The Bayou Banner
August 2016 Edition
General Meeting, August 11, 2016 — Dragonflies and Damselflies
Bob Honig, environmental consultant, and board member of the Katy Prairie Conservancy will present information on how dragonfiles and dameselflies live, grow and reproduce.
Dragonflies and damselflies comprise components of both terrestrial and aquatic food webs. The adults’ beautiful colors and easily observable habits have spawned an increasing interest among naturalists, including Bob who got hooked on them over 20 years ago.
EVENT DETAILS: Thursday, August 11, at St Stephen’s Episcopal Church 1805 W Alabama. Program starts at 7:30 PM. (Informal social period 7:00 PM.) Visitors always welcome.
Join us Tuesday, September 27, at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center for a special evening to benefit the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter and Houston Group. Enjoy appetizers, desserts, displays, and optional short hikes/walks. The main event will be from 6:30-8:30pm, and Arboretum walks between 6-7pm...
Are you excited or even concerned about the upcoming elections and their impact on our environment? We are too! Here is your chance to get involved with other local Sierra Club members and help solid green candidates. Houston’s Sierra Club Political Team is organizing right now to help candidates who will make a difference for our environment...
By Elizabeth Spike
Did you know that most Texans believe global warming is real? But fewer than half believe that if global warming is happening, it is caused mostly by human activities. Three in ten Texans believe it is caused mostly by natural changes in the environment. The adult population in Texas cannot decide if humans are causing our recent climate change or if it is Mother Nature running her course. This is where good science standards in our schools can help...
Last November, the sun became a little brighter in Houston.
That’s when the City of Houston announced that it will be purchasing 30 MW of solar power from Hecate Energy through its retail electric provider, Reliant Energy. This is a 20 year power purchase agreement; not just renewable energy credits (RECs). The facility will be located in West Texas near Alpine and Reliant will transport the solar power to the City’s meters beginning this December...
In June, Houston Sierra volunteers helped plant a variety of wetland plants at Exploration Green, a new park being developed in Clear Lake at a former golf course site.
When completed, Exploration Green, comprising nearly 200 acres, will feature a series of five connected finger lakes, 12 miles of hike-and-bike trails, safe play areas, and multi-use athletic fields. Complementing these amenities will be water-cleansing natural wetlands; habitat islands for indigenous wildlife, including resident and migrating birds, amphibians and butterflies; and a reforested, more natural environment for native grasses, flowers and trees...
The City of Houston recently announced two new glass recycling drop off locations, with more to follow. Through a new partnership with Strategic Materials Inc., North America’s largest glass recycler, the City is trying to provide citizens with more options to recycle glass. Strategic Materials is working with industry partners and local communities to cover the cost of glass recycling drop off boxes at a total of ten locations throughout Houston with the goal of continuing to expand the program...
Two Great Videos on the Recycling Process
Here are two well done videos that illustrate and explain how recyclables are actually processed. These videos also help to address many of the questions that citizens have about how to properly recycle...
By Stephanie Thomas
Over fifty millenials from across North America gathered in New Orleans alongside facilitators from GreenFaith, an organization that seeks to inspire, educate, and mobilize people of faith on environmental issues. We gathered there for GreenFaith’s 2016 Emerging Leaders Convergence called “Coming Together for Climate Justice.” I consider myself both spiritual and religious; as an ordained lay Buddhist minister and an activist with Sierra Club and other organizations, I found myself curious about what I might learn at a conference designed to help us put our beliefs into action from a grounding in our faith and spirituality...
On July 8, 2016, the Houston Sierra Club (HSC) met with the District Ranger and his staff at Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF) to discuss a proposed 4,100 acre project which would thin log 20-30 year old pine trees to reduce basal area (density) from 90-160 square feet/acre to 50-70 square feet/acre.
This project has been proposed to reduce southern pine beetle infestation risk and improve habitat for the federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) and other wildlife; plant native grasses in areas disturbed by logging (logging decks, temporary roads, and skid trails); maintain existing roads for access; masticate, mulch, or mow understory shrub growth; maintain open areas; and prepare sites for prescribed burning...
Ike Dike: A Hazard to Galveston Bay
The Central Spine (“Ike Dike”) has problems. There is a whole lot more wrong with this storm surge proposal than what the public has been told.
For instance, the damage to the San Luis Pass area, probably the last, most natural fish pass left on the Upper Texas Coast, if not the entire Texas Coast, has been ignored...
Get Outdoors!
For information on upcoming outings in the Houston area, check out our MeetUp site or our Outings Calendar on our website.
Outings Reports
Hudson Woods and Sea Center on a Hot Summer Day
As we approached Sally Lake Road, which would lead us in about one-half mile to Hudson Woods, David shouted out, “An Owl!” I looked in my rear-view mirror and I saw a Barred Owl perched on the FM 521 road sign that we had just passed. You never know what you will see on a Sierra Club outing...