The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
The high court said a cap on power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions that forces a transition to other fuels may be a “sensible” solution to the climate crisis, but that Congress did not give the Environmental Protection Agency the broad authority to make such requirements. Texas was one of 17 states that joined in the suit. Full Story
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2011 was the driest year on record for Texas, causing an estimated cost of $7.62 billion in crop and livestock losses. A dry and hot June has many sounding alarm bells about 2022. Full Story
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A report from the state Sunset Advisory Commission found that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners have become “reluctant” regulators and often encourage industry to “self police.” Full Story
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The outage left about 165,000 people without water in Odessa and some surrounding areas. It has been attributed to a main line break in the city’s aging water system and comes amid a dayslong heat wave. Full Story
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Officials haven’t specified what caused the break, but say the broken line is about 60 years old. Full Story
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The U.S. House voted to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning for the massive coastal barrier project in Galveston Bay, but funding is not yet secured. The largest civil engineering project in U.S. history would permanently alter the Texas coast. Full Story
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Daniel Alexander was enslaved when he founded a farm before the Civil War. 175 years later, his family is fighting to keep it intact as Texas plans to expand U.S. Highway 183. Full Story
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Hundreds of wildfires have broken out this spring. More than a dozen areas are under voluntary or mandatory water use restrictions, and more than 200 Texas counties have been designated as crop disaster areas. Full Story
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The agency says there’s a 65% chance the Atlantic’s hurricane season will be busier than normal and predicts three to six major hurricanes. Full Story
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Texas A&M Forest Service has responded to nine fires across the state this week, saying they “have the potential to exhaust state and local resources.” Full Story
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Climate change is here. We want to document where its effects are being felt in Texas, how communities are adapting and what government officials should do to help. Full Story
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Extreme weather events, water scarcity, risks of illness: Climate change is here, and it’s already affecting Texans. Full Story
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The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is asking electricity consumers to keep their thermostats at 78 degrees or above and avoid using large appliances between 3 and 8 p.m. from Friday through Sunday. Full Story
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Benzene is a known human carcinogen, according to the EPA. The Texas refineries were among a dozen industrial plants in the U.S. that emitted the highest levels of the chemical in 2021. Full Story
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Texas is a great state, but there’s a lot of work to do, and it starts with the public — and what Texans really want. The political class isn’t going to do this on its own. Full Story
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After back-to-back major flooding events devastated Houston, the community college is launching a new program to ensure that citizens, businesses and emergency responders are better equipped to respond to catastrophic events. Full Story
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The state allows a portion of fines to be directed to projects that remediate environmental harm. Some of those projects benefit the companies that are being penalized. Full Story
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The Houston and Dallas regions may soon be designated as “severe” violators of federal smog rules, which would prompt more aggressive regulations. Full Story
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“The team’s coverage of a large winter storm was not just hard-hitting accountability journalism, it was public service at its best,” judges for the Investigative Reporters and Editors award wrote. Full Story
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Climate change has made the Texas heat hotter and longer-lasting, enhancing drought conditions that set the stage for intense fires. More than 40% of the state is in an extreme drought. Full Story
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