Synergy Winners Announced
By Lily Auliff

Each year, CEC’s Synergy Awards honor people and organizations who have demonstrated leadership in the environmental community. This year’s ceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 2 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Medical Center. A social hour including cocktails and hors d’oeuvres begins at 6:30 pm. The awards ceremony is scheduled from 8 to 9:30, with comic interludes from Esther’s Follies, an Austin-based comedy troupe. Tickets cost $55 for individuals and $400 for a table of six; the price includes parking. Call the CEC office at 713-524-4232 for more information. (Invitation)

This year’s winners are:

Army and Sarah Emmott Conservation Award – Houston Green Coalition

The Houston Green Coalition is a group of regional government, business, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting and enhancing the tree canopy in the region. They first came together to perform an Urban Ecological Analysis for the Houston/Gulf Coast region, which presented the benefits that trees provide – air quality improvement, stormwater retention, and energy savings – in economic terms. The group has more recently adopted a City of Houston Reforestation Plan that promotes tree planting and preservation. And they have received additional funding to further analyze existing tree resources and their role in reducing air pollutants and the urban heat island effect.

Community Activist Award – Brandt Mannchen

Native Houstonian Brandt Mannchen was a founding member of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP) and has volunteered with the Sierra Club since 1976. He keeps tabs on all local environmental issues, but is most known for his work on local forests, air quality, and transportation issues. As chair of the Houston Sierra Club’s Forestry Subcommittee, Mannchen monitors the management of Sam Houston National Forest and the Big Thicket, and educates the public on wilderness protection. He also keeps an eye on the Grand Parkway and other transportation issues, as well as the State Implementation Plan to reduce ground-level ozone smog, responding as needed. Mannchen believes in holding the feet of government agencies to the fire, and writes many detailed, impassioned letters on conservation issues.

Corporate Environmental Awareness Award – Equistar and Lyondell

When approached by concerned citizens, Equistar and Lyondell, two Channelview chemical companies, joined the Source Reduction Project, a community-industry partnership that has significantly reduced emissions from both facilities. Since the Source Reduction Project began, the Equistar facility has voluntarily decreased total 1,3-butadiene emissions into the air by 46 percent. Lyondell 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. Equistar and Lyondell have proven that communities and industry can work together to reduce pollution.

Environmental Education Award – Linda Knight

Linda Knight directs the Rice/HISD Model Science Laboratory Project housed at Lanier Middle School. Select HISD teachers spend a year with Knight at the lab, studying current scientific advances, examining new education technology, evaluating teaching strategies, and developing new curricula. Knight has focused much of her work on environmental education. This year she organized more than 60 classrooms to participate in the Clean Air Challenge. Through the program, students monitored ozone levels for one week using special monitoring patches.

Founders’ Award – Wendy Kelsey

Wendy Kelsey helped found and worked for six years as Associate Director of Urban Harvest (UH), a nonprofit community garden and orchard program. As the first official staff person at UH, she played a significant role in the organization’s development. Touted as a tireless advocate for quality, Kelsey ensured the strength of UH’s programs. Although she left her staff position in 2000, Kelsey continues to guide the organization as a board member. She also serves as co-chair of the Garden Club of America’s National Affairs and Legislation Committee, and is past president of Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas and a past board member of The Park People.

Government Award – Doug Lipka, Ph.D.

Doug Lipka has directed the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 Environmental Laboratory in Houston for six years. In addition to running the lab, Lipka reaches out to environmental groups in the community. He has helped several organizations acquire EPA funding. Lipka also served on the Houston Environmental Foresight Steering Committee, contributing significantly to the Air Quality Work Group’s efforts. Lipka currently works with several grass-roots groups that are organizing citizen air quality monitoring projects.

Lifetime Achievement Award – Terry and Jake Hershey

Terry Hershey began her conservation career in 1966, when she was instrumental in stopping the channelization of Buffalo Bayou. Since then, she has fought for numerous causes to preserve and enhance parks and waterways. In the process, Hershey helped build many local environmental organizations. In fact, she and others formed Citizens Who Care, which would later evolve into the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. Terry’s late husband, Jake, was an avid outdoorsman and competitive sailor. His conservation activities included founder and director of the Galveston Bay Foundation. The Hersheys together established the Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation, dedicated to conservation efforts.

Media Award – John and Gloria Tveten

John and Gloria Tveten are most known around town for their weekly column, “Nature Trails,” which appeared in the Houston Chronicle for more than 24 years. The couple travels widely, sharing their outdoor adventures through writing and lectures. They speak regularly at birding and nature festivals throughout Texas, are active in several conservation groups, and photograph for and author articles and books. Their books include “The Birds of Texas,” “Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas,” “Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas,” and “Coastal Texas.”

President’s Award – Stephen Klineberg, Ph.D.

Since immigrating to Houston from the East Coast in 1971, Stephen Klineberg has been monitoring the way Houstonians think. As professor of sociology at Rice University, Klineberg conducts annual surveys that gauge how citizens view environmental issues. His findings indicate that locals are growing more concerned about quality of life. The public as a whole is beginning to care more about air quality, traffic congestion, and urban amenities. Through papers and lectures, Klineberg uses his survey results to advocate that, if Houston is to thrive in the modern world, city leaders must redevelop their views on individualism and deal responsibly with collective issues.