| Meetings and Events | Unless otherwise specified, all meetings are held at H-GAC conference rooms A, B, or C; 3555 Timmons, 2nd Floor, Houston, TX 77027 (map) |
| | | Director's Welcome | Director's Welcome
This is the November 2007 issue of the Houston-Galveston Area Council's (H-GAC's) Community and Environmental Planning (C&E) E-newsletter. We hope this monthly newsletter will keep you up to date on the wide variety of community planning, economic development and environmental planning programs going on at H-GAC. We want this information to be useful and are very interested in your feedback! If you have any questions about any of our programs, please feel free to contact me at 713-993-4560 or Jeff.Taebel@h-gac.com. |
| Texas Recycles Day |  The Recycling Alliance of Texas, in partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful, is sponsoring the Texas Recycles Day program to promote recycling throughout the state of Texas. Texas Recycles Day is a statewide public awareness campaign that aims to educate Texans on the environmental and economic benefits of waste reduction and recycling. Its success served as the model for the development of America Recycles Day. Texas Recycles Day is working in cooperation with the Recycling Alliance of Texas to give all Texas Communities access to America Recycles Day materials and resources.
|
| Abitibi Launches Multi-Site Recycling In Houston | Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. is launching a new multi-site recycling program in Houston that includes not only paper but also plastics and metals.
Through a new partnership with the city and H-E-B grocery store chain, Abitibi-Consolidated is initially placing 84 recycling containers at 28 store locations.
This is the first time that Abitibi-Consolidated has created a multi-site program with a single entity to collect multiple materials, the company said. Abitibi-Consolidated typically focuses on recycled paper through its Paper Retriever program.
"H-E-B and Abitibi have moved to the front of Houston´s efforts to recycle," said Mayor Bill White.
See a map of participating locations here.
Read the press release here. |
| From the First Lady... |  "The trash we throw away can have harmful consequences on wildlife and the environment far from home. President Bush joins me in encouraging all Americans to reduce the amount of plastic we use in our daily lives, re-use the plastic we already have, and buy items made of recycled materials and those that can be recycled." - First Lady Laura Bush in a letter to the Wall Street Journal describing her concern over marine plastic debris.
|
|
County Planning Workshop: "A Goal without a Plan is Just a Wish" |  Mark your calendars for H-GAC's Comprehensive County Planning: "Not Just a Wish" Workshop. The workshop will provide County officials and leaders in the 13-county region the tools and knowledge they need to effectively plan for future growth and development. The workshop will cover a range of key planning topics including: the benefits of County Visioning, how counties and developers can  work together to create quality communities, the legal and financial ins-and-outs of County planning, and an in-depth look at what Corridor Planning can do for Counties. Don't miss this event! The workshop is scheduled for: Friday, November 9th, 2007 9:00 am to 12:30 pm H-GAC Conference Room A |
| Requesting Applications: FY2008 Solid Waste Implementation Grants | The Houston-Galveston Area Council is requesting applications for FY2008 Solid Waste Implementation Grants. Applications are due by 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 8, 2007. There will be a Grant Application Workshop on Thursday, October 18 at 2:00 p.m. The workshop will be held at the H-GAC offices on the second floor in Conference Room A. Please RSVP via email to Hilde Leitenbacher (hleitenbacher@h-gac.com) if you plan to attend. Grant applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the Grant Application Workshop. The application packet materials can be downloaded from our web site at www.h-gac.com/2008swgrants. If you have any questions or concerns, or if you would like to obtain a hard copy of the application packet, please contact the Solid Waste staff: Cheryl Mergo, Solid Waste Program Manager, 713-993-4520, cmergo@h-gac.com
Amy Boyers, Senior Environmental Planner, 713-993-2441, aboyers@h-gac.com
Gena McKinley, Environmental Planner, 713-993-4529, gmckinley@h-gac.com
Christy Corse, Environmental Information and Data Specialist, 832-681-2564, ccorse@h-gac.com
Hilde Leitenbacher, Environmental Planning Administrative Specialist, 713-993-4566, hleitenbacher@h-gac.com. |
| Save the Date: TreePrint Workshop | Mark your calendars for the TreePrint Workshop on March 31- April 1, 2008. It is tentatively planned to be held at the North Harris Montgomery Community College Training Center 5000 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77381 (next door to HARC). This workshop will provide decisionmakers the tools necessary to quantify the benefits of urban forests and help foster community involvement and awareness of urban forested areas. For more information about the workshop or sponsorship opportuities please contact Michael Merritt with the Texas Forest Service at mmerritt@tfs.tamu.edu. |
| Environmental Fact Sheets For Older Adults Available in 11 Languages | As the U.S. population continues to become more diverse, EPA is taking steps to inform minority older adults and their caregivers about simple actions they can take to reduce environmental health hazards. EPA's Aging Initiative has developed six fact sheets on the health impacts of air pollution, water contaminants, pesticides, and extreme heat on the most common chronic health conditions that can be worsened by environmental contaminants. The fact sheets outline simple preventative steps to reduce exposure to environmental hazards and have been translated into 11 languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Haitian Creole, Italian, French, Arabic, Russian and Vietnamese. The fact sheets address chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, asthma, as well as health issues that can arise from exposure to environmental hazards such as drinking water contaminants or pesticides. Click here to read the fact sheets. You may also place an order by sending an email with your mailing address to aging.info@epa.gov. |
| The Watershed and Wetland Protection Information Kit |  The Watershed and Wetland Protection Information Kit for County Officials is a collection of resources that can assist county and local officials with efforts to protect and restore the multiple benefits of their community?s water resources. This kit was produced by the Center for Watershed Protection and the National Association of Counties with support from the U.S. EPA. It is available on-line here. |
Recycling and Solid Waste Management Educational Series | EPA is hosting the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) Web Academy to provide training and a networking opportunity to State and Local governments, non-governmental-organizations and other stakeholders. The Web Academy is a monthly educational series to learn directly from experts working throughout the country about the issues, projects, and practices for creating successful waste management programs. The RCC Academy will help participants learn about what works and what doesn't and to find the tools and information you need to: > decrease waste
> increase reuse, recycling and pollution prevention, and
> conserve energy and materials Program format includes guest speaker presentations and a discussion via conference call in conjunction with on-line Powerpoint presentations. For more information or to register click here |
LEED Congratulations
| The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED Professional Accreditation distinguishes building professionals with the knowledge and skills to successfully steward the integrated design and LEED certification process.
LEED Accredited Professionals have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building practices and principles and familiarity with LEED requirements, resources, and processes.
Congratulations are in order for H-GAC's own Amy Boyers, Senior Environmental Planner, who recently passed her LEED exams to earn her Accreditation on the first attempt, an impressive and well-deserved accomplishment. Her knowledge and expertise will be used as a springboard for various LEED-focused programs and workshops at H-GAC, including the upcoming Green Schools Symposia.
|
| Green Schools Symposia |  The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and the U.S. Green Building Council Greater Houston Area Chapter (USGBC GHAC) wish to invite you to the first in a series of symposia on Green Schools, January 17, 2008 at the United Way, located at 50 Waugh Drive, Houston, TX 77007, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. At this symposium, which is geared towards superintendents and school board members, you will hear how independent school districts around the region are planning and successfully implementing Green School designs. Dr. Abelardo Saavedra, Superintendent of Houston Independent School District, will be the luncheon speaker. You can register now by visiting www.h-gac.com/greenschools.
Additionally, we will be conducting the following future symposia:
· Green Schools Symposium Part 2 on March 20, 2008 for facilities and maintenance staff.
· Green Schools Symposium Part 3 in Fall 2008 for parent groups, such as PTAs or PTOs.
If you have any questions about the Green Schools Symposia or our green schools education program in general, please feel free to contact Amy Boyers (H-GAC) at 713-993-2441,
|
| Waste News Seeking Nominations for 2007 Environmental Awards | 
Waste News is seeking nominations for its 2007 Environmental Awards. As in the past, awards will be given in two categories, Corporate and Government. The Corporate Award recognizes a company that has made significant environmental strides in its business operations. The Government Award recognizes a public entity that has fostered environmental progress through programs, laws and other governmental initiatives. To nominate a company, please fill out the online nomination form at http://www.wastenews.com/nominate/. Nominations are due Friday, Nov. 9. Self-nominations are welcome. Waste News' editors will judge the nominations and consider other worthy companies and governmental bodies before choosing the winners. Stories profiling the winners will appear in the Nov. 26 issue of Waste News. If you have any questions, contact Waste News managing editor Pete Fehrenbach at pfehrenbach@crain.com. |
| EPA Pushes Procurement of Materials from Recovered Waste | The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is revising the list of items designated in the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines' landscaping products category to promote the use of materials recovered from solid waste. EPA is expanding the description of "compost" from yard trimmings and food waste to include compost from biosolids and manure, but does not limit the designation to specific types of organic materials. In addition, EPA has added fertilizer made from recovered materials as a designated landscaping item. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requires procurement officials to buy products containing recovered materials when the agencies spend more than $10,000 a year on that item. Procuring agencies are federal, state, and local agencies, and their contractors that use appropriated federal funds. For example, if a county agency spends more than $10,000 a year on an EPA-designated item and part of that money is from appropriated federal funds, then the agency must purchase that item made from recovered materials. Agencies are required to purchase the product with the highest recovered material content level practicable, given reasonable competition, product price, performance, and availability. Through the CPG requirement, EPA is harnessing the purchasing power of the federal government to foster and support markets for recycled-content products, thereby reducing the need for raw materials, consumption of energy, and the release of greenhouse gas emissions. Click here to read more on the Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) that outlines changes to the list of items designated in the CPG landscaping products category. Click here for Information on EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines Web site. |
|