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Environmental News Update 3/29/02 COALITION NOTES Earth Day in the Woodlands The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N. and The Community Associations of The Woodlands have organized The Woodlands Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 6, from 10:00-2:00 at Grogan's Mill Village Center in The Woodlands. More than 50 non-profit organizations, schools, agencies, and earth-friendly businesses will present environmental information, tips and hands-on activities. Enjoy legends from native cultures in a 23-foot tipi, close-the-loop at the Buy Recycled Boutique and find free activities for kids at the Ecology Carnival. Admission and most activities are free. Call 281-210-3900 for directions and information. For more details, check out http://www.earthday.net/output/detail_d1r7c1s44i3841w0.htm. LOCAL Houston’s First 2002 Ozone Exceedance This Week Houston recorded its first hourly ozone exceedance for the 2002 season at 1 pm on Wednesay, March 27 near the Houston Ship Channel. The monitor read 134 ppb, exceeding the national air quality standard of 125 ppb. In 2001, the first exceedance occurred March 14 at 125 ppb and in 2000, it was on April 14 at 131 ppb. To sign up to receive email watches and warnings, visit http://www.hcoem.org/Ozone_2001/pick_station.asp. Court OK’s New Air Quality Standards that Will Affect Houston On March 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals sided with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), saying the agency was allowed to implement 1997 air quality standards for ground level ozone and fine particulate matter. The trucking industry and other business groups fought for five years against the new standards, claiming they were enacted arbitrarily. The Houston region – already out of attainment for the 1-hour standard for ozone - will also not meet the new 8-hour standard, according to TNRCC data. Preliminary monitoring suggests that the area is on the borderline between attaining and not attaining the new PM2.5 standard. Although the EPA has not fully developed an implementation plan for the new standards, it is expected that once Houston meets the 1-hour ozone standard, required by the EPA by 2007, the region will have to create a State Implementation Plan (SIP) to meet the 8-hour standard. If the Houston-Galveston region is officially deemed out of attainment for the fine particulate standard, a SIP for that pollutant will have to be developed as well. Instead of waiting until 2007 to determine what needs to be done, John Wilson, Executive Director of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP), would like to see action on the new standards sooner. Wilson suggests that, at least, the impacts of the control methods in the current SIP for 1-hour ozone should be modeled in terms of the new standards, in order to determine where exactly the region will be in 2007. This would give the region a head start in reaching the standards. Seminar on the SIP and PM2.5 The University of Texas Health Science Center will host an Environmental Sciences Seminar on the topic State Implementation Plan (SIP) and PM2.5 - What do we do to clean-up the air? on Monday, April 1 from noon –to 1 pm. Gerry Wolfe and Jim Price of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) will speak. The seminar will be held at the School of Public Health, 1200 Herman Pressler @ Bertner - RM 305 (3rd Floor). Parking is available in the South Extension Lot (see map at http://www.tmc.edu/maps/map-tmc-04.html). Citizen Ticketed for Biking on Roadway On Tuesday, March 26, Janan Toma went to court to fight against a ticket she received for bicycling in the roadway. Last year, Toma was pulled over for riding her bike along Memorial Drive in Hunter’s Creek Village. Hunter’s Creek Village has an ordinance that prohibits cycling on the street, and signs that say “Bicycles on Roadways Prohibited” are posted along Memorial. Bicyclists are expected to ride along the so-called hike-and-bike trail, which many say is unacceptable. “The trail is too narrow, is uneven, and has adjacent impact hazards,” says bicycle activist Dan Lundeen. “Besides that, you have a fundamental right to travel, and they can't make one class of people use a dangerous facility while preserving the good facility just for the privileged elite who drive their cars.” Despite Toma and her attorney’s best efforts in court, her fine was only reduced from $200 to $100. Watch for Migrating Monarchs Last fall, thousands of monarch butterflies passed through the Gulf Coast on their way to winter in Central Mexico. Just about now, these winged beauties will return to the southern United States to lay their eggs on milkweed plants, the only food source for the young caterpillars. The parents will die, but their progeny will continue the journey northward. In the fall, large groups of monarchs tend to congregate locally along the coast, according to Fred Collins of the Nature Discovery Center. At this time of the year, they are more dispersed and most common outside the city. Collins recommends looking for them in fields northwest of Houston where wildflowers are beginning to bloom. For details on the life cycle of the monarch, visit http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2002/03/03262002/s_46719.asp On the Bluebonnet Trail Bluebonnets and other wildflowers are in full bloom in the region. The Washington County Chamber of Commerce has created a map of the Bluebonnet Trail, which details the best places to see wildflowers in the Brenham area, about 70 miles northwest of Houston. For more information, call 1-888-BRENHAM or visit http://www.brenhamtexas.com/wildflower.htm. STATE Big Bend Endangered The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has again listed west Texas’ Big Bend National Park among the top ten most endangered national parks. The park’s problems include scenic views obscured by air pollution from power plants in the United States and Mexico, and reduced flow in the Rio Grande caused by water diversions and prolonged drought. NPCA’s report also offers solutions to Big Bend’s woes. It recommends cleaning up dirty power plants in Texas and Mexico, establishing guaranteed minimum river flows in the Rio Grande through the park, and increasing annual park funding by $5.9 million. For the full report, visit http://www.npca.org/across_the_nation/ten_most_endangered. For Chronicle coverage, see http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1310937. GREEN JOBS Summer Internships - Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens will hire 6 to 7 interns for horticulture, conservation, and/or education projects during their 90-day summer period. Interns are paid $6.50 per hour the first year, $7 the second year, and $7.50 the third year (rates are subject to change). In addition to working at Mercer, field trips for the interns during the summer are arranged. To learn more about Mercer, visit http://www.cp4.hctz.net/mercer. To receive an intern application, contact Anita Tiller, Mercer Arboretum, 22306 Aldine Westfield Rd., Humble, TX 77338-1071; 281-443-8731; ATiller@cp4.hctx.net. Applications will be accepted until positions are filled. 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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