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Posts Tagged ‘Texas’

A little bit of rain, a little less drought?

Posted in Global Warming, Water, Coal Plants, Nuclear Plants, tagged , on February 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

While only 23 percent of Texas remains under “exceptional” drought, 90% of the state is still under some level of drought in spite of the recent rains many parts of the state have experienced.  But we can’t get cocky, as the U.S. seasonal drought outlook indicates most of Texas can expect the drought to persist [...]

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Bill would give Oklahomans the right to vote on sale of water to Texas

Posted in Coal Plants, Water, tagged , , on January 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

As Texas struggles to determine how they will meet their water needs in the face of what could be an extended 5 to 10 year period of drought, Oklahomans are looking to protect their water rights as their neighbors to the south look on lustfully. An Associated Press story says proposed legislation by two Oklahoma [...]

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ERCOT says Luminant can shut two Monticello power units

Posted in Air Quality, Energy, tagged , , , on December 20, 2011 | 4 Comments »

Planning for Texas’ energy future must include drought proofing our energy supply with energy efficiency and renewable energy, not propping up old dirty fossil fuel plants.  To that end, we applaud the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT – the Texas electric grid operator) for calling Luminant’s bluff to shut down the aging Monticello coal [...]

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US environmental authorities have declared for the first time that fracking may be to blame for groundwater pollution.

Posted in Water, tagged , , , on December 9, 2011 | 2 Comments »

A draft finding by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could have a chilling effect on states trying to determine how to regulate the process. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves pumping pressurised water, sand and chemicals underground to open fissures and improve the flow of oil or gas to the surface. The EPA found that [...]

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Radioactive waste dump seeking amendment to its license

Posted in Nuclear, Radioactive Waste, Water, tagged , , , , , , on December 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) is seeking several amendments to its Radioactive Material License # R04100 from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).  Five of the amendments request design changes to the Compact Waste Disposal Facility (CWF) and the Federal Waste Facility (FWF) for commercial and federal low-level radiactive waste disposal. The other two amendment [...]

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Drought and coal-fired power plants don’t mix

Posted in Coal Plants, Utilities, Water, tagged , , , on November 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

According to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), at the end of summer 2011, Texas had suffered the driest 10 months since record keeping began in 1895.  Rivers, like the Brazos, actually dried up. And if that wasn’t enough, the dry weather came with brutal heat.  So brutal, that seven cities recorded at least 80 [...]

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Pipelines of Poison Sidestep Stalled State Department Signoff

Posted in Air Quality, Global Warming, Tarsands, tagged , , , , on November 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Foreign Pipeline Owners Find a Way to Get Around Federal Permit Process TransCanada is attempting to outsmart the State Department and bypass federal blocks by using two existing pipelines of poison after the State Department and President Obama delayed approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline permit amidst concerns about bias, conflicts of interest, and environmental [...]

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Political favors – how to stop it from ruining your community

Posted in Campaign Finance, Sunset, tagged , , , on November 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

According to the Texas Energy Report, state environmental regulators appointed by Gov. Rick Perry issued a permit in January for a Houston-area industrial waste injection well to a company whose top investors include some of Perry’s close friends and campaign contributors. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved the permit over the objections of [...]

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EPA issues first Texas Greenhouse Gas Permit

Posted in Air Quality, Climate Change, Global Warming, tagged , , , , on November 15, 2011 | 1 Comment »

According to the Texas Energy Report, the EPA has issued its first greenhouse gas permit in Texas with the TCEQ refusing to issue permits to LCRA or others The Lower Colorado River Authority received the first Texas Greenhouse Gas permit as it upgrades a 37-year-old generating unit in Llano County to a more efficient natural [...]

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IEA warns we may be at the tipping point for limiting global warming

Posted in Climate Change, Efficiency, Global Warming, tagged , , , on November 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

The International Energy Agency warned Thursday that the world is hurtling toward irreversible climate change in its annual World Energy Outlook.  They stated that we will lose the chance to limit warming if we don’t take bold action in the next five years, spelling out the consequences if those steps aren’t taken and what needs to be [...]

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Pipeline of Poison Paused

Posted in Global Warming, Tarsands, tagged , , , , on November 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Public Citizen joins Texas pipeline opponents in applauding the Obama administration’s decision for a ”re-do” on the environmental impact statement and routing decisions for the proposed TransCanada tarsands pipeline. This is a decision that came quickly on the heels of the U.S. State Department’s Inspector General’s announcement that they were launching an investigation into the alledged bias and [...]

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Keystone XL Pipeline under investigation for bias and conflict of interest

Posted in Global Warming, Tarsands, tagged , , , on November 10, 2011 | 3 Comments »

Last month we wrote about what appeared to be conflicts of interest in the facilitation of the U.S. Department of State’s public hearings (one of which took place in Austin, TX), and the environmental impact analysis of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline that would transport Canadian tar sands 1,700 miles to Texas refineries.  Keystone XL is now [...]

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North Texas beats Houston for worst air quality in the State

Posted in Air Quality, tagged , , , , , , on November 8, 2011 | 1 Comment »

In the 2011 ozone season, North Texas pushed ahead of Houston in the battle for the worst air quality in the state. Both metro areas have significant pollution problems, and both continue to exceed federal ozone limits. Dallas-Fort Worth now has the distinction of beating the Bayou City as the former longtime state champ, and [...]

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San Antonio’s Solar Dream Deferred

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , on November 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

San Antonio’s dreams of becoming a solar manufacturing hub have been deferred temporarily.  CPS Energy, the city’s municipally owned utility, couldn’t come to agreement with two unnamed finalists and will restart a bidding process that would put San Antonio into the top tier of solar users around the globe by seeking bids for 400 megawatts of solar power, enough to [...]

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Texas Senator Troy Fraser focuses on the energy industry’s water use

Posted in Coal Plants, Nuclear Plants, Water, tagged , , , , on November 4, 2011 | 1 Comment »

According to the Texas Energy Report, Senate Natural Resources Committee Chairman Troy Fraser, called the energy industry a bit too “thirsty” during a record one-year drought, and warned the oil and gas companies to ramp up the recycling of water consumed during hydraulic fracturing. Currently much of the chemical-laced water and sand that Texas companies blast [...]

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