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January 2018 Edition
January 11, 2018 — Batteries as Big Power
With the global energy demand surging, battery storage has been falling in price while increasing in market value. The Midwest, California, and Hawaii are leading the way, battery storage is now being used on the electricity grid to firm up wind and solar power, replace natural gas peaking plants, and provide system stability. With rapid price decreases, batteries stand to be a large part of the electric grid of the future – but barriers to market, technology hurdles, and business risks -- all challenges that need to be solved. This talk will cover the current state of the market and the potential ways it can evolve in the future. Jeff currently is Managing Director of Key Capture Energy, a firm focused on becoming the leading battery storage development company in the East.
The event is free and open to the public at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1805 West Alabama, Houston. Main program starts 7:30 PM. Doors open 7:00 PM.
There has been a lot of concern this year about wildfires in the United States. In the West, particularly in Montana and California, large acreages of forest, chaparral, and grassland landscapes have burned, some with almost complete vegetation burning and some hardly touched. But how have wildfires affected Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF), fifty miles north of Houston, Texas?
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Tiny bits of plastic make their way into our food chain. These bits of plastic can adhere to persistent organic pollutants like DDT and PCB’s—both suspected cancer causing agents in humans. Ideally, plastic is stored indefinitely in engineered landfills. However, too much plastic does not make it to our landfills. It ends up littering our streets, our bayous, and eventually pollutes our oceans.
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Houston METRO is currently developing a draft plan for the next phase of transit and mobility projects in the region. It is expected that this draft will be released in late spring for public review and comment. One of the modes of high capacity transit that will likely be considered is bus rapid transit, or BRT. Currently METRO has its first BRT corridor in development along Post Oak Blvd. in the Galleria area, but this likely won’t go into operation until sometime in spring 2019.
Go here for more information.
On Saturday, January 27th 12:30 to 4:00 at Keck Hall at Rice University, all seven Democratic US District 07 Congressional candidates will be present to answer climate change questions.
US Congressman John Culberson was invited but did not respond. However, US Congressman Beto O’Rourke, running against incumbent Republican US Senator Ted Cruz, will begin the event and will answer questions.
Go here for more information.
The Houston Sierra Club is a member group of our regional Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (CEC), and we encourage your support of this year’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour, one of the largest environmental film festivals in North America. The CEC is bringing this event to Houston for two nights: January 24-25, 2018!
Go here for more information.
By Chris Liu
Galveston Bay is the ideal nursery for numerous species of finfish and shellfish. It’s a stopover site for migratory birds, and its surrounding wetlands are home to an abundance of waterfowl. It drives the local economy and provides immeasurable benefits to the region in the form of various ecosystem services.
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By Chris Liu
I moved back to Houston recently after spending 4 fun and exciting years in the Hill Country. Though Austin’s got us beat in terms of breakfast tacos and live music, I must say that Houston is much more robust and cultured. I was born and raised here, so these opinions might be a bit biased.
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Get Outdoors!
For information on upcoming outings in the Houston area, check out our MeetUp site or our Outings Calendar on our website.
By Tom Douglas
Our base of operations for the day was Cedar Hill Park, which is on Lake Charlotte Road about 7 miles northwest of the city of Anahuac. Originally constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the park is operated by the Chambers County Parks and Recreation Department.
Go here for more information.