Environment
108 stories
A Q&A With Nate Blakeslee »
The senior editor on writing about the politics of wildlife management, using terms such as “native” and “non-native,” and blurring the line between wild animals and livestock—and between a commercial ranching operation and wilderness.
April 2012 Interview by Karina Munguia
A Grain of Doubt »
For more than 75 years, rice farmers in Matagorda County and elsewhere along the Gulf have shared the waters of the Colorado River with urban residents in the Hill Country. But with city centers booming and an almost-certain drought ahead, the state is being forced to choose between a water-intensive crop and a water-intensive population.
April 2012 by Kate Galbraith
Home on the Range? »
Texas Parks and Wildlife has embarked on an ambitious plan to restore the desert bighorn sheep population in Big Bend Ranch State Park. To accomplish this goal, the department has had to make hard choices about which animals live, which animals die, and what truly belongs in the Trans-Pecos.
April 2012 by Nate Blakeslee
A Q&A With Nate Blakeslee »
The senior editor on why Texas has taken the lead in fighting new EPA air pollution regulations and what will become the fuel of choice for the next generation of power plants in Texas and around the country.
December 2011 Interview by Jessica Huff
Up in the Air »
No state has defied the federal government’s environmental regulations more fiercely than Texas, and no governor has been more outspoken about the “job-killing” policies of the EPA than Rick Perry. But does that mean we can all breathe easy?
December 2011 by Nate Blakeslee
A Charred Life
Scenes from the Bastrop County Complex fire. Images and text by Sarah Wilson
December 2011
Here’s the Drill »
As hydraulic fracturing has unlocked untold reserves of natural gas, it has also unleashed a wave of concerns about pollution and, for one family in the Barnett Shale, a long nightmare.
October 2011 by Saul Elbein
A Q&A With Kate Galbraith »
The Texas Tribune reporter on writing about the drought, learning about landscaping trends in Midland, and recognizing just how precious water is.
September 2011 Interview by Abby Johnston
Rescuing Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles »
Donna Shaver on finding a nest, sleeping at the office during hatching season, and dedicating her career to saving sea turtles.
August 2011 Interview by Patricia Sharpe
Three Generations of Texas Wind Men
Jay Carter Sr., Jay Carter Jr., and Matt Carter—the first family of Texas wind power—have lived through nearly four decades of boom and bust, boom and bust, and, for now at least, a boom with no end in sight.
August 2011 Produced by Brian Birzer
A Mighty Wind »
The unlikely story of how a handful of dreamers, schemers, and (all too often) failures made oil-and-gas-rich Texas the leading wind power state in the country.
August 2011 by Kate Galbraith and Asher Price
Out of Beach? »
Whose coastline is it anyway? How the state Supreme Court may be undermining decades of unlimited public access to the sand and surf.
June 2011 by Paul Burka
For the Birds
Explore nature with Victor Emanuel as he takes a tour of Hornsby Bend, his favorite birding spot in Austin.
May 2011 Produced by Pamela Hastings
Pure Country
George Strait talks trash—and has a laugh or two—while filming the most recent commercial for the "Don’t Mess With Texas" public service campaign.
January 2011
Coming Clean
Texas celebrities such as Lyle Lovett, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Erykah Badu, Matthew McConaughey, and Owen Wilson get the word out about trash and urge folks to stop littering in some of the early public service announcements for the "Don't Mess With Texas" campaign.
January 2011
Water Works »
Should the last free-flowing river in Texas be dammed?
October 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
That’s Oil, Folks! »
Forget the Outer Continental Shelf. There’s a good old-fashioned boom happening in Midland, thanks to a crafty drilling technique that unlocked the secret reserves of the Permian Basin and revived the late, great West Texas oilman.
September 2010 by Skip Hollandsworth
Fish Story »
One more trip—would it be the last?—to Toledo Bend Reservoir with my dad.
September 2010 by Rick Bass
Wild at Heart »
My mother trained me to be a naturalist in our suburban backyard, one bird call at a time.
July 2010 by Rick Bass
The Ups And Downs And Ups of The National Car of Texas »
When GM declared bankruptcy last year and moved all production of large SUVs to a single plant in Arlington, it looked like the end was near for the Suburban and its brethren. Instead, they came roaring back to life.
July 2010 by S. C. Gwynne
Oil and Water »
The spill in the Gulf is just the latest in a string of catastrophic regulatory failures that prove how incompetent government is. And how important it is.
July 2010 by Paul Burka
Buffalo Bayou »
Pass through the thick piney woods of Memorial Park, and you'll find yourself worlds away from the nearby crowded freeways and malls of Houston.
May 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
Blanco River »
Next time there's a big rainstorm, go online and check the water flow at Wimberley. If it's over 250 cubic feet per second, call in sick and head for the Hill Country.
May 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
Frio River »
This stretch of the waterway is both safe and exciting, a great place to introduce kids to Texas rivers.
May 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
Devils River »
You might be tempted to dismiss this waterway as the Pecos lite, but the Devils packs a bigger punch into less than one hundred miles.
May 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
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