Coalition Notes
Conservation Conference
The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club will host their fifth annual Conservation Conference on Saturday, July 21 in Dallas. The day-long meeting marks the official launch of the chapter’s Wide Open Spaces Campaign, a two-year public education initiative designed to increase awareness of habitat loss and the need for open space protection in Texas. Registration cost $25 before July 1 and $35 after that deadline. For more information, contact Jennifer Walker at 512-477-1729 or scls@igc.org.

Eco Notes
Counting Butterflies
The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) will sponsor a series of butterfly counts across the nation this summer. Volunteer groups select a count area with a 15-mile diameter and conduct a one-day census of all butterflies sighted within that circle. The results provide NABA with information about the geographical distributions and population sizes of various species. Comparisons over the years help monitor changes in butterfly populations. The following is a list of local counts:
Northwest Harris County, June 28, contact P.D. Hulce at pdhulce@io.com
Conroe, June 29, contact David Henderson at dhenderson@kleinisd.net or 936-231-3201
Houston, July 3, contact P.D. Hulce
Galveston, July 5, contact P.D. Hulce
Baytown, July 14, contact Sallie Sherman, ssherman@baytown.org or 281-420-7128
Mercer Arboretum, July 21, contact David Henderson

SIP Public Hearing
A public hearing on the most recent revisions to the region’s State Implementation Plan to reduce ground-level ozone will be held in Houston on Monday, July 2 at 6 pm at City Hall Council Chambers, 901 Bagby. The public is invited to comment about changes or revisions to engine idling restrictions, diesel fuel and diesel engine requirements, controls on large industrial emissions, and the emissions cap and trade program. The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission also invites comment on specific language concerning the plan’s mid-course review, and on a strategy to study the effects of frequent unplanned industrial emissions known as “upsets.” For details on the changes, visit www.tnrcc.state.tx.us.

Cut Pollution, Not Grass
Cutting grass with a gas-powered mower for an hour produces about as much air pollution as driving an automobile 100 miles, according to a new study from Stockholm University in Sweden. Americans use 800 million gallons of gas in their lawn mowers each year, producing tons of air pollutants. Most of this lawn manicuring is done during the warm summer months, exacerbating the ozone issue, the study says. The report recommends using catalytic converters on mowers – which researchers say could reduce some emissions by 80 percent – or converting to electric models. (ENN 5/01)

Noise Pollution
Continuous, low-level traffic noise can cause health and motivational problems in children, according to a study by a Cornell University environmental psychologist and his European co-authors. The low but continuous noise of everyday local traffic can cause stress in children and raise blood pressure, heart rates, and levels of stress hormones. It also found that girls exposed to traffic noise became less motivated. The researchers analyzed data on 115 fourth graders in Austria with similar family characteristics. (ENN 5/01)

Running on Veggies
Two public fueling stations – one in Nevada and one in California – now sell biodiesel, a cleaner-burning diesel fuel produced from sources such as soybeans or recycled cooking oil. Use of the fuel significantly reduces emissions including carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. Nitrous oxide, a principle component of smog, is still emitted. The fuel can be used in any standard diesel engine either in pure form or blended at any proportion with petroleum diesel. The California station will sell biodiesel at $1.75 to $2.15 a gallon, depending on the grade; conventional California diesel prices fall between $1.60 and $1.70. The new fuel still has a few drawbacks. It is more expensive than regular diesel, doesn’t work well in low temperatures, and degrades natural rubber, present in older engines. (ENN 5/01).

Particulates and Heart Attacks
Exposure to elevated levels of fine particulate air pollution raises the likelihood of heart attacks, especially among those at risk for cardiac disease, according to a new report in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers interviewed 772 Boston-area heart attack victims. They found that patients experienced a 48 percent rise in heart attack risk during the two hours after exposure to high particulate levels. Elevated risk continued for 24 hours following exposure. The study also monitored other pollutants, but found no correlation between ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, or nitrogen dioxide and heart attack risk.

Fine particulate matter, or particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, is emitted by power plants, industry, automobiles, and fireplaces, among other sources. Preliminary monitoring shows that the Houston region may not meet new Environmental Protection Agency standards for fine particulate pollution. (MSNBC 6/01)