CEC Notes
Environmental Resource Guide Available
CEC’s 2001 Environmental Resource Guide, which lists the contact information and missions of more than 90 environmental organizations in the region, is now available. This year’s handbook also features State of the Environment 2001, a 23-page article that outlines the area’s most pressing environmental issues. To acquire a copy, call the CEC office at 713-524-4232.

A CEC Double Hitter
On Wednesday, April 18, CEC will host both a Delegate Luncheon and an evening Roundtable. At the noon luncheon, Rebecca McKeever will discuss how the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition cares for injured and orphaned wildlife. Special animal guests will accompany her. At 7:00 pm., the Roundtable will feature a panel discussion on the Source Reduction Project, a successful community-industry effort to reduce air emissions from several chemical companies in Channelview. Come at 6:30 pm for snacks and conversation. Both free events will be held at the Houston Environmental Center, 3015 Richmond. To RSVP, contact Marcia Carter at the CEC office at 713-524-4232.

Coalition Notes
The Air We Breathe
The Air We Breathe, a video that connects sprawl and air pollution, will be shown on Friday, April 20 at the Houston Environmental Center, 3015 Richmond. A short discussion will follow the 49-minute film. The event is sponsored by Houston Sierra Club’s Challenge to Sprawl Campaign, Mothers for Clean Air, and the Gulf Coast Institute. Conversation and networking start at 6:15 pm; the video will be shown at 7.

Prairie-Keeping
The Katy Prairie Conservancy will hold at a workday on one of their prairie preserves. Recognized as a Biosphere of International Significance by the United Nations Environmental Program, the Katy Prairie serves as the winter home for one of the densest populations of migratory wildlife in North America. It also provides food and cover for more than 60 species of mammals and 55 types of reptiles and amphibians. For more information, call KPC at 713-523-6135.

Eco Notes
Banned Pesticides Still on Local Shelves
Why are Dursban and Diazinon on sale at your local garden center? Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency decided the two popular insecticides were unsafe and banned their home use – well, sort of. Retailers may continue to sell Dursban until December 31, 2001. Children and adults have suffered from asthma attacks, skin peeling, immune system dysfunction, nausea, and nervous system damage as a result of exposure to Dursban in schools and homes. Diazinon, which can be sold until December 2002, is highly toxic to birds, fish, beneficial insects, and the human nervous system. Many area garden centers are still selling these products, and some are marking them way down to clear shelves before the ban takes effect. Texans for Alternatives to Pesticides (TAP), a Houston group whose mission is to educate people about the harmful effects of pesticides and safer alternatives, advises consumers not to purchase Dursban and Diazinon due to their recognized danger, and to ask store managers to immediately discontinue sales of these products. For more information, contact TAP at 713-523-2827 or visit www.nopesticides.org.

Inside for Recess
Last fall, area schoolchildren lost 15 days – more than a quarter of the first three months of school – of outdoor recess and sports practice. The students weren’t being punished for misbehavior. Ozone levels were too high for them to play outside, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI uses the colors of a traffic light to indicate how much outdoor activity should be restricted. The City of Houston has prepared a guidance document that recommends activity limits for each AQI level, which many schools follow. Ground level ozone is a respiratory irritant that can cause shortness of breath, wheezing, pain in the chest, and coughing. The invisible gas can also exacerbate allergies and asthma. For more information, contact Mothers for Clean Air at 713-526-0110 or mfca@hern.org.

Watching for Signs
Are roadside signs cluttering up your neighborhood? Those “bandit” signs – the temporary ones along streets in the public right-of-way – are prohibited within Houston city limits. Scenic Houston’s Sign Watch program is trying to rid the city of them. Citizens can report these eyesores to the Sign Watch hotline at 713-629-0481, and Scenic Houston will work with the City of Houston’s Sign Administration Division to have them removed.

Water Smarts
The City of Houston Water Conservation Division offers these tips for growing a healthy lawn without wasting water:
Water your lawn only when it needs it: A good way to see if your lawn needs watering is to step on some grass. If it springs back up, you don’t need to water. If it stays flat, it’s time. Even during the hottest months, most Houston lawns need only 1 to 1.5 inches of water every 5 to 7 days.
Deep-soak your lawn rather than sprinkle: A good soaking encourages deep, solid root growth, which will reduce water needs later.
Water during the cool parts of the day to reduce evaporation: Early morning is better than dusk since it helps prevent fungus growth.
Properly position sprinklers: Direct the spray so that water lands on your lawn or garden, not on concrete. Avoid watering on windy days when much water may be carried off before it ever hits the ground.
Replace thirsty grass with native, drought-resistant trees and plants: A list of appropriate plants is available from the Water Conservation Division.
For more tips, visit their website at www.ci.houston.tx.us/departme/works/utilities/conservation/index.htm or call
713-837-0473.

EPA Upholds Diesel Rules
The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced strict new rules to cut diesel fuel pollution from trucks and buses by 95% starting in 2006. This move is seen as the first major clean-air decision by the Bush administration and a big win for environmentalists. The new regulations were first announced at the end of Clinton’s presidency, but had been put on hold until the new administration could investigate them. (Reuters 3/01)

Supreme Court Rules on Air Quality Standards
On February 27, the US Supreme Court released a complicated ruling on the newest air quality standards created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The justices unanimously upheld the way the federal government sets clean-air standards, rejecting industry’s claim that officials must weigh 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, in 1997, it set tougher air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter – standards with which the Houston region most likely will not comply. However, the EPA’s policy for implementing the new ozone rule was declared unlawful. The court rejected their 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. (Houston Chronicle 2/01)

Bush Reneges on Campaign Promise
In March, President Bush backed off from a campaign pledge to regulate carbon dioxide from power plants in order to curb global warming. Scientists believe carbon dioxide, produced when fossil fuels are burned, is the primary heat trapping “greenhouse” gas that is causing the Earth to warm. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions was supposed to be part of a “four pollutant strategy” that also includes mandatory reductions in mercury, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur releases from power plants. Bush announced support for the four pollutant strategy in September, marking one of the few specific proposals he ventured into on climate change. He claims that his change of heart was made in light of current energy shortages, but many suspect he was influenced by industry and other conservative forces. (Associated Press 3/01)