Thumbs up, down
Oil and gas industry serious about climate; Woodlands NIMBYism ejects esports team.
We took our Chevy Volt on a joy ride when we heard the Texas Oil and Gas Association president acknowledge that man-made climate change is real and the industry is committed to doing something about it. Todd Staples, a former Republican agriculture commissioner and senator, told reporters in a conference call that “I think Texas is at risk if we don’t have a very real, factual-based conversation about our climate, about our environment and about the progress that needs to be made.” Bravo! And only 40 years after Exxon discovered the harm of carbon emissions and began spending millions to hide it. But Staples took the wind out of our turbines when he backtracked a tad on the Texas Standard, saying reporters took “literary license” with his words and that the term climate change has been “hijacked” to foment “climate hysteria and climate confusion.” Ain’t nothing literary about a direct quote easily verified on tape. He stayed true to his words that industry is serious about climate progress, including technologies that capture carbon and detect leaks. Hey, this is Texas. We take progress where we can get it. Turns out that residents of The Woodlands don’t cotton to a certain professional team training in the neighborhood. We’re not talking about an NBA or NFL team. We’re talking professional video game players. The Houston Outlaws, an Overwatch League e-sports team, was effectively kicked out of the home they’d rented in the tony West Isle subdivision. The Outlaws, one of 20 international squads that compete in the team-based multiplayer firstperson shooter video game “Overwatch,” planned to live and train for the upcoming season inside a home in The Woodlands. Neighbors were not happy, telling KPRC they were concerned with traffic, noise and property values. Even if you are still wondering what “e-sports” is, you likely have heard of NIMBYism. In since-deleted tweets, Outlaws general manager Matt “Flame” Rodriguez summed up the situation as “Boomers: 1, Outlaws: 0.” The team has since secured other accommodations and is working with the town to find office space, Rodriguez wrote. No offense to the Outlaws, but if they can’t take on The Woodlands neighbors how do they expect to beat the Shanghai Dragons? Speaking of video games, all that practice saving the world and assorted princesses came in handy for a young Texas woman recently. Dia Lathora, 20, was playing and voice chatting online with 17-year-old Aidan Jackson, who was 5,000 miles away in England, when the teen had a seizure. Faster than you can say Sonic the Hedgehog, Lathora sprang into action. “When he didn’t respond I instantly started to look up the emergency number for the EU,” she told the Liverpool Echo. She knew her friend’s address but not his home number (Gen Z, right?), so Jackson’s parents didn’t find out what was happening to their son until rescue personnel knocked on their door. “We are extremely thankful for what Dia did,” Caroline Jackson told the BBC. “I've spoken to her and expressed our thanks.” Kudos to this virtual hero turned reallife savior.
Drug running? Illegal border crossings? You can argue what is the No. 1 problem facing U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Texas, but for agents in Kingsville, about 45 miles southwest of Corpus Christi, the biggest problem is No. 2. About 300 vultures are roosting and nesting in a 320-foot fixed radio tower, and they’ve… ah… how do we put this delicately? Taken to defecating and vomiting onto the buildings below and have covered the tower in their excretions. Not only is there no Glade plug-in that can mask the aftermath of feasting on carrion cuisine, but vulture vomit is corrosive and is slowly eating away at the metal. The government has put out a call for help against these feathered feces factories and is seeking information on a vulture deterrence netting system. Before you go asking why the armed agents haven’t taken a more “direct” approach against these party poopers, note that the scavengers are an important part of the ecosystem and are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The vultures have yet to respond to a request for comment.