Policy related to Oklahoma’s water, wildlife and outdoors.
It’s a long story, one about the logistics of transporting natural gas, botched government attempts at price-setting, and a lack of understanding about how much the U.S. has in gas reserves.
Cherokee Nation Chief Bill John Baker told the paper building the largest wind farm of its kind on tribal land would be good for jobs, energy independence, and the environment:
White doesn’t like the idea of sparsely populated rural areas having an equal voice when it comes to deciding the best way to use the state’s water.
Hydroelectric and renewable sources— mainly wind — provide some of Oklahoma’s power. But when you flip a light switch, chances are that electricity came from burning coal we get from Wyoming.
“Extreme” and “exceptional” drought persists throughout much of the state, especially in southwestern Oklahoma. Low reservoir levels have forced city officials in Altus to issue emergency water restrictions, and Oklahomans throughout the region are worried about the future. Associated Press reporter Sharon Cohen interviewed Kent Walker, a farmer and rancher who lives near Frederick. Last [...]
Emergency conservation orders have been issued in Altus, a drought-ravaged city in southwestern Oklahoma. While spring rains have improved statewide drought conditions, many parts of the state are still suffering, data from the U.S. Drought Monitor show. To put the geographic disparity into perspective: Oklahoma City had more rain in April than Altus has received [...]
Balancing the state’s water needs isn’t just about permits and pipelines. It’s political. And Oklahoma City is a case study in how local water policy can have unintended consequences at the state capitol. The city, state and tribes are wrestling over the $80 million needed to complete the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, a $150 million project that [...]
Spring rains have started to fill rivers and reservoirs, and helped bring relief to parts of drought-stricken Oklahoma. But what falls from the sky is only part of the equation. In Oklahoma, droughts are meteorological — and agricultural. And researchers at Oklahoma State University say soil data is key to understanding drought and its impact [...]
Oklahoma’s drought has lessened a bit, data from the U.S. Drought Monitor show. Drought conditions remain in 72 percent of the state, an improvement from the 82 percent recorded in mid-April, the latest data show. Much of the drought improvement is concentrated in eastern Oklahoma counties. Areas of “extreme” and “exceptional” drought persist in the [...]
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Tarrant v. Herrmann, an Oklahoma-Texas water fight with national implications. The justices grappled with the 30-year-old Red River Compact, and whether a region of Texas can reach across state lines to access water in southeastern Oklahoma. The two states have different interpretations of some language in [...]
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