A Thirsty Tesla Refinery Could Exacerbate Corpus Christi’s Water Crisis
Local activists warn that while residents must ration, unimpeded industrial expansion is imperiling the region’s future.
Corpus Christi
Black Residents of Corpus Christi’s Hillcrest Back in Court Over Pollution
The neighborhood has launched three lawsuits: over a sewage treatment plant, unsafe bridge construction, and now a desalination plant.
Biden Plans to Ban All New Fracking Leases on Public Land. Will He Actually Do It?
The federal Bureau of Land Management has a habit of auctioning off parcels of its land to oil and gas developments. For years, Texas cities and environmentalists have sounded the alarm about the arrangements.
Selena’s Life and Legacy in Corpus Christi
Tejano history and women’s history professor Cynthia E. Orozco spoke to the Observer about Selena’s life as a new series streams on Netflix.
As Fossil Fuel Industry Invests Billions in New Texas Facilities, it Could Unleash a Huge Emissions Bomb
A new report finds that a pipeline of new and proposed oil and gas projects—many of them in Texas—could produce half a billion tons of additional greenhouse gas emissions a year.
Trump’s USDA Lets Animal Abusers Off the Hook
A South Texas facility has been repeatedly penalized for violating animal treatment standards. Under newly loosened rules, will it and other offenders be held to account next time?
Strangest State: This Month in Gator News…
Plus: a matchmaking scam, a thief’s Beto O’Rourke cover story, and a footlong shrimp.
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The EPA Told Texas to Crack Down on Dangerous Air Emissions in 2015. The State Never Did, and Now It Won’t Have to.
Trump’s EPA rescinded a rule that would have forced Texas to close a loophole exploited by industrial polluters in 97 percent of illegal emission events.
Port of Corpus Christi Pushes Ahead with Oil Terminal Project, Environment Be Damned
As the agency courts tankers that can carry 2.2 million barrels of crude each, activists worry that the plan could spoil the habitats of the aquatic species that thrive here.
