Ecological Capital focus of CEC Annual Meeting

More than 60 representatives from member organizations and others attended the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (CEC) Annual Meeting on February 5. Jim Blackburn and Charles Tapley presented on the region’s “ecological capital.” CEC President Justus Baird then presided over the annual business meeting, in which new board members and member organizations were inducted.

Blackburn and Tapley have coined the term “ecological capital” to denote the vast yet largely unappreciated natural resources that form a ring around the city of Houston. The teaching team identifies at least seven distinct ecological systems and the Gulf of Mexico. “This is the stuff everybody in the U.S. covets, and we don’t talk about it,” says Blackburn, a local environmental attorney. “It’s our best kept secret.”

Blackburn advocates nurturing a sense of place and identity in relation to these natural spaces. “Birdwatchers from around the country come here to see what we have, but people who live in Houston don’t even know about it.”

Tapley, an architect and professor, is concerned that the city of Houston doesn’t connect to its natural setting. “It plops into it, but it doesn’t really fit into it,” he describes. Tapley promotes linking the urban environment to ecology through the use of design. “We’re not gong to be mentally sound until we find a way to reconnect to the nature around us,” he concludes.

After Blackburn and Tapley’s presentation, Baird outlined CEC’s agenda for 2002, including three major events: Houston Earth Day 2002, a conference on biotechnology, and the Synergy Awards.

Houston Earth Day 2002 will be held Saturday, April 13 from 10 am to 6 pm at Rice University. The focus of the day will be environmental information and activities provided by numerous non-profit groups from the Houston area. On the lighter side, the event will include performances from local musicians and dance troupes as well as festival food and drinks. This year, CEC has opted not to partner with KRBE on the Earth Day event as it has for the past 5 years. For details on why this decision was made, see the President’s Letter on page 8.

In the summer of 2002, CEC will partner with the Institute of Advanced Interdisciplinary Research to produce a one-day seminar titled Biotechnology: Opportunities and Concerns. The seminar will cover both agricultural and medical issues.

The annual Synergy Awards, which honor people and organizations that have demonstrated leadership in the environmental community, are scheduled for October.

Baird also mentioned CEC’s continued work on the next phase of the Houston Environmental Center. Plans are being developed for a building where environmental nonprofits could office and network, and that would be a model of sustainable design.

CEC said thank you and goodbye to departing board members:
Jeffrey Earl Crews (2000-2001), Eugene Decker (1998-2001), Sue Deigaard (2000-2001), Jane Elioseff (1995-2001), Angelena Esparza (2001), Kari Hackett (2001), Victoria Herrin (2000-2001), Dan Lundeen (2000-2001), Claire Taufer (2001), and Mary Ellen Whitworth (2000-2001)

Board members for 2002 are:
President: Justus Baird
President Elect: David Gresham
Vice President: Mary Jane Naquin
Secretary: Alesha Herrera
Treasurer: Alex Bain
Leon Arceneaux, Marcia Carter, Carlton Collier, David Crossley, Will Meyer, Catherine O’Brien, Ellen Stephenson, and Charles Robert Wood

New Member Groups for 2002 are:
Houston Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas
San Jacinto Conservation Coalition
Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy