Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

"An Arizona utility commissioner is asking for all the key players in a debate over a solar energy policy in the state to reveal any additional secret funding of nonprofits or public relations campaigns. The probe comes after Arizona Public Service, the state's largest utility, admitted last week that it had been secretly contributing to outside nonprofits running negative ads against solar power."

"Authorities in Texas confirmed about 400 barrels of crude oil spilled near Austin from a pipeline owned by Koch Pipeline Co."

"There's one easy way to find out how bad the water quality is in the Rio Grande: get into a kayak."

"Activists in Texas are connecting the fight against the Keystone pipeline with the struggle for environmental justice."

"Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, a state by its politicians. According to a study conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, 70 percent of Texans accept that global warming is taking place."

"KARNES CITY, Texas -- In the five years since the shale boom hit, the once-beautiful hills of south Texas have been transformed into a scarred, industrial landscape. The residents’ health is part of the collateral damage, according to the environmental watchdog group Earthworks. Their new study documents hazardous chemicals in the air and serious ailments reported by families living in close proximity to drilling operations."

"Fire consumed a chemical plant west of Oklahoma City overnight Thursday, forcing evacuations but causing no injuries and leaving surrounding areas unscathed, officials said."

"Texas oil and gas officials are once again investigating whether gas drilling contaminated water wells in a neighborhood west of Fort Worth where similar charges gained national attention nearly three years ago."

"As Texas’ rivers run dry and lakes fall to record low levels, part of the fight over water supplies is moving underground."

"Communal watercourses called acequias, some of which date to the 1600s, connect people to their land, neighbors and ancestors. But as the channels dry up, farmers consider more efficient irrigation."