Tag Archives: drought

Texas gators hanging in there

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s good news despite the bad news for Texas’ alligators. This year’s admittedly inexact estimate of the gator population in their prime habitat zone – the wetlands along the arc of the Texas coast – indicates there are a lot … Continue reading →

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Trouble with the trees

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The drought gets more expensive for the city of Houston. The drought is about to claim yet more of Houston’s green – this time $4.5 million in tax dollars to remove trees that have died of thirst. Houston’s driest year … Continue reading →

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No funding for long term water needs

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We know what we need to do, we just don’t want to pay for it. On paper, at least, Texas is well-prepared to meet the water needs of its rapidly expanding population — even when Mother Nature lays down a … Continue reading →

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More things that schools have to deal with that isn’t in their budgets

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Droughts and wildfires. The drought across Texas has lasted nearly 12 months, and it doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. In fact, La Niña, the intermittent Pacific Ocean phenomenon that caused the drought, is back and strengthening. … Continue reading →

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What we lost in the wildfires

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to take a long time to recover from the fires. The fire burned through the heart of the Lost Pines area, a unique ecological island encompassing some 64,000 acres of loblolly pine, the westernmost stands of the great … Continue reading →

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Rescuing fish

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Wildlife biologists [last week evacuated] two species of minnows from the shrinking waters of a West Texas river in the first of what could be several rescue operations involving fish affected by the state’s worst drought in decades. Smalleye … Continue reading →

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Not a drop to drink

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have two questions regarding this Trib story about the dire drought situation in Odessa. The city of Odessa, facing a dire drought situation, is looking to an unlikely example for help in finding water: the desert city of El … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Can we have some of your rainwater?

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is just crazy enough that you would hope it might work, but it probably can’t. As the soggy East tries to dry out from flooding and Texas prays for rain that doesn’t come, you might ask: Isn’t there some … Continue reading →

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Mayor extends burn ban in parks

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Parker Extends Parks Burn Ban to Include Smoking Mayor Annise Parker today signed an executive order extending the City’s temporary burn ban to include smoking in City parks.  The smoking ban applies to lighted cigars, cigarettes, … Continue reading →

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We had a wildfire protection plan

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We just weren’t willing to pay for it. Long before this month’s historic wildfires in Texas, the state’s forest service came up with a $20.4 million plan to stop the flames from starting or tamp them out before small blazes … Continue reading →

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City may ban smoking in parks

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Um, yeah. Mayor Annise Parker said she is considering banning smoking in the city’s 380 parks because of the fire dangers presented by discarded cigarettes. “This drought is a crisis situation,” Parker said.  ”I am leaning toward a ban on smoking cigarettes, … Continue reading →

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Hurricane season is mostly behind us

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Normally, this would be considered good news. Ironically, even as the Atlantic tropics reach their peak and Texas marks the anniversaries of 1961’s Hurricane Carla on Sunday and 2008’s Hurricane Ike next Tuesday, chances of a hurricane making landfall on … Continue reading →

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New park protection rules

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Mayor’s office: People Protecting Our Parks Mayor Annise Parker Announces New Fire Safety Campaign for City Parks Mayor Annise Parker, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) and the Houston Fire Department (HFD) announced People Protecting Our Parks, a new … Continue reading →

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Baby steps on water conservation

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I found this story about businesses finding ways to conserve water to be strange. I expected to hear about innovation and maybe new technology, but what I got was stuff like this: The 5-star Four Seasons Hotel recently began furnishing … Continue reading →

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This is an excellent time to cut funding for fighting wildfires

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That’s exactly what the Republicans did in the budget that came into effect last week. Cash-strapped state lawmakers – led by Gov. Rick Perry’s stand against raising taxes or dipping too deeply into the state rainy day fund – cut … Continue reading →

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The toll on the trees

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

CultureMap: Houston, a city long defined by its gigantic live oak trees and lush landscaping, is changing for the worse as the relentless, thrashing sun has taken a toll on all things green and growing. The ongoing drought, which is … Continue reading →

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Drought could last a long time

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is by far the scariest thing I’ve read in awhile. As historically bad as this summer’s drought has been, we may not have seen the worst of it. There’s growing concern among some scientists that Texas’ drought could linger … Continue reading →

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How dry we are

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rain, rain, please don’t go away. Texas is too dry to play. Pedernales Falls, for the most part, doesn’t. Lake Travis is becoming a lake in name only, regressing in some areas almost to the old Colorado River channel and … Continue reading →

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Fireworks and droughts

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard out there on a fireworks vendor. As July 4 approaches, Michael Girdley is praying for rain. The president of Alamo Fireworks, based in China Grove, is worried a summer drought could lead to a fireworks ban in Harris … Continue reading →

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