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Energy and Environment Reporting for Texas

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Using less and saving more through ingenuity and efficiency.

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October 23, 2012

The State of Texas Irrigation: More Efficiency Amid Less Water

Texas irrigation is a big deal. The state is home to more than 10 percent of the irrigated acres in the country. Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension looked into Texas’ agricultural water use in a recent report. It examines Texas’ economic dependence on irrigation, improvements in state-wide irrigation efficiency, and problems the state faces as water reserves dwindle. Urban […]

October 9, 2012
October 5, 2012

SXSW Eco: The Promises and Challenges of Energy Along the Border

Scott Storment has a story he likes to tell about doing green business in Mexico. “My first wind project [in Mexico] was outside of Monterrey,” Storment recalled Thursday at a panel on U.S.-Mexico border issues at the SXSW Eco conference. He has worked on energy projects along the U.S.-Mexico border for 20 years. His latest venture, […]

October 3, 2012

SXSW Eco: How ‘Big Data’ Can Lead to More Energy Efficiency

Epiphanies can come at the strangest times. Take the case of Michael Legatt. Back in 2003 Legatt was in New York doing his laundry. He had loaded three washers, two dryers and was just getting ready to put the last quarter in the machine when all of the sudden the lights went out. He figured […]

September 14, 2012

Why the Next UT-A&M Rivalry Could Be Fought in the Lab

Two teams, racing against the clock. A long-standing rivalry that up til now has been played on the football field. And at the end, the prize: gooey, stinky algae. While the University of Texas and Texas A&M University football teams no longer play each other after A&M left the Big 12 conference for the SEC […]

August 8, 2012
August 2, 2012

Why Most Smart Irrigation Controllers Failed the Drought Test

A new report by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service says that only a few smart irrigation systems worked right during the drought. What’s a smart irrigation system? Normal sprinkler systems require their owners to manually set irrigation schedules. But, smart irrigation controllers use an array of sensors to determine just how much water is needed […]

August 1, 2012

Feds Help Fund Biofuel Producers in Texas

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced payments for more than one hundred biofuel producers across the country this week. The payments came from the USDA’s Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, which funds producers of biofuels made from renewable biomass sources. Four Texas companies receiving the funding are Agrobiofuels, Green Earth Fuels of Houston, Element […]

Walmart Becomes A Solar King, Just Not in Texas. Yet.

It’s where you might go for pool noodles, school supplies and perhaps just people-watching. But the retail behemoth Walmart is also becoming known as a green energy company. On Monday, Walmart unveiled its 100th solar panel array for a store in San Diego. The company has the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy to […]

July 27, 2012

How Texas Parks and Wildlife Is Trying to Sell Out

Last year’s devastating drought and wildfires led to fewer visitors and less revenue at state parks. In December the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department turned to the public for help, hoping to raise more than $4 million in donations. But since then, they’ve only received half that amount, and recent budget cuts have taken away over a hundred million […]

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