CEC Notes
Waste Management Title Sponsor of Earth Day
Waste Management Inc. has announced it will serve as the title sponsor for CEC’s Houston Earth Day on Saturday, April 13 from 10 am to 6 pm at Rice University. A day of education, celebration, and action, Houston Earth Day 2002 is designed to bring the local community together to encourage understanding of and participation in local and global environmental issues. The free public event will focus on 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. For details, visit www.houstonearthday.org.

Coalition Notes

Wildflower Watching

Photo by Dave Hanselman, courtesy of KPC

The wildflowers are in bloom on the Katy Prairie, according to professional tour guide Jerry Walls. Walls will lead a tour for the Katy Prairie Conservancy (KPC) that focuses on the dozens of wildflower species that sprout from the flat plains and rolling pastures west of the city of Houston on Saturday April 6 from 9 am to 1 pm. Participants can expect to see coreopsis, black-eyed Susan, phlox, winecups, Indian blanket, sunflowers, and more. For more information, call KPC at 713-523-6135.

EcoNotes
Power to the People
The 10th annual Rice Environmental Conference, scheduled for Saturday, April 6 from 10 am to 5:15 pm, will focus on energy. Topics of the free event include deregulation, alternative energy, and individual activism. For more details and a conference agenda, visit www.ruf.rice.edu/~enviclub.

The Diesel Dilemma
Diesel automobiles generally have higher fuel efficiency than conventional vehicles, so they must be better for the environment, right? Not true, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Despite better gas mileage, diesel vehicles tend to emit relatively high levels of NOx, a principle component of ground-level ozone smog, and particulate matter, a respiratory irritant with a variety of serious health consequences. To choose an earth-friendlier car, use EPA’s Green Vehicle Guide at http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicle.

Greener Groceries
Greenpeace has launched a campaign to persuade Safeway not to use genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their store-brand products. This effort comes after the group successfully convinced Trader Joe’s to do the same. Why Safeway? Greenpeace explains that Safeway highlights their environmental record and responsiveness to consumer demands, yet company executives have refused to discuss the GMO issue with activists. Safeway owns Randalls, among other grocery store chains. Greenpeace is encouraging grocery shoppers to let Safeway know how they feel about GMOs. For more information and to submit a prewritten letter to Safeway, visit www.greenpeaceusa.org/features.

Woodpecker Watching

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, courtesy of Alabama Fish and Game

Scientists in Louisiana believe they have located a species of woodpecker thought to be extinct. In 1999, a hunter claimed to have spotted a pair of ivory-billed woodpeckers, for which there hadn’t been any credible sightings in more than 60 years. State wildlife officials took that claim seriously enough to dedicate six people to conduct a search for the bright cockaded birds with a three-foot wingspan. Although the birders haven’t seen them yet, they have recorded what is thought to be their distinctively loud tree-rapping.

The ivory billed woodpecker once lived in the Houston-Galveston region as well. Now there are eight species of woodpeckers in east Texas, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife. Perhaps the most famous is the endangered red cockaded woodpecker, which resides only in mature pine forests. This small black and white bird (the males have hard-to-spot red patches on their heads) digs cavities in older pines with heart rot, and pecks sappy resin wells around their homes for protection from climbing predators.

The best time and place to see these rare birds is in early spring at Jesse Jones State Forest, according to the Houston Audubon Society. Take I-45 north and head left on Farm Road 1488 to reach the forest’s entrance.

Ozone/Particulates Constrict Blood Vessels
Air pollution causes the blood vessels of healthy people to constrict, according to new research from the University of Michigan. For the study, 25 volunteers sat in a chamber while air polluted with relatively high levels of ozone and particulate matter (similar to levels found in Mexico City or in Los Angeles on a bad day) was pumped in. After 2 hours, the volunteers’ blood vessels had closed up an average of 2 to 4 percent. Scientists theorize that the body mistakes pollution particles for bacterial or viral intruders. When white blood cells attack they release cytokines – inflammatory chemicals that cause the blood vessels to constrict. These findings help explain why high levels of pollution are linked to heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems, the researchers say. This study was published in the March 12 issue of the journal Circulation.

Drilling for Pennies
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) would only create 65,000 jobs by 2020 and contribute enough oil to lower gas prices by only one cent per gallon, according to a report released by Democratic lawmakers. Pro-drilling forces had claimed drilling in ANWR would create 735,000 jobs. Although Americans would barely notice the savings at the pump, the report noted that oil companies could reap substantial profits from the $180 billion worth of oil that is estimated to be recoverable from the refuge. “In short, our study found that drilling in the Arctic reserve provides few benefits to the nation as a whole,” said Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Joint Economic Committee. (Reuters 3/15/02)

Climate Change Threatens Forests
Global warming is increasingly threatening forests around the world, paving the way for fires, droughts, and pest infestations, according to the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development. Ola Ullsten, co-chairman of the Commission, told participants at an environmental conference that the latest evidence indicates more than half the world’s boreal forest could die if temperatures increase by as little as 3 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).

Boreal, or northern, forests form a belt of mostly coniferous trees running through Canada, the United States, Russia, Scandinavia, Mongolia and China. They make up about one-third of the Earth’s forests and form the basis for the global timber industry. Trees found there, including aspen, spruce, fir, and pine, are uniquely adapted to cold northern climates, and experts say they are far more sensitive to temperature fluctuations than temperate or tropical species.

Driving Us Crazy
Houston residents drive more than people from any other metropolitan area, according to recent statistics from the Federal Highway Administration. The city logged an average of 37 miles of driving daily for each man, woman, and child. Atlanta, residents came in second with an average of 34 miles per person. Other Texas cities in the top ten are Dallas-Fort Worth (31 miles per person), Austin (31 miles per person), and San Antonio(29 miles per person).

Something in the Water
Trace levels of medications can be found in rivers and streams throughout the United States, according to a survey by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Analysis of more than 100 waterways found low levels of dozens of antibiotics, hormones, painkillers, cough suppressants, disinfectants, and other products excreted by humans and animals. The long-term health effects of exposure to the contaminated water are not known.

USGS is studying whether the chemicals are reaching drinking water, but their program is slated to be eliminated under proposed Bush administration budget cuts. (New York Times, 3/15/02)

Ferrets Released in Mexico
Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released another group of captive-bred black-footed ferrets near Janos, Mexico. The release brought the number of ferrets at the site to about 65, all of which were raised in U.S. breeding facilities and then dropped off more than a hundred miles from the border.

Why is the U.S. government trying to reestablish an endangered species in a foreign country? Black-footed ferrets eat prairie dogs almost exclusively – considered pests by many in the West. Ferrets have also been released in Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska, but only small isolated colonies have been able to survive. Creating a bigger colony of perhaps 1,500 in Mexico could provide a more secure future for our black-footed friends. (eNature.com, 3/13/02)