ARTIST BOAT ECO-ART ADVENTURE – GALVESTON ISLAND STATE PARK CANOE TRIP
Date: Sat, Sep 30
Time: 2 – 6 pm
Location: west Galveston; please call for details
Fee: Trip costs are $20 if you have your own equipment (kayak or canoe, paddle, PFD). Equipment is available to rent with advance reservation for an additional $20 per person.
Pre-registration and Pre-payment required as space is limited.
Contact: Artist Boat at (409) 770-0722 or www.artistboat.org or info@artistboat.org

Complete Description:
Skill level for this trip: easy paddle
Come paddle at one of Galveston’s ecological and historical jewels. Be one with the herons and travel back in time to when the Karankawas made this their winter home. Tour natural and restored marshes in west Galveston Bay.
While exploring Galveston Bay’s tranquil habitats, you can make your own watercolor painting to reflect creatively the immense beauty, wonder and diversity of life contained in our coastal margins. Bring your own lunch and water. Don’t forget to dress for a paddling adventure.

JESSE H. JONES PARK & NATURE CENTER – PIONEER OPEN HOUSE
Date: Sat, Sep 30
Time: 1 – 4 pm
Location: Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center, 20634 Kenswick Drive, Redbud Hill Homestead
Fee: Free
Contact: (281) 446-8588

Complete Description:
Enjoy a look around the Redbud Hill Homestead and the Akokisa Indian Village.

BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP GREEN TEAM – JAPHET CREEK CLEANUP
Date: Sat, Sep 30
Time: 9 am – 12 pm
Location: Japhet Creek; please call for details
Fee: Free
Contact: Bethany Foshee at (713) 752-0314, ext. 4

WOODLANDS G.R.E.E.N. – WOODLANDS LANDSCAPING SOLUTIONS
Date: Sat, Sep 30
Time: 9 am – 12 pm
Location: 8203 Millennium Forest Drive, at Millennium Forest Garden, Community Associations of the Woodlands Parks, Recreation & Environmental Services Facility
Fee: Free
Contact: (281) 210-3900

Complete Description:
Learn about antique roses, plants for East Texas gardens, vegetable gardening, pond and garden tours, water-wide irrigation, attracting birds and butterflies to your yard, rainwater harvesting, design tips, organic gardening methods, and much more! Also have the opportunity to buy native plants, herbs, organic products, and gardening gifts. There will also be demonstrations and give-aways. Event is free; reservations are not required for this event.

HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE – BUTTERFLY GARDENING CLASS
Date: Sat, Sep 30
Time: 9 – 11 am
Location: Houston Museum of Natural Science, Cockrell Butterfly Center, please call for location
Fee: $27 for HMNS member, $30 for non-member; pre-registration required
Contact: (713) 639-4629 or www.hmns.org

Complete Description:
Fall is a great time to garden! It is cooler for both the gardener and the plants. Join Cockrell Butterfly Center staff for a hands-on butterfly gardening workshop. You will learn the best host plants for caterpillars and nectar plants for butterflies, as well as other techniques to make your garden welcoming to butterflies in the Houston area. Everyone will receive a starter plant to take home to begin their butterfly garden and a tour of the Butterfly Center.

HOUSTON AUDUBON SOCIETY GALVESTON COUNTY GROUP – SEPTEMBER FIELD TRIP – SMITH POINT HAWK WATCH
Date: Sat, Sep 30
Time: Meet at 9 am
Location: Smith Point Hawk Watch Tower
Fee: Free
Contact: Alice Anne O’Donell at (409) 772-3126

JESSE H. JONES PARK & NATURE CENTER – PONTOON BOAT TOURS
Date: Sat, Sep 30
Time: tours throughout the day; call for times and wildlife topics for each tour
Location: Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center, 20634 Kenswick Drive; call for specific meeting location for boat tour
Fee: Free; but Reservations required
Contact: (281) 446-8588

Complete Description:
Tours throughout the day. Take a leisurely tour along Spring Creek and learn about the area’s natural history and wildlife. For ages 8+. Reservations required beginning Wednesday, September 20.

Rice University Press Office

Rice University released a report Wednesday that recommends immediate action to reduce levels of four toxic air pollutants because exposure to them poses a high risk to community health. (more…)

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will hold an informational meeting on Thursday, Oct 5, to provide an overview and discussion of several components proposed for the revision of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) addressing the federal eight-hour ozone air quality standard for the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) ozone nonattainment area. (more…)

Free showings of An Inconvenient Truth will be hosted by twenty Houston area churches, of a variety of denominations, during the first week of October. (more…)

The Houston Environmental Center, 3015 Richmond, has space available for immediate occupancy. We have two office suites, each with two offices and a reception area. (more…)

Each year, through its Synergy Awards, the CEC honors individuals and groups who are working to make a difference in the Houston area. The ECOS (Environment as a Context for Opportunities in Schools) project from Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Educational Outreach is the winner of the 2006 Synergy Award for Environmental Education. (more…)

The Upper Kirby District has just completed renovating Levy Park behind the building at 3015 Richmond where the CEC offices. A dedication ceremony will be held Saturday, Sept 30, from 9 to 11 am. (more…)

The first session of Trees for Houston’s Urban ForesTree Keeper will be Tuesday, Oct 3, and the class will meet each Tuesday evening in October. (more…)

The Galveston Bay Estuary Program invites oral and poster presentations and proposals for panel sessions during its Eighth Biennial State of the Bay Symposium to be held in January 2007 in Galveston. (more…)

STUDY: URGENT ACTION NEEDED TO CUT AIR TOXICS
Houston Chronicle 9/28/06
Concentrations of some carcinogens and respiratory irritants are much higher in Houston’s air than in other major US cities, suggesting that federal and state regulations have not curbed the risk posed by toxic air contaminants locally, a study released Wednesday concluded.

BRIEF EXPOSURE TO DIRTY AIR MAY RAISE STROKE RISK
Reuters 9/25/06
NEW YORK – The risk of death due to stroke is associated with exposure to high concentrations of air pollution about two hours before death, Japanese investigators report.

ENVIROS BEMOAN EPA’S “NEW” SOOT STANDARDS
E-Emagazine.com 9/27/06
Against the recommendations of a long list of science and health organizations – not to mention two of its own scientific advisory committees – the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week it would leave in place its 1997 standards for annual exposure to particulate pollution (soot generated from coal-fired power plants, industrial facilities and vehicles), while only moderately strengthening its daily exposure soot standard.

EARTH MAY BE AT WARMEST POINT IN 1 MILLION YEARS
Reuters 9/26/06
WASHINGTON – Earth may be close to the warmest it has been in the last million years, especially in the part of the Pacific Ocean where potentially violent El Nino weather patterns are born, climate scientists reported on Monday.

JOURNAL: AGENCY BLOCKED HURRICANE REPORT
Environmental News Network 9/27/07
WASHINGTON – A government agency blocked release of a report that suggests global warming is contributing to the frequency and strength of hurricanes, the journal Nature reported Tuesday.

PROBE LOOKS INTO PLANT BLAST’S CAUSE
Houston Chronicle 9/28/06
An investigation will continue today into the cause of a window-rattling explosion at a Bayer industrial park in Baytown that left 22 workers receiving treatment for respiratory irritations or burns.

TWENTY-TWO PEOPLE TREATED FROM BAYTOWN BLAST

RABID BATS FOUND AT SCHOOL, AND IN SUGAR LAND NEIGHBORHOOD
Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster 9/26/06
A bat found recently in Sugar Land’s Glen Laurel subdivision has tested positive for rabies, according to the Sugar Land Police Department’s Animal Control Division.

BAR OWNERS SAY SMOKING BAN WOULD HIT HARD
Houston Chronicle 9/26/06
Houston bar owners packed City Council chambers Monday to voice opposition to a citywide smoking ban that would prohibit their customers from lighting up.

UH TO OFFER BIOTECH DEGREE PROGRAM
Houston Business Journal 9/21/06
The University of Houston is using a $1-million grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to develop a new biotechnology baccalaureate program.

COMPANIES PLAN BIODIESEL FACILITY FOR TC
Galveston County Daily News 9/26/06
TEXAS CITY – A Houston-based biodiesel company is looking to establish its first production plant near the Port of Texas City.

FREEPORT LNG PROJECT WINS EXPANSION APPROVAL

SIERRA CLUB LONE STAR WATER CONGRESS – WINNING THE TEXAS WATER WARS
Date: Fri, Sep 29 – Sun, Oct 1
Time: Please call for schedule of events
Location: Trinity University, San Antonio, TX; please call for directions
Fee: please call for fee
Contact: To register, contact Sheril Smith at (512) 468-2131 or sherilsmith@ev1.net

Complete Description:
The Lone Star Water Congress – Winning the Texas Water Wars Against Corporate Privatization conference will focus on promoting public water policy that ensures the sustainability of safe water supplies for the benefit of all people and natural ecosystems. Public policies that assure democratic decision-making will be emphasized to prevent domination of water policies by powerful private interests and to hold governments accountable for ensuring equitable access to water. Speakers will discuss rights-based organizing to bring about public policies that guarantee that Texas fresh water supplies are a shared legacy.
The Lone Star Water Congress is hosted by: The Sierra Club, Texas Fair Trade Coalition, Texas Water Alliance, and Trinity University.
Special guests and invited speakers are scheduled to include: Ruth Caplan, Chair of Sierra Club’s National Corporate Accountability Commitee and Water Privatization Task Force; Victoria Kaplan, National Organizer for Water for All Campaign – Food & Water Watch; Lesley Ramsey, Executive Director, Texas Fair Trade Coalition; Sheril Smith, Water Resources Chair, Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club; John Donahue, Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Trinity University; Eric Opiela, rancher, attorney, and water law specialist; Joe Nick Patoski, freelance writer; Ann Mesrobian, Chair, Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District; Jay Johnson, Texas Water Alliance; and Annalisa Peace, Executive Director, Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance; Antonia Juhasz, Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Tentative Agenda:
Friday evening, September 29 will begin with a viewing of the documentary “Thirst” followed by informal discussion and a reception hosted by Trinity University.
Saturday, September 30 – the morning will begin with a panel discussion that gives an overview of various models of water privatization, with examples in Texas, the United States and internationally, including how privatization often results in higher consumer water rates and decreased accountability to the public. This session will be followed by a Texas mapping exercise, where water privatization, marketing, bottling, and other areas of concern will be put on the Texas map. Lunch keynote speaker will be: Antonia Juhasz on Water and Public Services Privatization in the Middle East. After lunch, sessions will cover topics such as Pumping for Profit, Bottled Water, Water Marketing, How Trade Agreements Impact Local Water Services, Rule of Capture, and Rights-based Organizing, and there will be dinner in San Antonio.
Sunday, October 1 – the morning will begin with a brainstorming session on strategies to ensure that Texas waters are equitably managed. This will be followed by breakout groups that will focus on message development. The day will end with a list of Next Steps.