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Kate Galbraith covered energy and environment for the Tribune from 2010 to 2013. Previously she reported on clean energy for The New York Times from 2008 to 2009, serving as the lead writer for the Times' Green blog. She began her career at The Economist in 2000 and spent 2005 to 2007 in Austin as the magazine's Southwest correspondent. A Nieman fellow in journalism at Harvard University from 2007 to 2008, she has an undergraduate degree in English from Harvard and a master's degree from the London School of Economics. She is co-author of “The Great Texas Wind Rush,” a book about how the oil and gas state won the race to wind power.
Amid the most intense drought in state history, Texas voters split on a pair of water-related constitutional amendments that had the backing of many environmentalists and businesses. Analysts are scrambling to explain their differing fates. Full Story
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Employees of the agency that regulates the Texas oil and gas industry will now be able to carry concealed firearms as they go about their work, following a unanimous vote on Tuesday by the three commissioners. Full Story
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Over 12 months of the worst drought in recorded Texas history, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul was Austin's sixth-largest water user. It's a disappointing record, critics say, at a time when many Texas leaders are urgently calling for conservation. Full Story
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Thousands of windmills still exist in remote Texas pastures, pumping water from aquifers for cattle to drink. But the dwinding group of men who sell and fix windmills face hard times due to the drought and competition from solar pumps. Full Story
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A windmill company based in San Angelo has been making windmills since 1888 — and the family of Panhandle windmiller Mike Crowell has been in the business of fixing the machines nearly as long. Full Story
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Despite the record dry stretch, most Texans are still far from running out of water. But the drought's economic impact is beginning to extend beyond agriculture and into tourism, real estate and other staples of urban economies. Full Story
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Workers are stringing thousands of miles of wires across Texas to aid the wind-power boom, despite lingering controversy — and an estimated cost of $6.8 billion. West Texas businesses have found a niche providing for workers. Full Story
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While already-sodden northern regions of the United States can prepare for above-average rains this winter, the worst one-year drought in Texas history looks set to persist, according to a federal winter forecast released today. Full Story
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State Senate committees will soon begin studying the impact of drought on power generation, agriculture and the economy, along with how to improve Texas' response to wildfires, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced today. Full Story
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The head of the UT's Energy Institute, Raymond Orbach, is wading into politicized territory with a new paper aiming to debunk eight "myths" about climate change. Full Story
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