CEC Notes
Synergy Scheduled
Mark your calendars for this year’s CEC Synergy Awards. The annual event will be held on Tuesday, October 2 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in the Medical Center. Ester’s Follies, a comedy troupe from Austin, will provide entertainment.

Roundtable on Air Toxics
On Wednesday, August 22, Craig Biskid will discuss the work of the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC). The evening roundtable, sponsored by the CEC, will be held at the Houston Environmental Center, 3015 Richmond. Come for refreshments and conversation at 6:30 pm; the program begins at 7.

The mission of NUATRC is to develop and support research that will yield a better understanding of the potential risks posed to human health by exposure to air toxics as defined by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. During his presentation, Biskid will overview NUATRC’s activities, including the results of some of their recent research projects.

Coalition Notes
People to the Parks Tour of Brazos Bend
The Park People’s Projects Committee and other park enthusiasts will tour areas of Brazos Bend State Park on Saturday, October 27. This 5,000-acre park is located just 40 miles from downtown Houston and is home to tall grass prairie, bottomland hardwood forest, and aquatic ecosystems. The tour, which costs $10 per person or $40 per family, includes bus transportation from Houston, a guest speaker on the history of the park, and lunch. For more information and reservations, contact The Park People at 713-942-7275.

Exhibit at Bay Day
The Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) is now getting ready for Bay Day 2001. Bay Day Celebration is an opportunity for nonprofit organizations to get their word out to 6,000 to 10,000 people. The event will take place on October 20 at Sylvan Beach Park, La Porte from 10 am to dark. There will be free entertainment with Kelly McGuire and Hurricane and Billie B. Children’s Environmental Entertainer. Each non profit exhibitor is asked to provide a hands-on learning activity for children and/or adults. There is a $25 booth fee and each group will receive two Bay Day T-shirts with their registration. Please call Nettie Ramsay at Galveston Bay Foundation at 281-332-3381 for more information.

EcoNotes
HEB to Label GMOs?
Pressured by consumers, HEB, a Texas-based grocer, has expressed interest in an effort to label products with genetically-modified organisms, according to Nathalie Paravicini, local activist. “As a result of the initial campaign, HEB has revised its official response from a pro-biotech stance to a more moderate position acknowledging consumer concerns,” she explains. Paravicini is encouraging shoppers to voice their opinions about GMO labeling to HEB at customer.relations@heb.com or H-E-Butt Grocery Co., Attn: Customer Relations, P.O. Box 839999, San Antonio, TX 78382-3999. Customer response cards are available at all HEB stores as well.

Bayport, Continued
The Army Corps of Engineers has rescheduled the release of its environmental impact statement on the proposed Ned. S. Holmes Bayport Container Terminal in Galveston Bay to October 3. The Corps plans to hold a public information workshop on October 16 because of the complexity of the issues surrounding the project, and a public hearing on November 15. Locations for the events are yet to be announced. The comment period is scheduled to run for three months, until January 4.

The Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association (GBCPA) hopes to gather thousands of citizens at the public hearing to speak out against Bayport, which they say will increase traffic congestion and air pollution, decrease property values, and destroy the quality of life in the area. For more information on the fight against Bayport, visit www.gbcpa.org or join GBCPA’s new listserv by sending a blank message to GalvestonBayConservancy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

More Mosquitoes?
Global warming could bring more mosquitoes to Houston, according to new research from the University of Florida. Many mosquitoes breed faster as the temperature increases. And warmer weather may increase the range of dangerous species, including the Asian tiger mosquito that carries tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis. (ENN 7/01)

Wave Power
A California start-up is harnessing the ocean’s power to help alleviate energy shortages. Sea Power & Associates’ Wave Rider technology consists of a set of lightweight concrete floats that sit one to two miles off shore. The floats are connected to a hydraulic pump that reaches the ocean floor. The up-and-down motion of waves drives the hydraulic pump, which then drives turbines to generate electric power. Researchers calculate that, in good locations, waves can produce an average 65 megawatts per mile of coastline, enough to power almost 50,000 homes. (MSNBC 6/01)

Allison Conference Planned
A conference called “Allison – A Watershed Event” is being planned to examine in detail the effects of the recent flood and explore a range of proposals to address the region’s watershed in a more holistic way. The conference will look at Allison itself, flooding history, the floodplains as green infrastructure, and the impact of development. Committed sponsors to date are Texas Sea Grant, Galveston Bay Estuary Program, and the Gulf Coast Institute. For more information, email jjacob@tamu.edu.

Diesel and Cancer Risk
New data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show diesel cancer risk dwarfs all other air toxics combined, according to an analysis by www.scorecard.org. Nationwide, exhaust from diesel engines accounts for 78 percent of the total added cancer risk in outdoor air from all hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) combined. The analysis is based on an EPA study of 41 top HAPs in every community in the U.S. (www.scorecard.org 7/01)

Kyoto Would Save Money
Ratification of the Kyoto climate change treaty could save U.S. consumers $50 billion a year on gasoline and electricity bills by 2010 and $135 billion a year by 2020, according to a study from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). WWF’s projected savings were based on implementing a series of improvements to the nation’s energy sector, including carbon-emission-permit auctions, tax credits, transportation fuel efficiency, and high-speed rail transit. (ENN 7/01)