StateImpact

Natural Gas From Bridge To Barrier

Posted on · The debate over America's vast reserves of natural gas usually focuses on the risks and the benefits. In the benefits column: it's a relatively cheap, it's domestic, and it's a cleaner burning than coal. The risks? Well, that's usually when Hydraulic Fracturing — or fracking — comes up. But StateImpact Texas reporter Mose Buchele reports, recent shifts in the price of natural gas are presenting a whole new set of challenges for America's energy future.

StateImpact

Drilling For Shale Gas In Mexico

Posted on · The Eagle Ford Shale formation in South Texas that's made headlines for its abundance of natural gas doesn't end at the Rio Grande. That fact was not lost on the Mexican Government, which recently announced plans to expand its drilling for gas there in an effort for more energy independence. For StateImpact Texas, Mose Buchele reports on the implications for both sides of the border.

StateImpact

Cities Want To Be ‘Energy Capital’

Posted on · There are some people in Houston who worry that the city could suffer the same fate as Detroit: a place that once dominated an industry and now doesn't. KUHF's StateImpact Texas reporter Dave Fehling looks at threats to Houston's claim as "the world's energy capital."

StateImpact

Coal Powers Texas But At What Cost

Posted on · About a third of our power is generated by burning coal, according to the state. That generates tons of air pollution. And that's why projects for even more or bigger coal-burning power plants can raise a lot of opposition. Our StateImpact Texas reporter, Dave Fehling, has been to one place in Texas where just such a battle took place.

StateImpact

Neighborhood Lives In Shadow Of Polluters

Posted on · This week, State Impact-Texas is teaming with NPR on a project highlighting industrial air pollution. NPR reporters, working with the Center for Public Integrity, reviewed never-before published lists compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to track polluters. For the KUT/KUHF StateImpact Texas project, Terrence Henry reports on a Corpus Christi neighborhood that sits right in the middle of several refineries on the list.

StateImpact

TCEQ’s Approach Is Under Fire

Posted on · This week, KUT News is teaming with NPR on a project highlighting industrial air pollution. NPR reporters, working with the Center for Public Integrity, reviewed never-before published lists compiled by the U-S Environmental Protection Agency to track polluters. Roughly one in 10 factories on the most recent list is in Texas. Some of those facilities have been on the watch list for years. For the KUT/KUHF StateImpact Texas project, Mose Buchele reports on the regulatory environment that allows industries to keep polluting.

StateImpact

Harris County Calls TCEQ 'Offensive,' Plans to Sue Polluters

Posted on · This week, KUHF News is teaming with NPR on a project highlighting industrial polluters that have repeatedly violated federal clean air standards. NPR reporters, working with the Center for Public Integrity, got their hands on a never-before published list compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It's a "watch list" of facilities the EPA has identified as serious or chronic violators. A concentration of them are petro-chemical plants in the Houston area. Dave Fehling reports for the KUHF/KUT StateImpact Texas project.