industries (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Galveston Bay Foundation Continues to Monitor Chemical Spill in Galveston Bay (Galveston Bay Foundation)
      http://galvbay.org
    • New Toxics Bill Would Allow the Chemical Industry to Continue to Endanger Public Health (Breast Cancer Fund)
      www.breastcancerfund.org
    • Binoculars, Enthusiasm All That’s Required for Texas Birding Event (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Ships collide for second time in five days in Houston Ship Channel (Bakken)
      http://bakken.com
    • The Q&A: Cameron Turner (Christine Ayala – Trib+Water)
      www.texastribune.org
    • NTSB on scene of Ship Channel collision (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
  • 9 March
    • Not Everyone Is Thrilled With Memorial Park’s Master Plan (Dianna Wray – Houston Press Blogs)
      http://blogs.houstonpress.com
    • Houston community coalition calls on petrochemical industry to protect its neighbors after most recent Houston Ship Channel Disaster (HPCC)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • What Can Be Done To Slow Down Traffic In Houston’s Neighborhoods? (Gail Delaughter – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Five things you need to know in Texas energy this week (Jordan Blum – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • Sunny Day Spawns Cloudburst of Big Bass (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Solar-power plane airborne on historic round-the-world trip (Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
  • 8 March
    • Safe running water remains out of reach for a remote colonia built on broken promises (Alexa Ura & Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      http://apps.texastribune.org
    • Safe water was within reach, but politics and entrenched interests undercut decades of work (Neena Satija & Alexa Ura – The Texas Tribune)
      http://apps.texastribune.org
    • Many along Texas border still live without clean, safe water (Neena Satija & Alexa Ura – The Texas Tribune)
      http://apps.texastribune.org
    • Safe running water remains out of reach for a remote colonia built on broken promises (Alexa Ura & Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      http://apps.texastribune.org
    • On the banks of the Rio Grande, an expensive plan for clean water crashes amid ineptitude and alleged fraud (Neena Satija & Alexa Ura – The Texas Tribune)
      http://apps.texastribune.org
  • 7 March
    • Utilities directors tour Cypress, direct potable reuse system (John Ingle – Time Record News)
      www.timesrecordnews.com
  • 6 March
    • Meet the tiny lizard that could shut down Texas oil (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.expressnews.com
    • New natural resources chair vows to settle disputes (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – San Antonio Express-News)
      www.expressnews.com
  • 4 March
    • Can a Bay Die of Thirst? (Galveston Bay Foundation)
      http://galvbay.org
    • Mayor steals the show in umbrella-size hat, but others come close with wild designs at luncheon (Shelby Hodge – CultureMap Houston)
      http://houston.culturemap.com
  • 1 March
    • Study: Woodlands Parkway traffic would increase at faster rate with extension than without it (Catherine Dominguez – The Courier of Montgomery County)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
    • Teens Lead on Climate (EarthShare)
      www.earthshare.org
  • 26 February