One look, one visit, one experience is all it takes to hook people on Austin and the Hill Country. Hundreds of people move here every day, but there's a price for all of this progress. “People move to the Hill Country because it is such a unique and special place," said Frank Davis. "When you think of the Hill Country you think of nature, trees, swimming holes. Between 1997 and 2007 Texas lost over 1.1 million acres of agricultural lands.…
On September 21st, conservation leaders from across the Texas Hill Country met at Camp Lucy in Dripping Springs for the Hill Country Alliance’s Annual Leadership Summit. The event theme, From Local to Regional: The Shared Story of the Texas Hill Country, brought together more than 190 participants to learn about conservation strategies such as collaboration and story-telling to solve complex natural resource problems. Jim Blackburn, president of the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA), kicked off the summit by highlighting…
A lack of information on a proposed $30 million bridge that could span the Blanco River in Kyle led officials to question placing the project on the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (CAMPO) 2040 plan. However, Kyle Mayor Todd Webster said the project, which he claimed was mistakenly placed on a list for CAMPO funding, is still at least a decade to 15 years from construction. The project involves the proposed Blanco-Nance Bridge, which is a multi-lane bridge that would…
A new source of vast amounts of renewable energy – the evaporation of water – has been discovered by scientists. Writing in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at Columbia University estimated that lakes in the US could generate 325 gigawatts of power, equivalent to about 70 per cent of the country’s total electricity generation. While they cautioned that the devices capable of turning water evaporation into electricity were still being developed, the scientists said their new analysis showed the enormous potential...…
The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) recently released their 11th Texas Hill Country Calendar. Once again, the HCA calendar pairs stunning imagery of incredible Hill Country scenes with important messages about why we must actively work to protect and preserve all that we know and love about this region. The calendar addresses issues including water quality, land conservation, transportation, and efforts to protect the night sky. The goal of the calendar is to inspire people to learn more and become involved…
"Now as cities wrestle with the reality of more intense storms, more flooding, and more water to manage, low-impact development is earning renewed recognition as an essential mechanism to help them become more resilient. It’s emblematic of a broader philosophical shift in how architects, engineers, and planners think about water: as a resource to live with, instead of pushing away. And as Houston begins to recover, experts are pushing for the city–and others–to adopt the same ethos." Read more from fastcodesign.com
Does a river — or a plant, or a forest — have rights? This is the essential question in what attorneys are calling a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit, in which a Denver lawyer and a far-left environmental group are asking a judge to recognize the Colorado River as a person. If successful, it could upend environmental law, possibly allowing the redwood forests, the Rocky Mountains or the deserts of Nevada to sue individuals, corporations and governments over resource pollution or depletion.…
In her 2013 book, Big, Hot Cheap and Right, journalist Erica Greider observes that Texas is an idiosyncratic place that regularly surprises. The state is famous as the capital of the U.S. oil industry and for a pugnacious hostility to regulation and environmental protection. However, Texas is also the nation’s largest wind power producer—in fact, its wind generation capacity more than triples second place Iowa. Over 10 percent of the state’s electricity comes from wind—the highest percentage of any state. And the…
Since 2007, urban areas have been home to more than half the global population—a proportion that is expected to rise. Growing cities are putting pressure on the lakes and rivers on which they depend for water. But the needs of nature don't have to be in conflict with human needs. By funding conservation projects upstream, cities around the world are finding that they can protect the natural environment and ensure they have clean, reliable water supplies. The approach starts with addressing…
A former mayoral candidate and active citizen in San Marcos said he is “seriously considering” running for Hays County Judge Bert Cobb’s seat as a Democrat in 2018. “After speaking with leaders from the Democratic Party countywide and prominent Republicans in our region, we see the need for a fresh perspective in our county government,” Ruben Becerra said Friday... Read more from Community Impact