Top 10 - The Austin Chronicle

NEWStOp 10s continued from p.14Top 10 Environmental Storiesb y aMy sMith1) What CliMate Change? Extremeweather patterns gathered momentum acrossthe country, including Texas: home of adecreasing water supply and a shrinking numberof livestock, plants, birds, and other species.Against this backdrop, Texas won a legalbattle with the ePa over the state’s rather laxair quality control rules affecting the industrialplants that contribute to global warming.2) WtP4 rising Austin’s costliest and mostcontentious public works project in recenthistory added another chapter to its torridtimeline – this one including a lot of handwringingover construction cost overruns,staff memory lapses on who knew whatwhen, and City Council’s expressed shockover the facility’s bloated price tag.3) 20 years oF sos In August, local envirosand politicos celebrated the 20th anniversaryof voters’ overwhelming approval of anordinance limiting development over theBarton springs segment of the edwardsaqui fer. The year also marked the 20thbirthday of the sos alliance, the coalitionthat led that 1992 campaign.4) sierra CluB shuFFle Former regionalEPA Director al armendariz, who resignedfrom his federal post after howls of protestsover his stance on polluters (he’s agin ’em),joined the Lone Star Chapter of the sierraClub to head up its statewide Beyond CoalCampaign. Meanwhile, Sierra Club stalwartken kramer retired as director of the stategroup after 30 years.5) BloCk that seWage City Council rejecteda proposed settlement that may havecleared a path for development groupJeremiah venture lP to obtain a state permitto irrigate treated sewage in the rechargezone of the Barton springs edwardsaquifer. The city and Jeremiah are expectedto square off in a contested case hearing in2013, barring another postponement.bag-ban supporters (l-r)audrey cravotta, Jaredfurr, chris yardy, and MikeKoscielak, outside cityhall on March 1, 20126) Bag the Bags Council passed a ban onsingle-use plastic and paper bags, withthe new ordinance set to take effect inMarch. Recycled paper bags can be used,as well as other bags durable enough for100 uses.7) FraCking inFraCtions University ofTexas professor Charles groat, whose widelypublicized research report found no evidenceof connections between ground watercontamination and hydraulic fracturing,was forced into retirement after failing to disclosethat he holds stock and sits on theboard of a Houston-based fracking company.8) Barton sPrings Pool redo A proposedmakeover of the iconic pool’s southentrance deeply divided a community ofdevoted swimmers, with one camp pushingfor an upgrade and another wanting to keepits no-frills look. Council will likely be equallydivided when it considers the issue in thenew year.9) Fayette’s Foggy Fate Austin Energy’sproposal to sell its share of the coal-burningFayette Power Project and replace it withpower from natural gas plants didn’t win overanti-coal activists, who argue such a movewould only increase overall carbon dioxideemissions. How the Council will honor itscommitment to eliminate coal from the utility’sportfolio remains uncertain.10) Margret hoFMann, r.i.P. Austin lostone of its greatest treasures with the passingof the former City Council member chieflyresponsible for the 1983 passage of Austin’sfirst tree ordinance, which was designed toensure the protection of many of the city’soldest leafy inhabitants. The fight for treepreservation continues as redevelopmentplans for the former green Water treatmentPlant site call for the removal of seven protectedtrees.j a n a b i r c h u m16 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 4, 2013 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m