CLIMATE IN THE NEWS
TEXAS TRIBUNE | 09.27.22
Texas will build more than 50 new electric car charging locations along major highways
The $408 million approved Tuesday by the Federal Highway Administration will help build a network of charging facilities every 50-70 miles along certain major Texas highways.
TEXAS STANDARD | 03.26.21
Catastrophic Climate Change Is Already Taking A Toll On Texas. Will The Energy Grid Adapt?
The Texas electricity grid failed because it wasn’t ready for climate change. With more extreme weather on the horizon, experts say the grid needs to adapt.
E&E NEWS | 03.18.21
How coal failed in the Texas deep freeze
W.A. Parish is one of the largest coal plants in America and a longtime workhorse for the Texas power grid. But when arctic temperatures descended on the Lone Star State last month, the plant's four coal boilers were mostly missing in action.
THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE | 03.12.21
Opinion: Electric School Buses Are a Win for Kids’ Health, the Environment, and Our Community
Amidst last year's many startling headlines, you may have missed this one: "In Landmark Ruling, Air Pollution Recorded as a Cause of Death."
KUT AUSTIN | 03.05.21
Study Finds Texas More Vulnerable Than Other States To Health Effects Of Climate Change
A recent study looking into states’ preparedness for health crises due to climate change revealed just how vulnerable Texas is.
Megan Latshaw helped produce the study for Trust for America’s Health, published in December. Latshaw is a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She told Texas Standard that Texas is less prepared and more vulnerable than other states to the health effects of climate change.
SAN ANTONIO REPORT | 01.13.21
CPS Energy’s commitment to leaky natural gas not in line with climate plan goals
In April of 2019, CPS Energy CEO Paula Gold-Williams submitted a letter to the City of San Antonio commenting on its draft climate plan, stating, “CPS Energy has already embraced the transition from traditional fuel sources to renewable energy.” The following year, the utility’s board of trustees voted unanimously on a resolution in support of that climate plan, which lists reducing the carbon intensity of our energy supply as its top strategy.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE | 01.13.21
'This is historic': City agrees to lease Sunnyside landfill for solar farm, charging $1 a year
Houston’s decision to put the landfill in a historically Black community is seen as one of a number of examples in the region of environmental racism, a practice of pursuing and enacting policies that disproportionally affect people of color.
ABC AMARILLO | 12.10.20
Is Texas prepared for climate change's health effects?
Trust For America’s Health and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released a report that assessed state preparedness to deal with the health effects of climate change and Texas has some work to do.
VICTORIA ADVOCATE | 01.21.21
The transition from fossil fuel is an opportunity for Texas
Day One of the Joe Biden administration is only a few weeks away and so are a series of executive orders aimed at kick-starting the new president’s ambitious clean energy agenda as part of his promise to forcefully combat climate change.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE | 01.20.21
'It just makes sense': Harris County turns to renewable energy to power its buildings
When Adrian Garcia was Harris County sheriff, he wanted to rethink what kind of energy the jail used. Could the building have solar panels? Backup batteries? County leaders then didn’t embrace the idea, he said.
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM | 01.04.21
In ‘remarkable shift,’ four out of five Texans say climate change is real. Now what?
That result, from a survey of 500 Texans conducted in October, now matches the views expressed by the majority of 1,000 Americans, 80% of whom said that climate change is real.
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS | 12.11.20
Commentary: CPS Energy’s defense of coal doesn’t hold up
CPS Energy President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams recently told the San Antonio Express-News the utility won’t be able to shut down the coal-burning Spruce power plant for more than a decade because it still carries $1 billion in debt from the plant’s construction.
SCHOOL BUS FLEET | 12.09.20
Texas District Deploys First Electric School Buses in the State
“The electric buses were a great opportunity to bring new technology and safety to the school district in the form of transportation, and to the state of Texas,” said Jason Gillis, transportation director for Everman ISD. “We’ve been monitoring our energy costs for our electric buses and we are already experiencing a substantial savings in fuel costs. These buses are the best thing for our community and our kids, allowing the district to save money and improve air quality.”
HOUSTON CHRONICLE | 12.09.20
Opinion: Texas Republicans and Democrats can work together to solve climate change
In the home stretch of the 2020 campaign, presidential candidate Joe Biden leaned hard into the issue of climate change, giving a televised climate speech and running climate-focused ads in swing states. His campaign bet that this issue, once considered politically risky, would now be a winner.