"In and around Texas’ vast oil and gas fields, the hydraulic fracturing boom is putting a strain on water supplies already reeling under one of the worst droughts in the state’s history."
"SILVER CITY, N.M. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will propose increased recovery territory for Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico and will drop plans to capture wolves entering these two states from Mexico, under two agreements reached [Monday] between the agency and the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity."
"Ronald Gertson usually plants about 3,000 acres of rice each year on his family farm in Wharton County, Texas. But because of emergency water regulations set in 2012 due to central Texas' painfully persistent drought, Gertson could plant about 40 percent of that land."
"SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- To address thousands of raw sewage discharges in violation of the Clean Water Act, the San Antonio Water System has agreed to a $1.1 billion upgrade to its infrastructure and will pay a $2.6 million civil penalty."
"Royal Dutch Shell Plc has agreed to cut pollution at its joint-venture 327,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in the Houston suburb of Deer Park, Texas, according to an announcement on Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."
"If you doubt that climate change is transforming the American landscape, go to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sweltering temperatures there have broken records this summer, and a seemingly permanent orange haze of smoke hangs in the air from multiple wildfires."
"As the community grieved the loss of 19 firefighters who died Sunday fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire, the deadly blaze continued to rage out of control. As of 9:30 p.m. Monday, it had grown to 8,400 acres and remained zero percent contained. About 500 firefighters were battling the blaze, with more expected to join Tuesday."
"YARNELL, Ariz. -- Gusty, hot winds blew an Arizona blaze out of control Sunday in a forest northwest of Phoenix, overtaking and killing 19 members of an elite fire crew in the deadliest wildfire involving firefighters in the U.S. for at least 30 years."
"A potentially deadly heat wave is expected to bear down on some Arizona and California desert areas in the next few days, forecasters said on Wednesday."
"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A furious wildfire torching through the mountains of southern New Mexico's Gila National Forest has grown to 127 square miles, forcing some ranchers to ship their cattle out of state as the blaze burns through entire grazing areas."
