Environment
114 stories
The Truth About Texas: Water = Life »
As last year’s historic drought reminded us, Texas has always lived life by the drop, just a few dry years away from a serious crisis. With our population expected to nearly double over the next fifty years, this situation is about to become more, not less, challenging. This month we look at the past, present, and future of water and drought in Texas and explore the solutions that give us hope.
July 2012 by Jake Silverstein
The Writing on the Wall »
The Lower Pecos River rock paintings were created four thousand years ago by a long-forgotten people. But their apparent message may be as useful today as it was then: Follow the water.
July 2012 by Roger D. Hodge
When the Sky Ran Dry »
Bad as the current drought is, it has yet to match the most arid spell in Texas history. Nearly two dozen survivors of the fifties drought remember the time it never rained.
July 2012 An oral history by John Burnett
Between Hell and Texas »
Over the past year, state photographer Wyman Meinzer has roamed the Big Empty, documenting the drought’s toll. Will he ever take another pretty picture?
July 2012 Introduction by Jeff Salamon
Drawing Straws »
The future is likely going to require us to move large amounts of water from wet but sparsely populated places (a.k.a. East Texas) to thirsty, booming cities. Good thing there’s a plan for that. There is a plan, right?
July 2012 by Nate Blakeslee
Industrial Evolution »
As much as anything, the Texas economic miracle depends on water. Lots of water. So what are all those power plants, refineries, and factories going to do as the state gets drier and drier and drier?
July 2012 by Kate Galbraith
Life by the Drop: A Special Report on Drought, Water, and the Future of Texas »
TEXAS MONTHLY partnered with StateImpact Texas and KUT News to take a close look at how the state can manage a growing population amid a shrinking water supply. Listen to reports from NPR’s John Burnett, Texas state photographer Wyman Meinzer, and more audio and online reports.
July 2012
A Grain of Doubt »
For more than 75 years, rice farmers in Matagorda County and elsewhere along the Gulf have shared the waters of the Colorado River with urban residents in the Hill Country. But with city centers booming and an almost-certain drought ahead, the state is being forced to choose between a water-intensive crop and a water-intensive population.
April 2012 by Kate Galbraith
A Charred Life
Scenes from the Bastrop County Complex Fire. Images and text by Sarah Wilson
December 2011
A Q&A With Nate Blakeslee »
The senior editor on why Texas has taken the lead in fighting new EPA air pollution regulations and what will become the fuel of choice for the next generation of power plants in Texas and around the country.
December 2011 Interview by Jessica Huff
Up in the Air »
No state has defied the federal government’s environmental regulations more fiercely than Texas, and no governor has been more outspoken about the “job-killing” policies of the EPA than Rick Perry. But does that mean we can all breathe easy?
December 2011 by Nate Blakeslee
Trial by Fire »
It will be remembered as the year of smoke and devastation, as drought-fueled flames wreaked unprecedented havoc across Texas, from Bastrop County to Possum Kingdom. A photographic and oral history of the 2011 wildfires.
December 2011
Blame It on No Rain »
As the drought tightens its grip on Texas, its effects are being felt everywhere, from rivers to reservoirs to the formerly verdant lawns of Midland.
September 2011 by Kate Galbraith
A Q&A With Kate Galbraith »
The Texas Tribune reporter on writing about the drought, learning about landscaping trends in Midland, and recognizing just how precious water is.
September 2011 Interview by Abby Johnston
Rescuing Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles »
Donna Shaver on finding a nest, sleeping at the office during hatching season, and dedicating her career to saving sea turtles.
August 2011 Interview by Patricia Sharpe
For the Birds
Explore nature with Victor Emanuel as he takes a tour of Hornsby Bend, his favorite birding spot in Austin.
May 2011 Produced by Pamela Hastings
Litter Did We Know »
A tidy look back at 25 years of “Don’t Mess With Texas”— the most successful anti-littering campaign in world history.
January 2011 by Katharyn Rodemann
Pure Country
George Strait talks trash—and has a laugh or two—while filming the most recent commercial for the "Don’t Mess With Texas" public service campaign.
January 2011
Talking Trash »
More anecdotes from the "Don’t Mess With Texas” campaign.
January 2011
Coming Clean
Texas celebrities such as Lyle Lovett, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Erykah Badu, Matthew McConaughey, and Owen Wilson urge folks to stop littering in some of the early public service announcements for the "Don't Mess With Texas" campaign.
January 2011
The Ups And Downs And Ups of The National Car of Texas »
When GM declared bankruptcy last year and moved all production of large SUVs to a single plant in Arlington, it looked like the end was near for the Suburban and its brethren. Instead, they came roaring back to life.
July 2010 by S. C. Gwynne
Oil and Water »
The spill in the Gulf is just the latest in a string of catastrophic regulatory failures that prove how incompetent government is. And how important it is.
July 2010 by Paul Burka
Wild at Heart »
My mother trained me to be a naturalist in our suburban backyard, one bird call at a time.
July 2010 by Rick Bass
Brazos River »
Grass tussocks cover the frequent sandbanks, and behind them steep, thickly-wooded slopes complete the air of rustic isolation.
May 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
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