North Texas

The text provides eco-friendly ideas for fall gatherings, emphasizing the use of paperless invitations, sustainable decorations, and reusable or compostable dinnerware. It suggests natural party venues and green games, encourages meatless dining, and highlights local, eco-conscious products.

Batteries supplied a record 2,172 megawatts of electricity to the Texas grid, meeting high demand amid emergency conditions. Battery storage is expanding rapidly, aided by decreasing costs and federal incentives, and is crucial as Texas transitions to renewable energy, despite legislative challenges and exclusion from certain tax benefits.

Nominations for the 12th annual Green Source DFW Sustainable Leadership Awards, hosted by Green Source DFW and the Memnosyne Institute, are open until Oct. 15, 2023. The public can nominate in eight categories, with winners selected by a panel of judges.

Doug Tallamy, on the Texas Green Report podcast, emphasizes individual responsibility for maintaining ecosystems, highlighting the need for properties to support pollinators, food webs, carbon sequestration, and water management. He advocates planting native species, reducing lawn areas, and coexisting with nature to combat biodiversity and climate crises.

A group in Denton, including a UNT instructor and her students, works to relocate black-tailed jackrabbits. As the city expands, these hares face habitat loss. They aim to transport the jackrabbits to a more suitable area, preventing their decline due to urbanization and increasing genetic diversity.

Four 60-year-old live oaks were relocated to an Addison park by AMLI, a developer building a mixed-use community aiming for LEED Silver certification. Environmental Design executed the move using ArborLift technology to preserve the trees, part of a sustainability effort that includes planting 350 new trees.

Texas starts imposing a $200 annual fee on electric vehicle (EV) drivers as of today, arguing they should contribute to road infrastructure. This decision, backed by Senate Bill 505, has sparked debate over its fairness and potential barriers to EV adoption, especially among low-income Texans.

On a hot day at Sheri Capehart Nature Preserve in Arlington, dragonflies performed acrobatics, highlighting their role as natural pest control, consuming hundreds of mosquitos daily. Despite being resilient, habitat destruction, climate change, and pollutants threaten their survival, emphasizing the need for wetland preservation.

Tarrant County joined the Texas Solar for All Consortium, reversing a previous rejection, after efforts by Commissioner Alisa Simmons. The coalition seeks federal funds for solar projects aiding low-income residents. Despite some public opposition, a 3-1 vote favored joining, aiming to enhance Tarrant County's economic and environmental profile.

Texas is advancing the discharge of produced water from oil and gas drilling into waterways, despite lacking comprehensive risk assessments and regulation for all contaminants. Researchers express concerns over potential health and environmental impacts, emphasizing the need for more scientific data before proceeding with permits for this unproven practice.