climate crisis Archives - San Antonio Current

Construction for OpenAI’s Stargate Milam County data center in Burlington, Texas on May 4, 2026.

Texas county pauses data center construction in rural areas for a year

Hill County commissioners’ split vote to issue a moratorium appears to be a first in Texas.

by Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune May 13, 2026May 13, 2026

A rural Texas county on Tuesday approved a one-year pause on the construction of new data centers in unincorporated areas, citing public safety and public health concerns. The 3-2 vote by county commissioners in Hill County, roughly 55 miles south of Fort Worth, appears to be the first by a Texas county to issue a […]

In parched Texas, a state fund to boost water projects falls almost $3 billion short of demand

Ten water projects received initial approval to split $1.28 billion in state money this year, but 13 others didn’t make the cut — including one that may supply drought-stricken Corpus Christi.

by Colleen DeGuzman, The Texas Tribune May 9, 2026May 9, 2026

Rena Schroeder poses for a portrait on her ranch where she runs an equine learning nonprofit and cares for rescue livestock in Lott on May 4, 2026.

Texas Republicans have a data center problem

Data center construction is unpopular among locals, and a majority of the facilities are being proposed in red, rural counties. That puts Texas Republicans in a tough spot, as the White House has encouraged states to let the centers flourish.

By Taylor GoldensteinMay 7, 2026May 7, 2026

Gas flares at a Texas oil production and storage facility.

Texas lawmakers move to weaken Clean Air Act, shield fossil fuel companies from climate suits

Members of Congress in Texas and Wyoming tout the bills as protecting energy security, but critics say they’re corporate handouts that will cost taxpayers billions and harm human and environmental health.

By Jake Bolster, Inside Climate News May 7, 2026May 7, 2026

Elida Castillo, mayor of Taft, Texas, speaks at a city park on March 31.

Disaster declarations ripple through South Texas amid water crisis

Small towns around Corpus Christi worry where they’ll fall on the pecking order if the region’s water runs out.

By Dylan Baddour of Inside Climate News, Neena Satire of KUT ad Emily Salazar of KEDTApril 29, 2026April 29, 2026

Gas flares from an oilfield at sundown.

Oil tycoon funds far-right candidate challenging Texas oilfield regulator

Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright led the agency’s efforts to reform oilfield waste rules. Oil billionaires are now backing Bo French to unseat him.

by Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News April 16, 2026April 16, 2026

Gas flares at a Texas oil production and storage facility.

Senator launches investigation into methane pollution in Texas’ Permian Basin

Recent satellite monitoring revealed that actual emissions from the West Texas and southeast New Mexico basin are four times higher than official estimates.

by Phil McKenna, Inside Climate News
March 21, 2026March 21, 2026

The 40 MW Alamo is one of several solar farms in the San Antonio area already providing power to CPS Energy.

Texas Seizes the solar crown from California, and other key points from latest electricity data

Utility-scale solar soared in 2025 across the country; coal also grew, while natural gas was down.

by Dan Gearino, Inside Climate NewsMarch 13, 2026March 13, 2026

An aerial shot shows the area around Texas State Aquarium located next to Harbor Bridge and skyline of Corpus Christi Downtown in background.

News

After a decade of missteps, Corpus Christi careens toward water catastrophe

City officials expect to reach a ‘water emergency’ within months and run out of water next year. That would halt jet fuel deliveries to Texas airports, hike gas prices and trigger a local economic disaster without precedent, former officials say.

by Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News March 9, 2026March 9, 2026

Autumn trees reflecting fall colors in the clear water of the Guadalupe River.

San Antonio News

‘Disaster waiting to happen’: How the fracking boom put an oilfield in the Guadalupe River floodplain

Lack of a state floodplain policy in Texas enabled oil companies to build in areas hit by an epic inundation less than 30 years ago.

By Dylan Baddour, Peter Aldhous, Inside Climate NewsFebruary 14, 2026February 14, 2026

An oil rig pumps oil in West Texas as a wind farm creates renewable energy in the distance.

Judge rules Texas law banning state investment in firms ‘boycotting’ fossil fuels unconstitutional

The coalition that sued to overturn the law said it cost Texas ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ and ‘blacklisted reputable businesses.’

by Sanford Nowlin February 5, 2026February 5, 2026

Smoke rises from an oil refinery in Corpus Christi along the Texas coast.

Texas oil, gas and petrochem facilities emitted 1.6 million pounds of regulated pollutants during last week’s icy weather

Under Texas’ ‘enforcement discretion’ policy, companies were allowed to vent or burn off pollutants, as long as they are reported. Recent weatherization requirements for power plants did not apply to gas processing plants.

by Dylan Baddour and Peter Aldhous, Inside Climate NewsJanuary 31, 2026January 31, 2026

Gas flares from an oilfield at sundown.

The EPA is easing pollution rules under Trump. Here’s how it’s affecting Texas.

As President Trump marks one year back in office, his EPA has proposed rolling back key air and climate protections, which experts say has already begun to strain Texas’s air quality and public health.

by Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune January 21, 2026January 21, 2026

The Texas sun sets behind a group of electrical transition towers.

As data centers jostle to get on Texas’ grid, ERCOT promises new rules for ‘Batch Zero’

The group would include large power users who’ve been waiting a long time for interconnection and don’t need further study. It’s ERCOT’s first attempt at a new planning process in which multiple requests will be considered simultaneously.

by Arcelia Martin, Inside Climate News January 18, 2026January 18, 2026

Participants at the Stand Up for Science Protest Rally meet in front of San Francisco City Hall, holding signs promoting science and facts.

News

The Year in Climate: Attacks on science, start of Trump’s second term and surging electricity demand foreshadow a future filled with uncertainty

Global inaction on fossil fuel and plastic treaties, the dismantling of federal agencies and regulations and the rapid rise of data centers were just a few of the consequential stories that Inside Climate News tracked in 2025.

by Dan Gearing, Inside Climate NewsJanuary 5, 2026January 5, 2026

EPA workers and supporters protest job cuts at a rally in Chicago during the first Trump administration.

Trump’s EPA Focus: Delay, rescind, dismantle environmental and health protections

For the first time in the agency’s 55-year history, Congress has ceded its responsibility to oversee the EPA to a single politician who sanctioned its ‘wholesale demolition,’ former staff charge.

by Liza Gross, Inside Climate NewsJanuary 3, 2026January 3, 2026

An oil refinery on the Texas Gulf Coast releases pollution into the air.

Petrochemical expansion in Texas will fall heavily on communities of color, study finds

Researchers in Houston analyzed the locations of 114 proposed industrial projects related to oil and gas in Texas, most of them involved in plastics production.

by Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News December 1, 2025December 1, 2025

A construction worker takes a break in the sweltering heat.

Texas workers keep dying in the heat

Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

By Martha Pskowski and Keerti Gopal, Inside Climate NewsNovember 26, 2025November 26, 2025

A battery storage complex and substation stores energy produced by renewable sources.

Trump’s policies risk Texas’ new solar and battery projects

Two-thirds of Texas’ future solar and storage developments are at risk of delay or cancellation due to regulatory uncertainty, a report warns.

by Arcelia Martin, Inside Climate News November 22, 2025November 22, 2025

The sheer volume of energy demand from Texas data centers is creating headaches for the state's grid operator.

‘Rapid explosion’ of data centers causes planning struggles for Texas power grid

As companies look to build projects that consume more power than cities, ERCOT is trying to plan transmission.

by Arcelia Martin, Inside Climate News October 29, 2025October 29, 2025