Tracking the players in the ever-growing energy and environmental world.
What’s it like growing up surrounded by refineries in Corpus Christi? A commenter on one of our stories about Refinery Row, Iris Gonzales Hinojosa, writes about her childhood among the refinery stacks: “I grew up in Dona park, specifically on Vernon Drive, and many of my childhood memories include Mom and Dad, closing our home’s windows to […]
When it comes to using coal to make electricity in Texas, groups opposed to what they call “dirty coal” say they almost always lose when they try to convince state regulators to deny proposed plants permission to operate. But while they’ve lost some battles, are they actually winning the war?
Families here live surrounded by refineries and smoke stacks, and they say it’s making them sick. Now they think they’ve found a way to fix that.
Map of the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline/Stephanie d’Otreppe, NPR The State Department made it official today — the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought oil from Canada through the U.S. to refineries on the Gulf Coast, will not be happening anytime soon.
For years, Pasadena Refining System, Inc been the target of “enforcement actions” yet its emissions of chemicals into the air have only increased.
The Eagle Ford Shale formation in South Texas has made headlines for its abundance of natural gas, but the formation doesn’t end at the Rio Grande. That fact is not lost on the Mexican government. Last week, the Mexican Minister of Energy proposed ramping up hydraulic fracturing operations in Northern Mexico. The announcement wasn’t especially […]
There’s a request for a tax refund currently under consideration by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) from the Valero Energy Corporation, one of the world’s largest oil refiners. Valero is asking for money under a state law that says companies don’t have to pay taxes on equipment (in this case, something called a hydrotreater) […]
Much of the attention to the potential dangers of oil and gas exploration, especially in hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”), has focused on the environmental impact it may have. Will it cause earthquakes? Can it pollute the water? Does natural gas have a bigger carbon footprint than coal? But a new study from the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), a […]
This Halloween, the streets of Austin will be invaded by a whole new class of the undead: Oil Zombies. In a bid to win the hearts and braiiiiiins of Austinites, an environmental group called Texans Against Tar Sands is putting together a gathering of crude-soaked undead to protest the Keystone XL pipeline. The protest is […]
An Austin oil company became a small part of the Norwegian government today. Brigham Exploration, an Austin company with about 100 employees, was purchased by Statoil, a Norwegian energy company, for over four billion dollars cash. “I think the reaction by investors is one of surprise because many did not see the company selling themselves […]
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