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Environment
Watershed Protection Department seeks to fill gaps in city regulation for creekside health
The Watershed Protection Department recently discovered two pieces of regulation missing from Austin’s land use code that could aid and restore the health of the city’s many creeks. Ana Gonzalez, a senior environmental scientist with the department, presented the issue at…
Environment • By Savana Dunning • Oct 9, 2020
PARD contends with homeless encampments during pandemic with limited resources
With nearly 300 parks and 17,409 acres of property to oversee, Wes Bickham, an environmental coordinator with the Parks and Recreation Department, has a lot of ground to cover in his work finding alternative solutions for people experiencing homelessness who…
Parks • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 29, 2020
Parks board pushes against long-term reservation program for parks
Every year when the weather warms up, the city’s parks and greenbelts fill up. This year, that trend has been amplified by the pandemic as Austinites flock to city parks, causing some of the most popular outdoor spaces to hit…
Parks • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 25, 2020
Combating climate change in Austin to start at Austin Energy
As the Office of Sustainability’s newly revised Climate Equity Plan makes its way through boards and commissions for public comment, its latest stop was the Electric Utility Commission on Sept. 14. Zach Baumer, who is the program manager for the…
Energy • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 17, 2020
Commissioners identify reliance on electric vehicles as weakness in revised Climate Equity Plan
Transportation is the main driver of local air pollution and is on its way to becoming the single greatest source of greenhouse gases in Austin. Though the city and Capital Area Metropolitan Transportation Authority are taking steps to electrify their…
Environment • By Ryan Thornton • Sep 15, 2020
The Office of Sustainability releases draft Climate Equity Plan
The Sustainability Office released its new revised Climate Equity Plan for public comment Wednesday, with hopes to submit the plan to City Council in October. The 97-page document, which is available through the city’s engagement portal, outlines the Sustainability Office’s…
Environment • By Savana Dunning • Sep 4, 2020
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Municipal golf courses to phase out BYOB policy, negotiating concession vendor contracts
The Parks and Recreation Department announced it will be eliminating its bring-your-own-beer policy for municipally run golf courses, starting Oct. 1. PARD’s Golf ATX Division quietly updated its website and Twitter on Aug. 21 with a public notice informing golfers…
Parks • By Savana Dunning • Sep 3, 2020
Council won't vote on Walter E. Long Park plan now
Despite the fact that the vision plan for the nearly 3,700-acre Walter E. Long Park has been in the works for years and has won approval from both the Parks and Recreation Board and the Environmental Commission, a majority of…
Parks • By Jo Clifton • Sep 2, 2020
City could store three Lake Austins' worth of water underground by 2040
Austin gets all of its water from the Highland Lakes, but that might not always be the case. The city recently took a first step toward storing massive amounts of water underground. If the plan works, it could help Austin…
Water • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Aug 31, 2020
Tesla urged to use water-saving measures
As Tesla speeds ahead with converting an old sand and gravel mining site in eastern Travis County into a manufacturing facility for its Cybertruck and Model Y SUV, City Council members have begun asking questions about how much water the…
Water • By Jo Clifton • Aug 21, 2020
City to consider Walter Long park vision, while county moves ahead with expo center plans
City Council will consider and possibly adopt the vision plan for Walter E. Long Metro Park later this month, more than a year after the plan was recommended for adoption by the Parks and Recreation Board. A memo late last…
Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 21, 2020
Austin Energy price on coal energy reduces emissions 20 percent since March
In a little over four months, Austin Energy’s carbon pricing program, REACH (Reduce Emissions Affordably for Climate Health) has cut the utility’s carbon emissions by roughly 20 percent, saving more than 480,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere since the…
