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Environmental News Update 3/2/01 COALITION NOTES GHASP Wins Forestry Award The Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention will receive a 2001 National Arbor Day Public Education Award for their publication Trees and Our Air: The Role of Trees in Houston-Area Air Pollution. The annual Arbor Day Awards, sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation each April, honor leaders in tree planting, conservation, and environmental stewardship from around the country. http://www.arborday.org/programs/Awards.html Connecting the Visions Conference on TV The Connecting the Visions conference, hosted by the Gulf Coast Institute, the Greater Houston Community Foundation, and the Center for Houston's Future on February 7, will be shown on the Municipal Channel (Channel 16 on Warner cable) this Sunday, March 4, four times: 2:18 a.m., 8:18 a.m., 2:18 p.m., and 8:18 p.m. http://www.livablehouston.org HART Protests Rodeo 2001 The Houston Animal Right Team (HART) has been hosting demonstrations each weekend day of Rodeo Houston 2001 to protest cruelty to rodeo animals. Two more rodeo protests will be held on March 3rd and 4th. Participants will meet at University of St. Thomas at about 2:00 p.m. The actual protests will start at about 3:00 p.m. on the corner of Fannin and Holly Hall (the bus entrance on the east side of the astrodome). HART is a strictly nonviolent group committed to peaceful means of social change and will obey all relevant laws and regulations during the protest. HART is also trying to discourage the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi from keeping captive dolphins. Scientific research shows that confining dolphins is severely harmful to their mental and physical health, according to HART. For more information, visit http://www.houstonanimalrights.com or call 713-294-HOPE. LOCAL Ozone Attainment Meeting to be Held The Texas Association of Environmental Professionals (TAEP) and the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) are hosting a lunch meeting on Ozone Attainment Issues in the Houston-Galveston Area on Thursday, March 22 at Brady's Landing restaurant, 8505 Cypress Street off of Broadway near the Houston Ship Channel. Greg Cooke, EPA Regional Administrator, will speak. Tickets cost $20 for TAEP and WEAT members, and $25 for others; reservations required. Call 713-629-9119, email HoustonTAEP@aol.com, or visit http://www.taep.org for more information. STATE Nearly 100 Lobby in Austin Close to 100 people converged on the capitol Monday, February 26 for the Alliance for a Clean Texas (ACT) environmental lobbying day. Participants met with every member of the Senate, the House Environmental Regulations and House Natural Resources committees, and many other Representatives. People from every geographic region of Texas lobbied for clean air, TNRCC reform, protection of water flows, funding for parks and wildlife conservation, fee cap removals, and no privatization of radioactive waste dumping. The ACT position papers concerning these issues are available at http://www.sierraclub.org/chapters/tx. Brownfields Conference Public Technology, Inc. will present the Local Government Brownfield Technology Summit on March 6-7 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth. The goal of this two-day summit is to introduce and discuss, in a non-technical format, what technologies are available for brownfield clean-up and how these technologies can save time and money for local governments. The summit will also further public/private partnerships and increase the use of proven technologies within the following common problem areas: dry cleaners; railroads, rail yards, and maintenance facilities; gas stations; municipal landfills; and manufactured gas plants. http://www.brownfieldstech.org Join Clean Texas The Clean Texas Program is a statewide voluntary environmental leadership program to protect air, water, and land. Membership is open to industries, businesses, cities, counties, schools, universities, military bases, nonprofit groups, and other organizations that commit to improving the environment. Benefits of membership include a bimonthly newsletter, recognition in the newsletter and at the annual Clean Texas conference, technical assistance from TNRCC, and networking opportunities. Visit http://www.CleanTexas.org for more information and a membership application. NATIONAL Supreme Court Rules on Air Quality Standards On February 27, the Supreme Court released a complicated ruling on the newest air quality standards created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In a unanimous ruling, the justices upheld the way the federal government sets clean-air standards, rejecting industry arguments that officials must balance compliance costs against the health benefits of cleaner air. The court also said that the EPA did not take too much lawmaking power from Congress when it set tougher air quality standards for ozone and soot in 1997. However, the EPA's policy for implementing the new ozone rule was declared unlawful. The court rejected the EPA's plan for applying the standard in regions of the country that have not yet met the previous ozone standard, including Houston. They sent the ozone standard back to the agency for a new implementation plan. Further delays in putting the new standard into effect are highly likely. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/835199 EPA will Uphold New Diesel Regulations The Bush administration will enforce rather than challenge rules issued in the waning days of the Clinton presidency that go after diesel trucks and buses as a source of dirty air, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman said Wednesday. The regulations require new diesel fuel formulations and cleaner engines to reduce tailpipe pollutants over the next decade. http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/03/03012001/ap_diesel_42304.asp, http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/front/836744 CARA Lives U.S. Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) has reintroduced the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), H.R. 701. The bill would direct $3.1 billion per year from the outer continental shelf oil and gas receipts to a variety of conservation programs. H.R. 701 would fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million. Coastal states would receive $1 billion for shoreline restoration. The bill would also earmark $350 million for wildlife conservation and restoration; $125 million for Urban Park and Recreation Recovery programs; $150 million for the Historic Preservation Fund; $200 million for federal and Indian lands restoration; and $50 million for endangered and threatened species recovery. PBS Special on the Chemical Industry On Monday, March 26 at 9:00 p.m., Bill Moyers will present a 2-hour investigative report on the chemical industry on PBS. Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report uncovers how our health and safety have been put at risk and why powerful forces don't want the truth to be known. http://www.pbs.org/insidepbs/news/newprogs0101.html GREEN GRANTS Trail Grants Available Texas Parks and Wildlife's Recreational Trails Program is offering grant money to repair or build trails. For details or an application packet, contact Andy Goldbloom at 512-389-4737 or andy.goldbloom@tpwe.state.tx.us. 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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