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MOVING KNOWLEDGE TO ACTION

TCN: After Endangered: Texas water and whooping cranes that winter on the Texas coastTexas Climate News
Drought’s toll on Texas’ urban forest: Up to 5.6 million trees and counting
About 5.6 million trees in cities and towns across Texas were killed by last year’s record-setting drought, the Texas Forest Service has estimated after studying before-and-after satellite imagery. This “dramatic” toll on the state’s urban forest is “a slow-moving disaster, not like a hurricane or ice storm,” lead researcher Pete Smith of the Forest Service told Texas Climate News. In an announcement of the findings of the study, which was conducted last month, Smith said the estimated number of trees claimed by the drought is only preliminary, because others continue to fall prey to its effects. “This means we may be significantly undercounting the number of trees that ultimately will succumb to the drought. That number may not be known until the end of 2012, if ever.” [continued]


Texas Climate News

Texas and carbon capture: A status report on power plants, policy and research
New federal regulations will require new coal plants to capture CO2 emissions. Will carbon-capture techniques prove to be commercially viable? Various efforts in Texas may help answer that question.

Wind-power roundup: Texas still in the forefront, but potential problems loom
By various recent measures and indications, Texas still ranks as a leader in generating and buying wind power. But troubles may lie ahead, including the loss of an important federal tax incentive.

Ranking of metro areas illustrates Texas efforts to boost energy efficiency
Texas is a legendary producer and consumer of energy, but recent developments continue to illustrate how Texans – more fitfully than some advocates would prefer – are also embracing energy saving through efficiency measures.

New polls find increasing support for view that global climate is warming
After slumping, public agreement that global warming is happening is on the upswing, two recent polls found. A third study concluded economic woes were likely the main reason for increased climate-change skepticism in recent years.

UK scientist’s talk is a reminder of conservatives’ disparate climate views
Houston remarks by the chief scientist of Britain's Met Office regarding attitudes and actions of that nation's Conservative-led government underscored the stark differences between the U.K.'s Tories and U.S. Republicans.

Water cutoff to rice farmers typifies contentious issues confronting Texas
"We enter this spring with our water supply conditions in a much more vulnerable state than they were at this time last year," one speaker warned recently at a UT water forum, "Texas Drought 2012: Are We Prepared?"

Prospect of continued drought bodes ill for Texas trees
Texas red oaks are susceptible to drought, while live oaks and white oaks require less water, the Texas Forest Service says. It lists native trees such as pecans, cedar elms and bur oaks as well adapted to drought. A report by Ari Phillips of Reporting Texas.

Vulnerable to climate disruption, Lubbock seeks a sustainable water supply
Climate change is projected to bring hotter, drier conditions to the West Texas city, where plans to provide enough water focus on greater conservation, diversifying resources and more water reuse. Writer Michael Haederle reports for TCN.

Drought’s toll on Texas’ urban forest: Up to 5.6 million trees and counting
The Texas Forest Service estimates dry conditions have claimed up to a tenth of the trees in the state's cities and towns so far. The finding accords with the agency's earlier estimate of drought-killed trees outside urban areas.

Climate activists’ Valentine-themed campaigns have Texas connections
A religious coalition organized its third annual National Preach-In on Global Warming. Meanwhile, another organization launched a social-media campaign to lend moral support to climate scientists barraged by hate mail.
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