CEC ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS UPDATE – 11/27/02

COALITION NOTES

HART to Protest Neiman Marcus

This Friday, November 29, the Houston Animal Rights Team will protest in front of the Neiman Marcus department store at Westheimer and Post Oak. From 12-2 pm, demonstrators will demand that the chain stop selling fur. In a statement from HART, protest organizers said, "As a trend-setter in the fashion world, Neiman’s has an obligation to maintain a decent standard of business ethics, which at the very least includes not selling fur. Multi-billion dollar corporations should be held accountable for the suffering and misery they cause." For more information, call 1-888-428-HART or email info@Houstonanimalrights.com.

Flooding Quick Guide Available

With support from the Bayou Preservation Association and the Harris County Flood Control District, the Texas Floodplain Management Association has released a an important guide for individuals and communities threatened by flooding. The Floodplain Management in Texas Quick Guide is a user-friendly reference book that provides information that will help you understand why and how communities can manage floodplains to protect people and property. It explains the ordinances, rules and requirements adopted by flood-prone communities. To get your copy, contact Sarah Doss at 713.524.4232 or email sarah@cechouston.org.

LOCAL

Buy Nothing Day

The day following Thanksgiving is traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, kicking-off the Christmas-shopping season. In protest of this consumer frenzy, activists around the country are celebrating Buy Nothing Day; some Houston environmentalists are organizing events to commemorate the occasion and provide an alternative to the shopping mall.

At the Center for Creative Autonomy, 2014 Washington, organizers are hosting a free un-sale. Anyone is welcome to bring their old clothes, furniture, blankets, food and take whatever they need. While no items will be sold for cash, donations to the Center will be accepted. Doors open at 6 pm.

In a similar theme, the Houston Sustainability Network and the Houston Simplicity network will co-host a Barter Fair at the Be Center, 1216 Yale. From 9 am to 2 pm, folks will trade items that would otherwise be thrown away for things they would normally have to buy. Event organizer Brian Herod said many environmentalists concerned with over-consumption have found reuse to be the most efficient method of disposing of things they no longer need.

"Instead of things you don’t want going to a dump, or to a charity that will most likely take it to a dump eventually, you can trade it for something you need and give it to someone who needs it," he said.

In addition to promoting reuse, Herod also hopes the event will inspire community. Unlike buying items in a store, bartering requires a relationship between traders. "You have to actually talk to a person, find out what they need and tell them what you need," he said. "The value of the items you’re trading is based on how much the other person needs it, not just on money."

Buy Nothing Day was initiated 11 years ago and is celebrated around the world. To find out more about global BND events or to get a list of local contacts visit www.adbusters.com. For more information about the un-sale, contact the Creative Autonomy Collective at 713-864-0972. For more information about the Barter Fair, contact Brian Herod at 713-480-6303 or email myth@thegloaming.net. You can also visit the Houston Simplicity Network and the Houston Sustainability Network online at www.simplicity.tripod.com.

Report Advocates Local Food Sources

As families travel across the United States this week to gather for the Thanksgiving holiday, many will sit down to eat food that has traveled even farther - between 1,500 and 2,500 miles (2,500 and 4,000 kilometers) from farm to table. A new study by the Worldwatch Institute details the lengthy journeys that much of the nation's food supply now takes, finding a growing separation between the sources and destinations of American food.

This reliance on long distance food damages rural economies, as farmers and small food businesses become the most marginal link in the sprawling food chain, says the Worldwatch report. Long distance travel also creates numerous opportunities along the way for food contamination, and requires the use of artificial additives and preservatives to keep food from spoiling. Food transportation also contributes to global warming, because of the huge quantities of fuel used for transportation. A typical meal bought from a conventional supermarket chain - including some meat, grains, fruit and vegetables - consumes four to 17 times more petroleum for transport than the same meal using local ingredients.

The report advocates buying food from local growers and merchants. Consumers now have a growing variety of local food providers to choose from. The number of registered farmers' markets in the United States has jumped from 300 in the mid-1970s and 1,755 in 1994 to more than 3,100 today. About three million people now visit these markets each week, spending more than $1 billion each year.

But the most powerful force behind the growing local food market is the consumer. The Worldwatch report offers several suggestions for how consumers can help to promote local food systems, including:

• Learn what foods are in season in your area and try to build your diet around them.
• Shop at a local farmers' market, or link up with your neighbors and friends to start a subscription service featuring seasonal foods from local growers
• Ask the manager or chef of your favorite restaurant how much of the food on the menu is locally grown, and then encourage him or her to buy food locally.
• Take a trip to a local farm to learn what it produces.
• Host a harvest party at your home or in your community that features locally available and in season foods.
• Produce a local food directory that lists all the local food sources in your area
• Buy extra quantities of your favorite fruit or vegetable when it is in season and experiment with drying, canning, jamming, or otherwise preserving it for a later date.
• Plant a garden and grow as much of your own food as possible.
• Speak to your local politician about forming a local food policy council.

For more information on the report, "Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market," visit the Worldwatch Institute at: www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper/163/orderpage.html.
-Environment News Service

GREEN GRANTS

Texas Parks and Wildlife

In 2003, the Texas Parks and Wildlife will expand their grant program to make available up to $700,000 in funds for projects that benefit rare species and other wildlife species in need of conservation. Priority will be given to those species and associated ecosystems with the greatest needs. The grants require a 50-50 match, meaning that applicants must pay half the cost of the project.

Grant applications must address one or more of three categories: improving habitat for non-game species in special need of conservation, encouraging wildlife education directly related to improving conservation, and conducting applied research.

Grant applications are due by 5 pm, Jan. 13. Any public or private organizations, including government organizations, with relevant projects may apply. Grants will be awarded in February. For complete eligibility requirements and grant applications, go to the www.tpwd.state.tx.us/grants/conservation/ or phone the TPWD Wildlife Diversity program office at (512) 912-7011.

THIS WEEK’S EVENTS

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.

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