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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.
After a lengthy discussion, the Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that would require drilling companies using hydraulic fracturing techniques to disclose on a public website the chemicals they use in the process. Full Story
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A bill aimed at reducing the glare from outdoor lighting in a large swath of West Texas in order to help the McDonald Observatory is currently stuck in the Senate, though its sponsor hopes to get it to the floor by the tomorrow's legislative deadline. Full Story
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Acting on behalf of 14 other states, the state of Texas today filed an opening brief in its case seeking to overturn a finding by the Environmental Protection Agency that greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and welfare. Full Story
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A panel of higher education and business executives at the University of Texas at Austin reflected high anxiety about the future of research universities — especially in Texas, which has just three of the nation's top research universities compared to California's nine. Full Story
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On Friday morning, a small group of Texans, including the chairman of the Public Utility Commission, will brief White House representatives on the smart-meter rollout and related issues in the state. Full Story
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The Lower Colorado River Authority, a major supplier of water for Central Texas, warned today that the drought gripping the state is likely to continue for months and urged its customers to conserve water. Full Story
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The House gave preliminary approval today to a bill that will give more flexibility to an operator at a planned West Texas disposal site for low-level radioactive waste. An effort to curb the company's potential profits failed. Full Story
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Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons could get a little richer if state lawmakers hand him what he wants today: a bill expanding the right of his company to accept low-level radioactive waste from several states — and the power to set the rates it charges them. Full Story
A Senate committee heard testimony this morning from Halliburton and others on a bill that would require drilling companies to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing. The bill has been left pending until the House takes a final vote on its version. Full Story
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Several bills working their way through the legislative process are likely to send Texans' utility bills up, consumer advocates say. But legislation that would make it easier for ratepayers to decide how to choose their electricity provider appears to be stalled. Full Story
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