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Where politics, government and energy intersect.

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September 20, 2012

Texas’ Most Hated Tree: How Drought, Wildfires Renewed Interest in Cedar Eradication

When people complain about cedar trees in Texas, they’re usually talking about allergies: the dreaded “cedar fever” that makes life a nightmare for millions of sufferers throughout large swaths of the state. But at the Texas Capital last week, lawmakers were talking about cedars for other, very elemental, reasons: water and fire. Ashe Junipers, commonly […]

September 19, 2012

How the New Challenge to TransCanda’s Pipeline Could Be Different

A case between a rice farmer in East Texas and the Keystone XL pipeline could have big implications.

September 18, 2012

Feds Pour Funds Into Texas’ Drinking Water

In our recent interview with Al Armendariz, the former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (now with the Sierra Club), he pointed out the role that the EPA plays in financing safe drinking water throughout the state. “You know, the majority of water and wastewater plants throughout Texas and neighboring states have been funded […]

In Bastrop’s Ashes, Officials Find a Lesson in Prescribed Burning

There is a notion that wildfires, as destructive as they are, are at least natural. That they are an unfortunate condition of living in proximity to the uncultivated world.

September 17, 2012

Life After the EPA: What’s Next for Al Armendariz

In April, a video surfaced of Dr. Al Aremendariz, the regional director for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), speaking to a group of locals in Dish, Texas about how to enforce pollution rules. “It was kinda like how the Romans used to conquer those villages in the Mediterranean,” Armendariz told the group. “They’d go into a little Turkish […]

September 13, 2012

TransCanada Faces Another Legal Challenge

The company behind the Keystone XL pipeline is back in court in a fight over claims of eminent domain.

September 12, 2012

As Regulators Talk Renewables, Groups File Petition with PUC

While state officials and representatives from the energy industry met at a conference to talk about the future of Texas renewables, environmental groups filed a petition charging the state’s Public Utility Commission with dragging its feet on solar and geothermal energy. At the heart of the petition is a question that’s come up before: whether […]

Please Welcome Milton Rister to the Railroad Commission of Texas

An aide to Texas Governor Rick Perry has been selected by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), which oversees oil and gas drilling and pipelines in the state, as the agency’s new executive director. Milton Rister will take the spot that was abruptly vacated earlier this year when the previous executive director and longtime RRC employee John […]

September 10, 2012

Public Discussion of Wildfires in Texas

We’re hoping you can join us tonight at our new studios for a panel and discussion of wildfires in Texas. We’ll be listening to and talking about our recent documentary with KUT News, Forged in Flames: An Oral History of the Labor Day Wildfires. Our own reporter Mose Buchele will be on a panel with KUT […]

Why the Fight Over Salamanders in Texas is Only Just the Beginning

You can expect to hear a lot more of these kinds of debates in Texas over the next few years.

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