NEWS & INFORMATION
A West Texas Roadmap for Mitigating the Impacts of Energy Development
If Americans are going to make a dent in reducing carbon emissions — and polling suggests they want to — they are going to have to grapple with the tradeoffs required. An effort in West Texas offers a roadmap for helping people work through the issues.
The Future of Renewable Energy is Playing Out in West Texas
In West Texas, a team of scientists and outreach professionals brought together private landowners, elected officials, energy companies, community members and others to develop a blueprint for producing energy while preserving the conservation values important to rural communities.
Projected Landscape Impacts from Oil and Gas Development Scenarios in Permian Basin, USA
Projecting landscape impacts from energy development is essential to land management decisions. The authors forecast landscape alteration resulting from oil and gas well-pad construction across Permian Basin by projecting current landscape trends through 2050.
Opportunity in Adversity: A New Approach to Energy in Texas
Optimism in West Texas is in short supply these days. But a look back at our recent history of energy booms and busts reveals a lesson in finding opportunity through adversity – and a possible path forward through difficult times.
Big Bend Residents Work to Engage With Energy Producers Before Development Happens
Oil and gas production dominates further north, but solar and wind farms are likely to be more common in the Big Bend area.
West Texas Talk: Marilu Hastings and Dr. Michael Young on Respect Big Bend
Marilu Hastings is the vice president of sustainability programs for the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation — the primary funder of the Respect Big Bend initiative. She discusses the impetus for helping start the initiative.
Dr. Michael Young is a scientist with the Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin. He’s been working with a team to study energy projections in Far West Texas.
Energy Development Projections in the Big Bend Region
Michael Young, PhD of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin made this presentation at The Big Bend Seminar Series on Energy Development at the Espino Conference Center at Sul Ross State University in Alpine Texas on January 15, 2020. Per Dr. Young, the projections cited should be considered preliminary an subject to change.
Wind Farms Invade Remote Devils River
Turbines bring clean energy, but they’ve fundamentally changed people’s view of this pristine corner of West Texas.
“Energy Sprawl” Threatens Texas’ Wide-Open Spaces
The landscapes of West Texas, like much of the western United States, are iconic — home to working cowboys, open spaces and some of the most intact landscapes remaining on the North American continent. As domestic and international energy usage continues to rise, this region has become the center for America’s energy future. At the same time, will local communities have a say in the fate of their land?
On His 100th Birthday, George Mitchell Would Have Been Astounded by What His Fracking Technology has Wrought
Texas is the only energy-producing state without systematic laws, regulations or incentives to protect land resources and surface owners from damages caused by energy development.