Reports

Report | Environment Texas

Corporate Agribusinesses and America's Waterways

Pollution from agribusiness is responsible for some of America’s most intractable water quality problems – including the “dead zones” in the Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico and Lake Erie, and the pollution of countless streams and lakes with nutrients, bacteria, sediment and pesticides. 

Farming is not an inherently polluting activity. But today’s agribusiness practices – from the concentration of thousands of animals and their waste in small feedlots to the massive planting of chemical-intensive crops such as corn – make water pollution from agribusiness both much more likely and much more dangerous.

The shift to massive corporate agribusiness operations is no accident. It is largely the result of decisions made in the boardrooms of some of the world’s largest corporations. When it comes to agricultural pollution of America’s waterways, therefore, the problem begins at the top. Major agribusiness firms are directly or indirectly responsible for the degradation of many American waterways, and must be held accountable for stopping that pollution and cleaning up the mess.

Report | Environment Texas

Gobbling Less Gas for Thanksgiving

America’s dependence on oil puts our environment, economy, and national security at risk.  Whether it is the scars left by the oil spill disaster in the Gulf, the $1 billion that American families and businesses send overseas every day for oil, or the nearly 2 billion metric tons of global warming pollution that pollute our air each year, these problems demand that we break our dependence on oil.

Report | Environment Texas

On the Right Track: DART Rail Saves Energy and Protects the Enviroment

Each year, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Rail System saves area travelers about 8.8 million gallons of gasoline -­ the same amount of fuel consumed by more than 15,000 cars annually.

Report | Environment Texas

Analysis of Energy Savings and Incremental Construction Costs for New Single Family Homes in Houston, TX under the 2012 IECC

EECC has conducted a preliminary analysis of the energy savings and incremental construction costs associated with the possible adoption of the 2012 IECC for new, 2,400 square foot single family homes in Houston, TX. This analysis specifically aims to calculate the impact of the latest energy code compared to the city’s current code, the 2006 IECC + 15 percent.

Report | Environment Texas

Global Warming and Extreme Weather

Patterns of extreme weather are changing in the United States, and climate science predicts that further changes are in store. Extreme weather events lead to billions of dollars in economic damage and loss of life each year. Scientists project that global warming could affect the frequency, timing, location and severity of many types of extreme weather events in the decades to come.

 

Over the last five years, science has continued to make progress in exploring the connections between global warming and extreme weather. Meanwhile, the United States has experienced a string of extreme events – including massive floods in the Midwest, Tennessee and Northeast, intense hurricanes in Florida and along the Gulf Coast, drought and wildfire in the Southeast and Southwest, and others – that serve as a reminder of the damage that extreme weather can cause to people, the economy and the environment.

 

This report reviews recent trends in several types of extreme weather, the impacts caused by notable events that have occurred since 2005, and the most recent scientific projections of future changes in extreme weather.

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