CEC Notes
March 21 Roundtable on Source Reduction Project
CEC’s March Roundtable will feature a panel discussion on the Source Reduction Project, a successful community-plant effort to reduce air emissions from several chemical companies in Channelview. Since the Source Reduction Project began, the Equistar (formerly Lyondell) facility has decreased total 1,3-butadiene emissions to the air by 46 percent. Lyondell (formerly ARCO) has voluntarily reduced benzene emissions by more than 2 million pounds, volatile organic compound emissions by 15,600 pounds, nitrogen oxides emissions by 11,600 pounds, and carbon monoxide emissions by 60,000 pounds annually. The discussion will be held Wednesday, March 21, at the Houston Environmental Center, 3015 Richmond. Come at 6:30 pm for snacks and conversation; the program begins at 7.

Kramer Presents at CEC Roundtable
On Monday, January 22, Ken Kramer, director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, presented an overview of the environmental issues that the current Texas legislature could face. Kramer focused on the efforts of the newly-formed Alliance for a Clean Texas (ACT), a coalition of environmental, consumer, religious, and public interest organizations – including the Sierra Club – that have joined forces this legislative session to find solutions to some of the state’s major environmental problems. ACT has produced a set of position papers that outline strategies for improving air quality, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission reforms, water issues, and funding for natural resource conservation. For more details, visit www.cechouston.org/news/legislature.html.

Coalition Notes
Tour the Katy Prairie
The Katy Prairie Conservancy (KPC) will lead a behind-the-scenes tour of one of their prairie preserves on Saturday, March 24. Get up close and personal with the more than 200 species of migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and song birds that call the Katy Prairie home. Assorted lizards and mammals may be seen as well. For more information, contact KPC at 713-523-6135.

Race for the River Bottoms
The unique, night-time East Fork/West Fork Challenge Canoe Marathon leaves at 4 am Sunday, March 11, from Lake Houston State Park, and travels 16 miles to Forest Cove Marina. The race will raise awareness of disappearing bottomland hardwood forests in east Texas and Houston and their value to fish, wildlife, and humankind. Paddlers of all stripes are encouraged to enter. Categories include recreational kayak and canoe, women’s solo, master’s (over 50), and others. If paddling isn’t your forte, camp at the park and enjoy the Saturday festivities. Funds raised through sponsorship will benefit San Jacinto Conservation Coalition (SJCC). For more information, visit www.greendzn.com/challenge.htm.

EcoStation to Open
On March 8, the Children’s Museum of Houston’s new EcoStation will open to the public. The 4,600-square-foot exhibit includes a pond, a soil exploration and composting station, a water table, a native plant section, a tree stump amphitheater, and a research pavilion. The EcoStation will house more than 50 distinct activities for kids. For more information, call the museum at 713-522-1138.

Eco Notes
A Vision of Houston
Over the years, many groups have outlined how they envision a more livable Houston. On February 7, participants at the Connecting the Visions conference examined the “vision documents” that have been created, and tried to figure out how to enlarge and implement them. “There are many recurrent themes in these documents,” says David Crossley, president of the Gulf Coast Institute, which co-hosted the event with the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the Center for Houston’s Future. “Among the most persistent are the desire for comprehensive planning, for regional and inter-local collaboration, for a grand boulevard that is the Houston Main Street corridor, and for the development of a linear parks system moving through the region beside its bayous,” according to Connecting the Visions: Creating the future we want in the Houston Gulf Coast, a report prepared for the conference. For more information, visit www.livablehouston.org.