Tag: news

LUBBOCK, Texas — Many Texas counties, like Abilene and San Angelo, have not had access to water throughout this cold weather, but Lubbock’s water department is working hard to make sure it keeps flowing to your homes even if the power goes out.

“We have both the power grid and the emergency generator capacity to make sure that we keep water flowing into your homes,” said Aubrey Spear, Director of Lubbock Water Utilities.

The city has switched to backup generators, which run on diesel, to ensure that even if the power goes out, the city would still have running water. When there were reports of possible blackouts, they took steps to make sure what happened to other Texas counties did not happen to them.

“We went ahead and proactively took most all of our water treatment and wastewater treatment plants and pump stations off the power grid,” said Spear.

Read the full article on everythinglubbock.com, published February 16, 2021.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas Parks and Wildlife are asking the public to help them track bats sick with a disease called white-nose syndrome.

It’s caused by a fungus that originated in the northeast and is now spreading to Texas. White-nose syndrome has already been found in 18 Texas counties – even Childress.

Parks and Wildlife have asked the public to report any bats acting oddly during the day time or appearing to be dead on the ground.

Fortunately, the disease cannot spread to humans, but bats can carry several viruses, so it is important that if you see a bat acting odd–you do not touch it, you report it to animal control and email wns@tpwd.texas.gov.

“As this pathogen is moving west, we need to know we need to get a better idea what species are susceptible,” said Richard Stevens, Bat Specialist and Professor of Natural Resources Management at Texas Tech.

During cold weather, white-nose syndrome is likely to spread even more.

Read the full article on everythinglubbock.com, published February 11, 2021.

LUBBOCK, Texas — As the Biden administration pushes to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050, a lot of growth is expected in the renewable energy industry in West Texas.

However, there are some changes anticipated for the oil industry, although they will not happen overnight.

“Wind power has also been hugely beneficial for our state’s economy. There are an estimated 25,000 people in Texas that work in the wind industry,” said Luke Metzger, the Executive Director for Environment Texas, a nonprofit that combats climate change and advocates for the environment.

To meet the ambitious goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Metzger said it would take a lot of work.

Read the full article on everythinglubbock.com, published February 2, 2021.