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The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.

  • Trip Doggett: The TT Interview

    By Kate Galbraith

    The chief executive of the Texas electric grid operator discusses what caused the rolling blackouts across the state on Wednesday — and why he doesn't know if he lost power in his own home. Full Story 

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    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • Texas Won't Secede — But It Won't Shut Up Either

    By Ross Ramsey

    Texas leaders aren't talking about secession, after an outbreak of conversation a couple of years ago. But the germ of the idea remains in the anti-federalist talking points that fueled Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign last year and provided the outline for his book, Fed Up! Full Story 

    A coalition of Tea Party groups rally against President Obama on Jan. 16, 2009, at the Texas Capitol.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • ERCOT Ends Emergency Blackouts

    By Becca Aaronson

    Power out at your house? You've got good company — 400,000 other Texans, as of noon today. But as of this afternoon, the lights (and heat) should be coming back on. The demand for power exceeded generation capacity around midnight last night, causing more than 50 generators to shut down statewide Full Story 

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    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • A Conversation With Michael Williams

    By Evan Smith

    For our latest TribLive conversation, I sat down with the soon-to-be-ex railroad commissioner and declared 2012 U.S. Senate candidate to talk about why he's running, what he thinks of his potential primary opponents and how his campaign will or won't be impacted by his race. Full Story 

    Education Commissioner Michael Williams, a former railroad commissioner, is shown at a TribLive event on Jan. 27, 2011.

  • The Constant Gardeners

    By Kate Galbraith

    From the highways of Texas to the San Jacinto Battleground, state agencies now aim to maximize the use of native grasses rather than opting for whatever was cheapest or fastest-growing, as they did decades ago. Full Story 

    Bill Neiman, owner of Native American Seed, at his seed-cleaning facility in Junction, TX, Jan. 18, 2011.
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • The Power Puzzle

    By Kate Galbraith

    When Texans turn on lights or plug in iPads, they are getting an increasing amount of power from the wind — and from coal plants. Last year, nearly 8 percent of the power on the state's electric grid was generated by wind, far above the national average. And coal plants produced more power than any other electricity source. The big loser was natural gas. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • Transmission Accomplished

    By Kate Galbraith

    At the heart of Texas' wind-power boom lies a conundrum: Plenty of ranchers are eager to host wind turbines but few want to allow the unsightly high-voltage transmission lines needed to carry the power to distant cities. But state regulators are moving forward — and yesterday they approved a contentious project that runs through the Hill Country. Full Story 

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    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • TribBlog: Smitherman Takes On the EPA

    By Kate Galbraith

    During a meeting today of the Public Utility Commission, chairman Barry Smitherman said that the Environmental Protection Agency was attempting to "disarm the U.S. economy," with a raft of rules covering everything from fly-ash waste from coal plants to new rules on greenhouse gases. Full Story 

    PUC Commissioner

  • EPA Presses On in Fight With Texas

    By Erika Aguilar, KUT News

    The Environmental Protection Agency took public comment in Dallas on Friday on its new rules for greenhouse gas regulations. Because Texas has refused to establish a greenhouse gas permitting process, the EPA will directly issue permits to companies here — but as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, federal officials say there won’t be a delay for companies wanting to them. Full Story 

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  • Who Owns Our Water?

    By Erika Aguilar, KUT News

    Upping the stakes in a long-running debate over groundwater and property rights, state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, filed a bill this week that would give Texas landowners ownership of the groundwater beneath their property. As Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, the filing comes as the Texas Supreme Court considers a similar issue. Full Story 

  • Permitting Paralysis?

    By Kate Galbraith

    The politics and rhetoric of the Environmental Protection Agency's multi-front battle with Texas make for a grand spectacle. Behind the scenes, however, there are signs that big industrial plants are trying to move past the stalemate on their own, talking with federal regulators and, in some cases, preparing to meet the demands of the agency. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman