Tag Archives: climate change

On the weather and the climate

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good news: The dormant wildfire season — which has produced nearly all of the 30 largest wildfires in Texas — is here, but data from the Texas A&M Forest Service suggest this may be a mild year thanks to El … Continue reading →

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Christmas trees and climate change

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry to be a grinch. Christmas tree breeder Jim Rockis knows what it looks like when one dies long before it can reach a buyer. Rockis farms trees in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, where he and other producers often grow … Continue reading →

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Harris County gets federal grant for its climate action plan

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday that it awarded Harris County one of 16 clean energy grants totaling $30 million, distributed to state and local governments nationwide. The Harris County grant of more than $1.6 million is the … Continue reading →

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Drought 2023

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bad. Any questions? A lingering drought affecting more than 80% of Texas is causing wildfires, hurting agriculture and drying up water supplies throughout the state. This year’s drought comes less than a year after Texas experienced one of its … Continue reading →

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Carbon capture project coming

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. A carbon removal project south of Corpus Christi is one of two sites selected by the Department of Energy to receive up to $1.2 billion to support the development of direct air capture technology. The project, which is being … Continue reading →

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Hydrogen hub Houston happens

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. The Texas Gulf Coast has been selected by the Biden administration as a clean hydrogen hub, one of seven locations across the United States set to receive billions of dollars in federal funding and private investment to help develop … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Martinez in I, and wait, what?

Posted on October 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron made a perfectly fine endorsement. It’s not easy to follow in the footsteps of outgoing Councilmember Robert Gallegos. As the lone Hispanic around the horseshoe, he has robustly represented his hometown and the most Hispanic district in Houston for nearly a … Continue reading →

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Yes, let’s plant more trees

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. Some of Houston’s most vulnerable neighborhoods could soon see new shade trees and better parks. Driving the news: The Houston Endowment granted $8 million to Trees for Houston and the Houston Parks Board to help increase access to … Continue reading →

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Drought Contingency Plan Stage Two

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The City of Houston will enter Stage Two of the City’s Drought Contingency Plan, effective August 27, 2023. The Drought Contingency Plan calls for Stage Two mandatory water conservation measures when the significant drop in annual rainfall … Continue reading →

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What if Houston gets too hot?

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some cheery thoughts from the Wall Street Journal. Houstonians pride themselves on how they tolerate heat. This summer, the heat has become intolerable. Businesses and residents in America’s fourth-largest city have moved much of life indoors, changing work and spending … Continue reading →

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Wildfire disaster declared

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Stay safe, y’all. Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a wildfire disaster declaration for about 75% of Texas counties, allowing them to use all available state resources to respond to any new fires as the state continues to bake under triple-digit … Continue reading →

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Climate change is bad for mosquitoes

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I think we all can have mixed feelings about this. Houston may be getting too hot even for mosquitoes, whose bites can be both annoying and dangerous, according to a new analysis of daily temperature and humidity in 242 locations … Continue reading →

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Malaria

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Time for something new to worry about. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning doctors and public health officials about a handful of locally acquired cases of malaria. There hasn’t been a case of malaria caught locally … Continue reading →

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How hot is it?

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Too damn hot. Record-setting heat in Texas has sent hundreds of people to emergency rooms in recent weeks, according to state health officials. Temperature records fell across Texas during the last two weeks, putting June 2023 on pace to be … Continue reading →

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“Near normal” hurricane season this year

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, bad news. Texas and the rest of the Gulf and East coasts are most likely to see a “near-normal” hurricane season this year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Federal forecasters are predicting between 12 and … Continue reading →

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So yeah, climate change is bad for Houston

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some science for you. As Houston continues to grapple with extreme weather conditions, scientists find record-breaking sea level rises in the U.S. Gulf Coast, which could leave cities such as Houston more vulnerable to severe storms and flooding in the coming decades than previously … Continue reading →

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MLB in Utah?

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on the table. A Salt Lake City consortium led by the former owner of the Utah Jazz plans to pursue a Major League Baseball franchise in the coming years, touting the area’s population growth, strong economy and baseball history … Continue reading →

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On the source of Houston’s greenhouse gas emissions

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This story is a lot more complex and nuanced than the headline would lead you to believe. It may come as no surprise to anyone who has spent time on Houston’s roads at rush hour that just over half of all the … Continue reading →

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Metro’s first electric bus has arrived

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Metro’s next fleet of buses quietly is coming together, in more ways than one. The first of 20 electric 40-foot buses bought by Metropolitan Transit Authority has arrived in Houston, though it will be some time before it is … Continue reading →

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Here come the new floodplain maps

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Coming soon to tell you if you are now in the floodplain. When Harris County debuts a massive overhaul of its floodplain maps later this year, the Houston area will be the first in the country to rely on a … Continue reading →

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Hydrogen hub Houston?

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It could happen. Houston-area leaders seeking to make the city one of the nation’s designated hydrogen hubs have received a push from the U.S. Energy Department. The department’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations received 79 “concept papers” from groups seeking … Continue reading →

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Texas Department of Agriculture sort of recognizes climate change

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start, I guess. On the heels of a historic drought that devastated crops from the High Plains to South Texas, a new Texas Department of Agriculture report released Tuesday linked climate change with food insecurity and identified it … Continue reading →

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The Christmas Bird Count

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re looking for a little holiday project… For the 123rd year in a row, the Christmas Bird Count is happening all over the country. Bird enthusiasts and nature lovers head outside, take a census of birds in their area … Continue reading →

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It’s legislative bullying time

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Republican lawmakers in Texas and Washington D.C. are threatening some of the nation’s largest corporate law firms if they provide what the lawmakers consider to be improper advice on issues such as climate change, diversity and … Continue reading →

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Still rough times for oysters

Posted on November 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing from earlier in the year. Tuesday marks the start of Texas’ commercial and recreational oyster season, but the bulk of the state’s oyster reefs are already closed for harvesting. This follows last year’s season during which the majority of … Continue reading →

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The Lege sure thinks a lot of companies need to be coddled

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s kind of amazing, actually. Texas banned 10 financial firms from doing business with the state after Comptroller Glenn Hegar said Wednesday that they did not support the oil and gas industry. Hegar, a Republican running for reelection in November, … Continue reading →

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Texas will get a lot from the Inflation Reduction Act

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Biden! Texas’s clean energy sector is expected to be one of the largest beneficiaries of the climate and health care legislation President Joe Biden has signed into law, according to estimates released by the White House Wednesday. Over the next … Continue reading →

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Metro gets electric bus money

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Metro’s plan to gradually get rid of gasoline-powered buses took a step forward this week, when federal officials awarded the transit agency nearly $21.6 million to replace 20 diesel buses with electric ones, and the equipment needed to keep … Continue reading →

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Yes, it’s been an especially hot summer

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Record-breaking, in fact. Average high temperatures in Houston so far this summer have outpaced previous historically hot summers on record, according to the National Weather Service. In the months of May, June and July, temperatures in the city averaged 95.1 … Continue reading →

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TxDOT sued over its enviromental impact assessments

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. After college, Michael Moritz got a job in Houston analyzing fatal car crashes. Moritz, a 27-year-old native of San Antonio, stood on Interstate Highway 45, one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the country, and documented … Continue reading →

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We are getting serious about the flood tunnel idea

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Now the question is how could we pay for this? A network of eight massive storm water tunnels that drain upstream of and into the Houston Ship Channel could be the key to alleviating flooding in Harris County, flood control engineers announced this week. The … Continue reading →

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This could be a really bad hurricane season

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Anytime the year 2005 is used as a point of comparison, it’s bad news. The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1, and the Gulf of Mexico is already warmer than average. Even more worrying is a current of warm tropical … Continue reading →

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Rough times for oysters

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bad for oyster fishers, too. But if there just aren’t enough oysters to support harvesting them, well… Currently, 25 of the state’s 27 harvesting areas are already closed. The season normally runs from Nov. 1 through April 30, but … Continue reading →

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The New Orleans perspective on the Ike Dike

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Kelly Burks-Copes braces herself against the wind and marches past the ruins of Fort San Jacinto, a strategic spot on a sandy, wave-battered point where Spain, France, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the United States have … Continue reading →

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