Environment

On Thursday, the San Antonio City Council will decide whether to ask voters to renew a sales tax for aquifer protection and park maintenance. This one-eighth of a cent sales tax could potentially have a host of uses.  

At the moment, the City of San Antonio uses most of the money collected from the sales tax to buy property in the Edwards Aquifer Recharge zone, which replenishes the area’s water supply. The tax was first approved in 2000, and 133,000 acres have been purchased so far through this money. 

State lawmakers are considering a nearly $2.5 million plan to help answer a pressing question in some Texas communities: Why does the ground keep shaking?  

People felt two small but noticeable earthquakes in the Dallas area Tuesday, with reports of shaking buildings and flickering lights. Some residents said they felt nothing; some worried about fracking; others joked about it all.

The first quake was measured at 3.5 magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and the second was measured at 3.6. Both of them were centered about 3.5 miles east-northeast of Irving, just outside of Dallas.

As the legislative year begins, a major watchdog group for the Edwards Aquifer has claimed some successes for 2014 and said it would be keeping a close eye on what lawmakers did this year.

The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, a coalition of 51 community, religious, environmental and business organizations that want to create a more impactful voice for the environment and the aquifer, has stated that it would be following state legislation carefully to make sure the coalition retains its ability to advocate for the environment.

If it's getting close to Christmas, it's also getting nearer to the year's worst allergy season for San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country.

Copious amounts of cedar pollen are expected to blow in on the first cold front, draping yellow blankets of the dusty stuff on cars and other surfaces.

It’s been over 4 years since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and BP oil spill. The underwater gusher pumped crude into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days and is considered the worst maritime oil disaster in history. The US Government estimated the total discharge at 5 million barrels. But that number is uncertain and there are some reports that the well site continues to leak oil into the Gulf.

In November 2012, BP and the Department of Justice reached a settlement and in part agreed to a record-setting $4 and a half billion dollars in fines and other payments.

 Anti-fracking activists took their concerns to the voters of Denton, Texas in the recent November general election and passed a city fracking ban. It went into effect on December first. But industry leaders and the Texas Rail Road Commission say that doesn’t matter. They say it’s still “drill baby drill” for Denton. The Texas Oil and Gas Association and the Texas General Land Commission are now suing Denton over the frack ban. Cathy McMullan is the president of Frack Free Denton.  

A new report released this week adds to the growing evidence that the chemicals associated with fracking and horizontal drilling could be a danger to reproductive health to animals and humans. The study was conducted by the Center for Environmental Health.  Susan C.

Sometime in November the one billionth barrel of oil was pumped out of the Eagle Ford Shale play – that’s according to the research firm Wood Mackenzie.

More than 70 percent of that production has occurred in the last two years.

The milestone comes at a time when oil prices are going through a steep drop. Right now a barrel of U.S. crude is going for under 70 dollars a barrel. And many in the industry have discussed plans to pull back on U.S. shale production.