• 713-524-4CEC (4232)
  • info@cechouston.org
August 16, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: August 17, 2015

Featured

  1. Galveston Bay Oysters Under Assault, Gets Bad Grade For Pollution (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 8/12/2015)
    “It’s a day at the beach for families in La Porte. Bright sunshine sparkles on the waters of Galveston Bay where kids are swimming. But inside a nearby community center there was concern that the Bay, while in some ways better, is facing some troubling health issues. ‘We’ve got a very exciting report on the health of Galveston Bay,’ says Bob Stokes to small audience of local politicians and environmentalists… ‘So water quality gets a ‘B’ and that’s a positive story … We still have issues with old dumpsites where there is dioxin and PCBs,’ says Stokes. That’s why for pollution, the report gives the Bay a ‘D’, citing old toxic dumps and recent oil spills that could threaten wildlife and the safety of seafood. Also getting a ‘D’ was wildlife which the report said had deteriorated over the years.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  2. Uncertain future for Houston toxic river dump (Mark Collette and Matt Dempsey – Houston Chronicle, 8/10/15)
    “Removing industrial waste from a 14-acre Superfund site on the San Jacinto River could be just as dangerous as leaving it in place, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suggested in a report published Monday. Harris County has fought three companies over the pollution for years, and the state is considering whether there is a link between elevated cancer rates in the area and the waste that fouled the river for decades.”
    www.houstonchronicle.com
  3. Tons Of Chemicals Leak From Shell Oil Refinery In Deer Park (Dave Fehling, 8/13/2015)
    “This past Sunday morning at the Shell Oil refinery in Deer Park, one the complexes big, spherical tanks over-filled with a flammable and toxic liquid. According to a report Shell made to state regulators, emergency relief valves began venting vapors into the air. For nearly an hour before workers stopped the over-flow, 180 tons of vapors leaked. The vapors contained butane, vinylacetylene, but by far the biggest component of the mix was butadiene… state air monitors a couple miles northeast of the refinery did detect it, showing butadiene spiking at noon though not above levels considered dangerous for short-term exposure. Butadiene is of special concern in Houston. It leaks from a number of chemical plants along the Ship Channel. A study done by the UT School of Public Health found children living within two miles of the Ship Channel in areas with elevated levels of butadiene in the air had substantially higher rates leukemia.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org

EcoNotes

  • 14 August
  • 13 August
    • Developers view to create ‘next Woodlands’ (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Tons Of Chemicals Leak From Shell Oil Refinery In Deer Park (Dave Fehling)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • After 17 Years, Texas Poised to Resolve Oil Spill (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • State of Texas: The Future’s So Bright You Gotta Wear Shades (Forrest Wilder – Texas Observer)
      www.texasobserver.org
    • EPA’s costly Clean Power Plan is wasted effort (Steve Davidson – Communities Digital News)
      www.commdiginews.com
    • Actual decisions needed on Iran (Richard Nephew – The Hill)
      http://thehill.com
    • Next Stop: Atlanta (Brian Butler – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • Retail gasoline prices down a nickel across Texas (KCBD)
      www.kcbd.com
    • Pope’s climate push at odds with U.S. Catholic oil investments (Richard Valdmanis – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
  • 12 August
  • 11 August
    • Galveston Bay gets a ‘C’ health grade in new report (Harvey Rice – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Stokes, Gonzalez: We must work harder to protect Galveston Bay (Bob Stokes and Lisa Gonzalez – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • UT, Japan Partner to Cut Energy Use at Data Centers (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • METRO Sells $115 Million of Bond for Vehicle Purchases (Jo-Carolyn Goode – Houston Style Magazine)
      http://stylemagazine.com
    • To beat the heat, METRO offers free rides to City’s cooling stations (News Fix)
      http://cw39.com
  • 10 August
    • Uncertain future for Houston toxic river dump (Mark Collette and Matt Dempsey – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • The “Woodlands-ification of Montgomery County” is well underway (Darla Guillen – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • A Closer Look at Allen Parkway’s $11 Million Makeover (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
    • Rice wins large grant to improve water treatment (Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • On the Record: Clean Power Plan Commentary from Around the World (Center on Energy Policy)
      http://energypolicy.columbia.edu
    • The Tale Of Two Bus Routes (Gail Delaughter – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • The Big If: Switching Texas Electricity Off Fossil Fuel (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Scientists Pioneer Method to Track Water Flowing Through Glaciers (UT News)
      http://news.utexas.edu
    • Glowing night procession planned for Buffalo Bayou Park opening and you can help light it up (Shelby Hodge – Culture Map Houston)
      http://houston.culturemap.com
    • Understanding the President’s Clean Power Plan — and Reactions To It (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
    • Massive Dead Zone announced, EPA sidesteps goal (AG Professional)
      www.agprofessional.com
  • 9 August
    • ERCOT’s Heat Challenges: Balancing Electric Supply And Demand Ed Mayberry – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  • 8 August
  • 7 August
    • NOAA predicts calm 2015 hurricane season for U.S. (Jareen Imam – CNN)
      www.cnn.com
  • 6 August
  • 5 August
    • Katy City Park to house city’s first arboretum (Landan Kuhlmann – The Katy Rancher)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
    • The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here (Eric Holthaus – Rolling Stone)
      www.rollingstone.com
  • 3 August
    • Obama Unveils Climate Rules, With Texas-Wide Implications (Jim Malewitz and Kiah Collier – Trib+Water)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 31 July
  • 29 July
    • City of Houston considers monthly surcharge for trash collection, recycling expenses (Joel Eisenbaum – Click 2 Houston)
      www.click2houston.com
    • Groundwater Districts Seek Help Tracking Disposal Wells (Jim Malewitz – Trib+Water)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 28 July
  • 24 July
    • How One City Will Change Its Entire Bus System Overnight (Josh Stevens – Next City)
      https://nextcity.org