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Environmental News Update 9/29/00 COALITION NOTES West White Oak Bayou Hike and Bike Ribbon Cutting Ceremony The White Oak Bayou Association is coordinating the West White Oak Bayou Hike and Bike Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Saturday, September 30 at 10:30 a.m. at T.C. Jester Park located at 4205 T.C. Jester. The event will celebrate the opening of the T.C. Jester section of the West White Oak Bayou Hike and Bike Trail. Activities include a ribbon cutting and dedication and a bike-art parade down the trail. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Pete Little at (713) 864-3788 or Teresa Matlock at (713) 864-3008. Marsh Mania Set for October 7th On Saturday, October 7th, the Galveston Bay Foundation will host Marsh Mania, a community-based restoration event to restore marsh habitat within the Galveston Bay system, involve local communities, and promote awareness of the value of marsh habitats. Sites to be restored include Armand Bayou Nature, Galveston Island State Park, Swan Marsh at Houston Point, Omega Bay, and Texas City Prairie Preserve at Moses Lake. http://www.galvbay.org. HABA/TWTA Announce 28th Houston Moonlight Bicycle Ramble The Two Wheel Transit Authority and the Houston Area Bicyclist Alliance will host the 28th Annual Houston Moonlight Bicycle Ramble on October 15th at 2:00 a.m. in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. Participation will support bike safety education, transportation choices, on-street bikeways, new bayou trails, police and EMT bike patrols, public bicycle parking, clean air, and safe streets. The 2-hour recreational bike ride is for all abilities, offering 8- and 20-mile routes. Registration is $20 and includes the "City of Bicycles" t-shirt. http://www.bikehouston.org Volunteers Available for Environmental Projects The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston has established a Community Work Day every Second Saturday of the month. If your organization has a project for one to 10 workers that can be done between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. in the Greater Houston Area on October 14, November 11th, or December 9th, please email NanEdwards@aol.com. They are also willing to work together with other groups on larger projects. LOCAL EPA Comments on Air Quality Plan In a letter to the TNRCC, the EPA complimented the agency's efforts to clean up Houston's air, but said that the measures in the draft State Implementation Plan may not be enough to meet the nation's ozone standard. To acquire a copy of the EPA's comments, email diggs.thomas@epa.gov. City Of Houston Parks & Recreation Department (HPRD) to Host Public Meeting On Brays Bayou Project On Wednesday, October 4, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Westbury High School auditorium (not Sept. 20 or Oct. 3 as previously scheduled) at 11911 Chimney Rock, HPRD will accept public comment on a project that impacts Brays Bayou. Texas Parks & Wildlife has provided the city with a $750,000 grant for the development of 300 + acres of wildlife and aquatic habitat and passive recreation opportunities on or adjacent to the 200 to 240 acre Willow Waterhole stormwater detention facility, which is a portion of the Lower Brays Bayou §211(f) Federal Flood Control Project. For more information call Ed O'Rourke, President of Brays Bayou Association, at 713 664-4343. Power and Culture Symposium at the Houston Museum of Natural Science The first Annual Anthropology Symposium at the Houston Museum of Natural Science will be held Thursday, October 26th from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Speakers will present relevant topics on New World anthropology to members of academia and interested laymen. This year's topic, Power and Cultures, looks at how indigenous people are drawing on their cultural heritage to address contemporary issues. Areas of consideration include indigenous plant use in the rainforest, contemporary Mayan theatre, and stereotypes of Native Americans. A panel discussion will follow the presentations. Tickets are $5. (713) 639-4629 Walk to School Day The first International Walk to School Day will be held Wednesday, October 4. On October 3, Houston Mayor Lee P. Brown will announce the city's participation in the form of Safety Village, a portable basketball court-sized village for teaching kindergarten through second graders about pedestrian, personal, bus, and railroad safety, The idea is for children, parents and community leaders to walk to school together with a purpose - to promote safety, health, physical activity and concern for the environment. The ultimate goal is to create a more walkable world, community by community. Fewer than 10 percent of school children age five to 15 walk to school, and fewer than two percent bicycle. For more information on the Houston programs, http://www.walktoschool-usa.org/usa_walk/2000/2000db.htm, or contact the Trans Texas Alliance at 512-469-7905, or http://www.transtexas.org. METRO Buying New Diesel Buses METRO is in the process of purchasing 486 new diesel buses. METRO has no near-term plans to buy electric or hybrid buses. In the Los Angeles area, regulations now ban the purchase of diesel-powered buses by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other large transit operators in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. The State of California has issued regulations requiring transit operators to switch to alternatives to conventional diesel-fueled buses. Federal attention to the problem of diesel buses is increasing as well, and federal legislation has been introduced that restricts the use of federal funds for conventional diesel buses. STATE Public Offered Chance to Comment on Texas Transportation Plan The Texas Department of Transportation will host open houses across the state for public comment on the development and refinement of the Texas Transportation Plan. The plan defines policies that will guide the department during the next 25 years. The first meeting in the Houston area will be Monday, October 2, from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Magnolia Multi-Purpose Center, 7037 Capitol St. (between Wayside and 74 th Street). Citizens may also send written comments to Alvin R. Luedecke, Jr., P.E., Director, Transportation Planning and Programming Division, TxDOT,. P.O. Box 149217, Austin, TX 78714-9217. Call (713) 522-2554 for more information. Agriculture Secretary Appoints Community Gardening Coordinators Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman recently appointed at least one Community Gardening Coordinator to each state. Dr. Doug Welsh, horticulture specialist for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service who already serves as coordinator of the Texas Master Gardener program, was selected for Texas. This new appointment will allow the Agricultural Extension Service to provide information and technical assistance on site location and planning, what and when to plant, soil surveys, soil conservation, volunteer recruitment, and links with government agencies to nonprofit groups, Indian tribes, school districts, private businesses, individuals and government agencies. Those interested in community gardening efforts should contact local county Extension agents to begin the process. TNRCC Launches New Air Quality Website The Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission recently launched a new air quality web site, containing links to information on air pollutants, health effects, renewable energy, energy conservation, and transportation. Users can also subscribe to ozone forecasts and warnings from the site. http://www.CleanTexasAir.org. Quality of Life Indicators for State Available A new report by Texans for Public Justice shows how Texas measures up on 150 quality of life indicators when compared to the other 49 states. The report, "The State of the Lone Star State: How Life in Texas Measures Up," is available at http://www.tpj.org. ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION CEC Environmental News Update is a weekly publication by the Citizens' Environmental Coalition, a 501(c)3 dedicated to fostering dialogue, education and collaboration about environmental issues in the Houston-Gulf Coast Region. Visit the CEC online at www.cechouston.org. To subscribe or unsubscribe, or to suggest items for inclusion, send your request via e-mail to Sarah Doss at sarah@cechouston.org. |
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