Texas Climate & Energy
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Texas is the largest energy-producing and energy-consuming state in the nation. Texas produces more electricity than any other state, generating almost twice as much as Florida, the second-highest electricity-producing state. Thus, Texas has a disproportionate impact on the ability of the U.S. and the global community to mitigate climate change. Texas also can be an energy justice leader, ensuring that energy production doesn’t harm vulnerable communities, and energy is available even to the marginalized.
Light and Life
Using the Public Utility Commission of Texas Sunset Review to Safeguard Texans’ Health and Wellbeing
The upcoming 2022-2023 Sunset review of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, offers a unique opportunity for Texas lawmakers to advance public health in the Lone Star State.
NEWS + LATEST UPDATES
Review: Abrahm Lustgarten’s “On the Move”
The central premise of Abrahm Lustgarten’s book “On the Move” is that the impacts of climate change are already driving human migration within the United States and that that trend will accelerate as the impacts of climate change ramp up. The book opens with an...
An Ounce of Prevention
When I was in grad school, my job was to drive instrument towers to the coast when a hurricane was coming so we could collect high-frequency wind data that we could study to learn about how to make buildings more resilient to wind storms like hurricanes. I drove to a...
TRRC Commissioner Christian Offers Testimony in Senate Natural Resources Committee Hearing
Last week the Senate Natural Resources and Economic Development (SNRED) committee gathered for a hearing on five different interim charges (a complete list of Texas Senate interim charges is available here). Thursday, June 13 the Senate Natural Resources and Economic...
Ep. 348 Ready or Not
We talk weather this week with Dr. Becca Edwards, Texas Impact’s Climate Action Fellow. Originally because we wanted to talk about Hurricane Season, which begins this weekend and runs through November, but seems like most of Texas has…
The Interconnection and Tension between Mission and Climate Change
There is a tension between missions and climate change that I have not been able to shake while helping create the EcoFaith Dialogues series. It’s been present in searching for guest speakers around the globe. It’s been present in finding educational material on...
Severe and Disruptive Weather in Texas May Roundup
Texas is known for wild weather, but the diversity, intensity, and frequency of severe weather across the state has been remarkable. We have seen every mode of severe weather (hail, wind, tornadoes, and extreme precipitation) and many regions experienced multiple...
Texas Springtime Weather Roundup: Memorial Day Haze
The stagnant, hot, humid conditions over the weekend led to very hazy conditions in Central Texas over the weekend. The haze obscured distant skylines and natural features, turned the sky white, and generally contributed to the unpleasantness of the extremely hot...
Texas Springtime Weather Roundup: Extreme Heat
Memorial weekend saw extreme heat across a large portion of the State of Texas. My family was scheduled to go camping and hiking Sunday and Monday at Enchanted Rock. We chose Memorial Day weekend for the outing because that is early enough in the summer that our...
Texas Springtime Weather Roundup: Statewide Severe Weather
Springtime is severe weather in Texas, so it is not unusual to see thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes this time of year. What has been unusual is the frequency and severity of the severe weather. A brief survey of the storm reports for Texas available at the National...
El Niño, Climate Change Pose Complex Array of Climate Risks Around the World
In the US we often hear the meteorological term “El Niño” when a broadcast meteorologist is talking about unsettled weather like thunderstorms, squall lines, and tornadoes. It’s true, in the southwestern US, El Niño years tend to be wetter and stormier than they are...