Terrence Henry reports on energy and the environment for StateImpact Texas. His radio, print and television work has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, The Texas Tribune, The History Channel and other outlets.
He has previously worked at The Washington Post and The Atlantic. He earned a Bachelorâs Degree in International Relations from Brigham Young University.
Chesapeake Energy is one of the “world’s biggest frackers” and a major player in Texas, and today they hold their annual shareholder meeting. It comes after weeks of bad news and eye-opening investigations into the company, particularly the unconventional financial dealings of its CEO Aubrey McClendon.
You can tune in below, and chime in with questions for the reporters in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania â and you can follow @StateImpactOK on Twitter for more updates.
A petrochemical plant using flares to burn off flammable vapors
It’s no secret that Texas and the EPA don’t get along.
Just a day after state regulators spent hours in Washington blasting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the EPA today announced plans to approve changes to Texas’s Clean Air Plan that the agency has been insisting on for more than two years.
The new permitting program for Texas is called Plant-Wide Applicability Limits (PALS), modeled after an existing federal program. (So you could say that after today, the TCEQ and EPA are real PALS.)
There’s quite a bit of background here, but in short, you can count this round as a win for the EPA.
Reporters there will be giving a play-by-play, and our partners at StateImpact Pennsylvania will be chiming in with relevant links and information concerning the natural gas giant and ‘world’s biggest fracker.’
The meeting starts at 10 a.m. CST. Enter your email on the right for a reminder, and you can follow StateImpact Oklahoma on Twitter @StateImpactOK.
Pediatrician Wilma Bausas examines Jonathan Valdez, 2, in El Paso, Texas in 2000.
In December, Texas enacted fracking disclosure rules, which require drilling companies to itemize what chemicals they use in the hydraulic fracturing process. Any well that got a permit from February 1, 2012 on has to make the disclosure on the website FracFocus.org.
But there was an exception for “trade secrets,” chemicals that are part of a proprietary mix for each company that they don’t want others to find out about.
And then there was another exception to that exception. If, say, someone winds up in the emergency room after being exposed to frac fluid, a doctor can find out from the company what those trade secret-exempt chemicals are.
And… wait for it… there’s an addendum to that. Doctors who learn what exactly those trade secret fracking chemicals are have to follow a “gag rule.” They have to sign a form with the drilling company saying they’ll keep those chemicals confidential.
Tony Waldrope of the Garner spill response cleaning company walks among tubes used to contain an oil spill in flood waters at the idle Valero oil refinery 25 September 2005 in Port Arthur, Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita.
The saying goes, “Don’t Mess With Texas,” and that was certainly the attitude on display today when a group of Texas regulators testified before a Congressional committee in Washington.
At a the hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power entitled âEPA Enforcement Priorities and Practices,” the head of the Railroad Commission of Texas, Barry Smitherman, and the chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Bryan Shaw, took turns criticizing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its recently-resigned regional director Al Armedariz (who was also supposed to testify at the hearing, but canceled at the last minute). Smitherman and Shaw, along with other oil, gas and energy representatives, aired their usual grievances: the EPA has overreacted to allegations of fracking contamination, whether in Texas, Pennsylvania, or Wyoming; and the states are doing a fine job of regulating themselves without any intervention needed from the feds. There’s a wrap-up in the Texas Tribune by Kate Galbraith, but suffice it to say there’s little news to be had. Texas regulators don’t like the EPA, and the sky is still blue.
But there was one member of the panel that brought some statistical calm to the proceedings. Joel Mintz, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, has studied the EPA for three decades. And he told the committee that despite all the anti-EPA rhetoric being used to attack the Obama administration, enforcement at the agency hasn’t changed since the president took office.
The NASA SDO satellite captures a ultra-high definition image of the Transit of Venus across the face of the sun at on June 5, 2012 from space.
A boy along with others wears special goggles to watch Venus crossing the sun’s face on June 5, 2012 in College Park, Maryland.
The planet Venus passes before the sun, a very rarely-seen event, on June 5, 2012 near Orange, California.
A astronomy enthusiast using his mobile phone, takes a photo of Venus sliding across the sun, off a projection, from a weather observatory in Manila.
Venus (top R) viewed as a small black dot, passes across the sun in the sky of Rome early on June 6, 2012. Sky-gazers around the world held up their telescopes and viewing glasses June 6, to watch Venus slide across the sun — a rare celestial phenomenon that will not happen again for more than 100 years.
Davinia Troughton and Joshua Howes wear special goggles to observe the Transit of Venus from the High Line park in New York City.
The last transit was in 2004 and the next pair of events will not happen again until the year 2117 and 2125.
Israeli children use tinted glasses to watch the transit of Venus across the face of the sun in the Israeli coastal Mediterranean city of Tel Aviv.
Another NASA image of the transit of Venus.
A boy looks through a telescope to see Venus transit across the Sun at the Obuda observatory in Budapest.
Sky-gazers around the world held up their telescopes and viewing glasses June 6, to watch Venus slide across the sun — a rare celestial phenomenon that will not happen again for more than 100 years. Other small dots on the right of the photo are called sun spots.
Amanda Fear (L) and Sebastian Paquet wear solar viewing glasses as they share a rare kiss as the planet Venus transitsacross the face of the sun at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California.
A man uses his iPhone to photograph the planet Venus passing in front of the sun from a live feed from the coelostat telescopes at the Griffith Observatory, one of the largest and most-visited public solar observatories in the world, in Los Angeles, California
A man in Singapore uses special glasses to watch the transit of Venus across the surface of the Sun.
The transit of Venus is seen making its way across the Sun off a screen at Caltech in Pasadena showing NASA’s live feed from Hawaii
An Indian women in New Delhi uses special glasses and filters to observe Venus as it passes in front of the Sun.
The transit of Venus involves the planet Venus crossing in front of the sun. The last time it was seen in California was 1882 and the next pair of events will not happen again until the year 2117 and 2125. The transit of Venus across the sun has been seen only seven times since the telescope was invented.
A Pakistani man in Islamabad uses an X-ray to observe Venus as it passes in front of the Sun.
The transit was witnessed by sky-watchers across the world. And in case you missed it, we’ve assembled photos of the event taken from places as far as Israel and Singapore, as well as some fantastic images from NASA satellites. You can see the images in the slideshow above.
And after the jump, a fantastic time-lapse video of the transit by NASA: Continue Reading →
EAA general manager Karl Dreher was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this week.
Karl Dreher, the general manager for the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), has been placed on paid administrative leave. An EAA spokesperson confirmed the news today to StateImpact Texas, which was first reported in the San Antonio Express-News.
The Authority manages the groundwater district of the Edwards Aquifer, which includes San Antonio and many of the surrounding counties, producing drinking water for more than 2 million people in Central Texas.
It isn’t clear why Dreher was placed on administrative leave. Assistant General Manager for Communications & External Affairs Roland Ruiz said that “as a personnel matter, there is no statement other than to confirm that the action did occur.” Ruiz also confirmed that Dreher was placed on leave by Laura Buckner, chair of the EAA board of directors. He says the decision will be taken up by the board at its next meeting June 12. Continue Reading →
In 1980, Congress passed a federal law to cleanup sites with excessive industrial contamination. These were places that were so polluted that they required long-term federal cleanups, and they’re known as Superfund sites. StateImpact Texas reporter Dave Fehling reports today that thirty years later, some of these toxic places are still being cleaned up.
In the map above you can see the many Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund sites in Texas. (There are also Superfund sites administered by the state environmental agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, that are not included on this map.) Some of the sites have been completely cleaned up (designated in green), while others are still being worked on (in red). Yellow points are places that have been proposed as EPA Superfund sites in Texas. Continue Reading →
A boy views the planet Venus through protected binoculars as it transits across the face of the sun as seen from the Greenwich Observatory June 8, 2004 in London. The rare astronomical event last occurred in 1882, while the next transit is due in 2012.
This photo taken 08 June 2004 shows the transit of Venus across the sun’s disc through special spectacles, seen in the park of La Villette in Paris.
People watch through telescopes the transit of Venus across the sun’s disc 08 June 2004 in the park of La Villette in Paris. Backgrouns is the Geode, a spherical Imax cinema
The planet Venus is visible as a black dot as it transits across the facce of the sun June 8, 2004 as seen from Baghdad, Iraq. The rare astronomical event last occurred in 1882, while the next transit is due in 2012.
Visitors observe the planet Venus passing in front of the Sun with filtered optics at the American Museum of Natural History June 8, 2004 in New York City. The transit of Venus is a rare celestial event which last occurred in 1882.
The planet Venus is visible as a black dot as it transits across the face of the sun as seen from the Greenwich Observatory June 8, 2004 in London. The rare astronomical event last occurred in 1882, while the next transit is due in 2012.
An Israeli child views the planet Venus as it transits across the face of the sun at Tel-Aviv university June 8, 2004 in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The rare astronomical event last occurred in 1882, while the next transit is due in 2012.
The planet Venus is visible as a black dot as it transits across the face of the sun as seen from the Greenwich Observatory June 8, 2004 in London. The rare astronomical event last occurred in 1882, while the next transit is due in 2012.
It’s not quite an eclipse, it’s more like the sun is going to have a beauty mark for a rare, fleeting moment. On Tuesday, Venus (the brightest planet in our solar system) will pass in front of the sun, and if you’re hoping to catch it, plan with care. If you miss it, you won’t have another chance of seeing it until the next century. December 11, 2117, to be exact.
“During the transit, Venus will appear in silhouette as a small, dark dot moving in front of the solar disk,” writes EarthSky, which reports on astronomy and science. “Here in Austin, Texas, weâll see the first half of the transit, while the second half will take place after the sun goes beneath our horizon. In North America, itâll be to our advantage to find a level western horizon, as the sun will be low in the west at the time of the transit.”
For information on the best possible time to witness the phenomenon in Texas, check out local times from the Transit of Venus website. For much of the state, the transit will be viewable starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday and and ending around 10 p.m. You’ll want a telescope with a solar filter to safely observe the passing. Continue Reading →
If you’re a fan of the wide-eyed Doc Brown in Back to the Future or the type who’s curious how many megawatts it took to blow up Alderaan in Star Wars, you’ll want to check out a special show airing on public television in Austin tonight, Energy at the Movies.
Michael Webber, who leads the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin, takes a look at the last seventy years of film and how they portray issues of energy. It’s a lecture he’s been giving for several years, and is now even a class at UT. On the list of films are classics like Deliverance (which involves hydroelectric power) and Zoolander (coal mining) and Syriana (oil).
You can catch Energy at the Movies tonight in Austin at 8 p.m. on KLRU (Channel 255, Time Warner Cable; Channel 284, Grande Communications; Channel 18-3 Over the Air), and again Sunday at 1 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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