The StateImpact Texas Top 5 of 2011
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
A weed grows out of the dry cracked bed of O.C. Fisher Lake in July. The drought has taken a severe toll on Texas' lakes and rivers and is estimated to have cost billions in agricultural losses.
It’s been a relatively short 2011 for us, as StateImpact Texas only launched in November. But in that short time there’s been plenty to chew on while covering energy and the environment in Texas. Issues like the drought, climate change, pipelines and pollution (and some others, like burgers, shipping container coffeehouses, and the iPod of thermostats). Here are the top five stories published by StateImpact Texas since our debut last month:
- Five Things You Might Not Know About Water in Texas: Where is all of our water going? Who uses the most? Is there any hiding out there? We answered those questions and more.
- When Dallas Flushes, Houston Drinks: It’s long been a joke based on facts: take a drink from a tap in Houston and say ‘thank you’ to your friends in Dallas for flushing their toilets.
- The Texas Drought, As Seen From Space (Things Don’t Look Good): A drought is a strange type of disaster, as all you can do is wait for rain. And wait. A map from NASA shows we may have to wait a very long time.
- The Top 25 Water Users in Austin: Why is Lance Armstrong using 1.3 million gallons of water a year? We look at list of the top users of water in Austin, where you can also find a Congressman and pro football player.
- Things Get Testy Between Rice Professor and Alaskan Congressman: A heated exchange over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge results in a congressman telling a university professor to “just be quiet.” His response? “You don’t own me. I pay your salary.”
Thanks for reading and we look forward to a new year of sharing more stories with you.
