Texas wildflower big red sage proposed for endangered species protection
Only seven native populations remain in Texas, all in the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. Full Story
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Alejandra Martinez is a Fort Worth-based environmental reporter. She’s covered the impacts of petrochemical facilities on Black and brown communities, including investigating a chemical fire at an industrial complex and how the state's air monitoring system has failed Latino communities. Her work on climate change includes exploring the health effects of extreme heat and how extended droughts affect water resources. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, Alejandra was an accountability reporter at KERA, where she began as a Report for America Corps Member and then covered Dallas City Hall. She also has worked as an associate producer at WLRN in South Florida. A Houston native, Alejandra studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and speaks fluent Spanish.
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![Big red sage occurs on bluffs and banks along waterways in the Edwards Plateau of central Texas.]()
Credit: Chris Best/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, 22 other states sue to halt planned federal methane fines
The rule fines certain oil and gas facilities that exceed federal limits for methane emissions. Full Story
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![The Rebel Gas Plant vents off natural gas into two flare stacks Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in Garden City.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas has a big water problem. This state lawmaker hopes he has the solution.
Texas’ population is booming and there is not enough water for everyone. State Sen. Charles Perry hopes to fix that. Full Story
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![State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, on the Senate floor on May 15, 2019.]()
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The air in 12 Texas counties exceeded federal soot standards. Only four may face consequences.
Critics say TCEQ is erroneously using a federal rule to exclude counties that are failing federal soot rules. Full Story
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![A view of charred grassland that was burned by the Smokehouse Creek wildfire, outside the Panhandle town of Canadian on Feb. 28, 2024.]()
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EPA report says “forever chemicals” in sewage-based fertilizer pose cancer risk
Fertilizers that contain treated sewage tainted with toxic PFAS chemicals can be spread on farmland and pose a health risk to people who consume milk, eggs and beef, the agency says. Full Story
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![Bar screens are used to remove large portions of solids and garbage during the wastewater treatment process at SAWS’ Steven M. Clouse Water Recycling Center in San Antonio on Aug. 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Some Texas business leaders are apprehensive about Trump’s pledged deportations
“We wouldn’t survive” without undocumented workers, one South Texas produce business owner said. By one estimate, 8% of Texas’ workforce lacks legal status. Full Story
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![Construction workers building homes in far west San Antonio on Dec. 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
As bitter cold sweeps through Texas, ERCOT says the power grid is stable
The state’s electric grid operator issued a weather watch until Friday but says it doesn’t expect power disruptions as demand rises. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson -
Texas lawmaker files bill to reduce “forever chemicals” in sewage-based fertilizer
The bill would require companies to test fertilizer made from sewage sludge for PFAS and meet limits before selling them to Texas farmers and ranchers. Full Story
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![Biosolids are collected at the SAWS’ Steven M. Clouse Water Recycling Center in San Antonio, Texas, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Trump’s promise of mass deportation throws undocumented Texans into fear, uncertainty
As Republican Texas leaders show support for Trump’s mass deportation plans, undocumented people — some who have lived in America for decades — are weighing their options amid mounting fears. Full Story
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![DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 16, 2024: A Dallas-resident, 41, co-founder of a nonprofit organization, at his office in Dallas, Texas on Monday, December 16, 2024. The resident was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico and migrated to the United States when he was seven-years-old. He was a DACA recipient until it expired and he didn’t reapply in time. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
Growing oil industry support for methane reduction rule could help it survive Trump’s return
Texas regulators are taking public comment about how they should implement an EPA rule to reduce methane leaks from the oil and gas industry. Full Story
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![ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 20, 2024: A wall containing Bruder drill site owned by Total in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. The city of Arlington approved Total’s application to drill and frack 11 gas wells at this site, which sits over 300 feet away from residential homes. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune