oil and gas

1.2 Million Oil Wells Are Buried Underneath Texas. Do You Live on Top of a Dangerous One?

Our state's homes are built above a hundred years of drilling by an industry that was never made to clean up after itself.

by Saul Elbein

Keep Reading

Who Stands Between Texas and a Fascist Railroad Commission?

by Candice Bernd

Texas Has a Water Shortage and a Water Glut. They’re the Same Problem.

by Mezabahnur Masum

Brownsville bajo la influencia

by Gaige Davila

A wind turbine above fields in the flat North Texas landscape. The Taproot and the Climate and Community Project’s report for Texs recommends increasing offshore wind farming, canceling all existing utility debt, and creating community utility boards that establish public control over energy generation.

Community-Based Climate Justice on the Gulf Coast

From Appalachia to Texas and Louisiana, new environmental justice reports highlight how our struggles are connected.

by Lylla Younes, Grist

Christopher Jones, a Black man in a ball cap and t-shirt, poses with his head to the side and down, in front a steaming oil refinery.

Over 20 Years, Texas Allowed 1 Billion Pounds Excess Emissions

Massive pollution incidents have ballooned in Texas, with an almost total lack of enforcement in response.

by Grist Staff

Plumes of black smoke rise into the sky from a massive fire at a Houston-area Shell refinery. Streams of water from firefighters are also visible while smokestacks burn off other chemicals.

Houston-area Shell Refinery Had Troubled History Before Fire

Recent “upsets” like tripped compressors, pressure loss and freezing weather resulted in thousands of pounds of illegal pollution but no fines or citations.

by Dylan Baddour

Pam Tilly, a Black woman stands on the bank of a small river in Freeport, Texas with a grassy field and a neighborhood behind her, homes which will soon be lost to the Port of Freeport.

Goodbye to a Neighborhood

The industrial takeover of Freeport’s East End, a historically Black community, is almost complete.

by Delger Erdenesanaa

The smokestacks and port terminal at Freeport LNG on the Gulf of Mexico, recently reopened after a massive explosion.

Natural Gas Terminal Reopens After Massive Explosion

Regulators say the company fixed flaws at Freeport LNG which led compressed methane to burst from a pipe and catch fire.

by Dylan Baddour and Delger Erdenesanaa

A historic photo of Houston's downtown in 1986, with two Goodyear Blimps floating over the tall skyscrapers.

A ‘Fairy Tale’ Trip to 1980s Houston

In between a trip to Scotland, Local Hero lets viewers glimpse a bygone Bayou City of 40 years ago.

by Craig Lindsey

A new bank of voltage regulators at a new community development in San Antonio. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that energy consumption will increase over the next 30 years.

The Governor’s Grid Gambit

Texas utility regulators are hawking a convoluted and costly policy for grid reliability—despite strong resistance from energy experts and even big business.

by Justin Miller

A flare goes off from a smokestack between two drilling rigs on a small hill in a West Texas oil field.

EPA Backs Down from Permian Air Pollution Crackdown

Oil sector advocates pushed hard against an ozone nonattainment designation, which would have required oilfield emissions reductions.

by Martha Pskowski and Dylan Baddour

Al Gore, wearing a suit and tie, makes an open-handed, imploring gesture as he speaks during the climate summit.

Climate Advocacy’s Elder Statesman

Al Gore talks about what’s next for the environmental movement in Texas and beyond.

by Delger Erdenesanaa

oil and gas

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