The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
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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On Nov. 8, Texans will vote on 10 constitutional amendments. Erika Aguilar of KUT News has a look at Proposition 2, which would allow the state to issue up to $6 billion in bonds for water infrastructure projects across Texas. Full Story
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An amendment to the Texas Constitution on the ballot next month will lower property taxes for landowners who practice good water stewardship. It received unanimous backing in the Legislature. Full Story
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Hamilton on efforts to boost faculty productivity, Grissom on newly uncovered evidence in an old murder case, Galbraith on a wind-powered construction boom, Dehn unfurls the new Texas Tribune Weekend Insider, Aguilar on this year's record number of deportations, Ramshaw and Tan on budget cuts and cervical cancer screenings, M. Smith on local control over student grades, Root and Ramshaw on Rick Perry's latest debate performance, Philpott on an issue that didn't get its due in that debate and Titus and Murphy on fundraising and spending in congressional races: The best of our best content from October 17 to 21, 2011. 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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In this edition of the Texas Tribune Weekend Insider, executive editor Ross Ramsey talks about the influence super PACs have on political campaigns, and reporter Kate Galbraith explains the challenges Texas faces with its wind power boom. 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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You won't hear about the water problems out West during the GOP presidential debate, but as Ben Philpott reports for KUT News and the Texas Tribune, the problems are there — and the next President could play a role in the solutions. 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 town of Junction recently endured a six-week ban on outdoor watering, during which residents sometimes used bathwater to water lawns. With the prospect of drought becoming a way of life, Junction is searching for solutions. Full Story
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Aaronson interactively asks if stimulus funds created jobs in Texas, Aguilar on new voter registrar rules that could decrease voter turnout, Galbraith on a UT professor's debunking of climate change "myths," Grissom on an epic clash of El Paso political titans, Hamilton on the right's new higher ed guru, Murphy maps household data from the 2010 Census, Ramsey on a coming rules fight in the Texas Senate, Root and M. Smith on Rick Perry's performance at the New Hampshire debate and M. Smith talks public ed cuts with the state's Superintendent of the Year: The best of our best content from October 10-14, 2011. Full Story
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With Rick Perry set to unveil an energy-centric jobs plan today, Mose Buchele of KUT News looks back at the governor's handling of energy policy here in Texas. Full Story
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Little-known fact: Texas is second only to Georgia in peanut farming. But as Terrence Henry of KUT News reports, while Texas' peanut farmers have dealt with droughts before, they've never seen anything like this year's crippling dry spell. Full Story
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Despite last weekend's rains, the Texas drought lingers — and experts say the number of irritating and dangerous dust storms could increase across the state, especially in West Texas and the Panhandle. 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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The deputy executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board on overseeing the 295-page water plan, what the state should spend to fully ensure it has adequate water supplies and what scares her about the future. Full Story
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Murphy, Ramshaw and Root on Rick Perry and race, Philpott on Perry's vague economic plans, Tan and Wiseman on Barack Obama's foray into Texas to defend his jobs plan, Aguilar on Perry's proposal to send U.S. troops to Mexico, Ramshaw on efforts to leash rising health care costs, M. Smith on upcoming legal challenges to the state's school finance system, Aaronson interactively explores Medicare spending proposals, Galbraith on efforts to pass — and to oppose — a $6 billion water program, Grissom on the release of a man wrongly convicted of murder and Hamilton on efforts to let the public write some legislation: The best of our best content from October 3 to 7, 2011. Full Story
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The construction of a coal-fired plant near Bay City, already delayed by concerns over the historic drought, has raised questions about Texas' dwindling groundwater supply. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports. Full Story
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The federal EPA has proposed scaling back some requirements of its contentious cross-state rule for reducing air pollution. The rule has infuriated many Texas officials, and the revisions are not appeasing them. Full Story
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Speculation that the drought gripping the state could last through 2020 has scientists in Texas looking to so-called weather modification, which, as Matt Largey of KUT News reports, involves using the power of science to play Mother Nature. Full Story
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