Energy Technology

Promised Land's Hard Sell

For Matt Damon and company, the message is the message.

Giant Dragon Descends Upon TransCanada Offices to Protest Keystone XL Pipeline! (okay, not a real dragon, but still...)

Protestors of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline demonstrated at the company's downtown headquarters and another building Monday, with similar protests occurring in other cities, including Westborough, Massachusetts, where students superglued themselves together in an office lobby. In Houston, demo ... More >>

New Cracks in the Frack

Pesky little complaints like pollution, flaming water and abandoned homes continue to cast doubt on the argument that drilling into shale will benefit all.

Those Concerns Over Fracking Haven't Gone Away

A lot of people still hold onto fracking as the latest great hope for a clean, efficient, prosperity-producing bit of environmental manna from heaven. But doubts and concerns across the nation continue to grow, and the picture has become more clouded. Fluctuating markets don't help clear things up, ... More >>

Raining on Their Parade: IKEA Postpones Unveiling of Store's Solar Energy System

IKEA Houston was all set to unveil its solar-powered energy system today. They had a big ceremony planned and everything. The dedication ceremony would include Houston's Sustainability Director (we have one of those?) Laura Spanjian, whose last name sounds vaguely like a sofa I bought at the store a ... More >>

Amazing Houston Business Journal Scoop: Onion Article Probably Not True

Hold on to your hats, take a seat, take a deep breath, do whatever it takes to absorb some shattering news: An article in The Onion is probably fake. This earth-shattering scoop is brought to you by the Houston Business Journal, with an article entitled "Houston PR Pro Contemplates The Onion's Frac ... More >>

State and EPA Battle Over Fracking, Flaming Well Water

When Steve Lipsky blamed fracking for turning his water well into a flamethrower, he set off an epic battle between the EPA and Texas.

Fracking Wreaks Fiery Havoc with Texas's Well Water

Fracking is supposed to be an energy godsend, a cheap way to get lots of natural gas. But property owners are finding it brings along with it such problems as flames coming out of their water hoses and wells, and poisonous chemicals in their drinking water. There's a big fight going on nationwide, ... More >>

Shell Eco-Challenge Marathon

Bang A Gong: Duran Duran Guitarist Turned Rocker Andy Taylor Is 51

In the summer of 1987, the day before driving to Austin for freshmen orientation at the University of Texas, I went to see Andy Taylor at Fitzgerald's. The former Duran Duran guitarist had done a near-180 in his career, opting for T. Rex-inspired hard rock over the glamorous Britpop of Rio. After ... More >>

CenterPoint Energy Nightmare: Cypress Woman Nailed With Sky-High Bill Due to "Meter Tampering"

​In August, Carsie Launey opened her monthly electric bill. A number approaching four figures was before the decimal point. "CenterPoint Energy had billed me $923.39, claiming the electricity meter installed at my property was tampered with," says Launey. "I never tampered with that meter. I ... More >>

Annise Parker Wins National Award for Making Houston Greener

Getting some (wind-powered) props.​What with all the electric cars and the green municipal buildings, Houston is maybe starting to ditch its reputation for being one of the more polluted cities in the country. Of course, there's still a boatload of pollution, but at least the city government i ... More >>

Rush Limbaugh Gets Pwned By CenterPoint

What? Rush was wrong about something?​Rush Limbaugh is still busy preaching to the choir these days, even if his influence on anyone who isn't a hard-core Republican has withered away. Apparently he was ranting earlier this week about smart meters, those devices that provide consumers with ex ... More >>

Texas & Nuclear Waste: Federal Judge Opens Path For Expansion

Nuclear waste in Texas: It's not just for Vermont anymore​Environmental groups are crying foul over a federal judge's decision to lift a ban on allowing a state commission to greatly expand Texas's ability to accept nuclear waste from other states. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks said Tuesday ... More >>

Drilling For Oil In Houston Parks: Five Things To Consider

Thar's oil in them thar parks​City Council will consider this week a proposal to let Southern Star Exploration drill for oil and gas in Houston parks.Specifically, Herman Brown Park, Brock Park, parts of Maxey Park, and Public Works McCarty Road Service Center. (The last isn't a park per se, but i ... More >>

TCEQ, State's Clean-Air "Watchdog," About To Be Sued Over A Local Plant

Austin's power supplier a major polluter, groups say​As the Houston Press has written about, and as the Obama administration has determined, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is a pretty lax watchdog.Now they're going to get sued over it.A coalition of clean-air groups has served forma ... More >>

Texas' Environmental Agency & The Feds: This Week May Be Crucial

This week's decision will be watched closely​All eyes are on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality this week as its three commissioners will decide whether to grant an air permit to a proposed $3 billion petroleum coke-fired power plant in Corpus Christi.The Las Brisas Energy Center has be ... More >>

Canadian Tar Sands: Environmentalists Claim Houston To Be End Point Of Worst Project In The World

You can't just go shooting for some food and find bubbling crude anymore​Other than desperation, is there much to recommend Canadian tar sands as a fuel source?Not according to Matthew Tejada of Air Alliance Houston. During a talk at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church last night, he described th ... More >>

Sierra Club Takes Its Oil-Spill Act To The Offshore Technology Conference

Photograph courtesy US NavyA hunka, hunka burnin' Gulf​Dressed in a black business suit with a fake BP badge on the lapel, Sierra Club spokeswoman Donna Hoffman pretended to be a BP company exec giving a press conference after an oil spill."I want to reassure everyone that the oil spill, outside o ... More >>

Chipotle Will Install Solar Panels Everywhere But Houston

Photo by lcrf​Hair Balls is always worrying about reducing our carbon footprint -- in fact, we're constantly using aerosol-spray cleansers and dusters to reduce it like a mofo -- which is why we were stunned to learn in the Houston Business Journal that beloved burrito builders Ch ... More >>

CenterPoint Hits The Jackpot At The Federal Stimulus Feeding Trough

Photo courtesy White House Flickr group​Let them bitch all they want in Chicago about getting shut out of federal stimulus funds for "smart-grid" power projects. Here in Houston, we're kicking ass.The federal gummint, that socialistic, fascist Big Brother, announced today how it is spending $3.4 b ... More >>

Houston Touts Its Clean-Air Credentials (Yes, Dammit, We Do Have Them)

Photo courtesy GHCVB​Everyone knows that Houston is the smog-riddled energy capital of the world, so it was with a touch of irony that the annual Clean Air Through Energy Efficiency Conference awards were announced this afternoon in Houston.Attendees from across Texas and other states, munching on ... More >>

T. Boone Pickens Names A New Holiday

To celebrate the one year anniversary since launching the Pickens Plan, ol' T. Boone himself has declared today, July, 8, "Energy Independence Day." It nice to know that all it takes is befriending a few powerful congressmen and about $100 million to name your own national "independence" day honor ... More >>

Wild Rides

Between serious safety and environmental concerns, the Toyota Prius isn't the angel that everyone thinks it is.

T. Boone Gets Ready For His Million-Megawatt March

General T. Boone Pickens is invading Washington, D.C. tomorrow. Well, virtually. Members of his New Energy Army, numbering somewhere between 1.5 and 3 million strong, are planning to bombard Congress with emails and phone calls urging lawmakers to pass legislation favorable to Pickens' plan to ... More >>

The T. Boone Pickens Road Show

A former wildcatter and corporate-takeover tycoon preaches alternative energy across America.

Environment Texas Wants More Solar Power (Big Surprise)

Environment Texas held a press conference today in front of the Mirabeau B. Sales Center at the corner of Waugh and Hyde Park to, excuse the pun, shed light on the positives of solar energy, specifically in terms of promoting "green" collar job growth in the solar power industry and reducing energy ... More >>

UH Prof May Have Created The Self-Charging Cell Phone

One day, maybe soon, you'll charge your cell phone just by walking around with it -- thanks to a UH professor.Pradeep Sharma and an A&M professor named Tahir Cagin think they've solved a problem that's long vexed researchers. It involves a lot of mumbo-jumbo of the sort that scientists like to u ... More >>

Wal-Mart Turns To Wind Power, A Little

Wal-Mart is going green in Texas! And we don't just mean the dollars you save every day!! Actually, the company is kinda making a bold move of sorts, teaming up with Duke Energy to get wind power for several of its Texas stores. The two companies announced today that beginning in April, Duke w ... More >>

San Francisco Wants to Help Us Recycle

Helping Hand Spurned

Enron's Lou Pai Gets Into Cow Farts

Galveston -- Exhibit A Against Offshore Drilling?

Wind Power to the Rescue

Kinky Talk

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Power Plays

Other options to nuclear have their own set of drawbacks

Bring It On

Why Houston should want a nuclear power plant

Veggie Tales

An alternative to gasoline-based fuel gains traction in Houston

Diva of the Deal

How Enron's high temptress turned massive projects into a $2 billion wet dream for the company -- and an estimated $100 million profit for herself

Reaping the Wind

Kopper cops to a Fastowian bargain

Moonstruck

Dave Criswell dreams of living on the moon. He has a plan for colonization. Other scientists say his idea is 100 years too early. But he's ready now.

Oil Slick

Ocean Star

Letters

Strip-Search Sass, Gender Mix, Red at the Right

Red Light, Green Light

With billboards of windmills promising gentle, nonpolluting energy, Green Mountain offers Texans a new power avenue. Will they take it? Should they?

Plugged In

Like little Energizer bunnies, electric-car proponents keep going and going and going

Trench Warfare

There's a hole carved out of the earth 32 feet deep, 210 feet wide, and 400 feet long near the Texas-Mexico border.

A Question of Power

Do fields from high power lines cause childhood cancer? Years of research have revealed few solid facts. But Joe Jamail has charged the answer is yes, and HL&P knows it. He's headed to court to prove his case - or to dig into the utility's deep pockets.

Got Mad, Got Even

Two former HL&P workers took revenge against the Light Company, but say the city settled for "chump change"