Xylem & Phloem

I imagine many of you have heard about the problem of our diminishing worldwide bee population thought to be a result of global warming. As gardeners, we all know the important role that bees play in a garden's harmonious eco-system, and now there is a way for us to contribute to the creation of the first real map of the state of bees across the nation. For more information about the National Bee Survey and ways to participate, check out this blog entry on OrlandoSentinel.com, or visit http://www.greatsunflower.org.

Posted by Callie at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Brace yourself. Callie is ready to rant today... 

From personal experience and conversations with several other Dallas residents, it is clear that the new recycling bin campaign is a success -- at least among its users. While this effort to encourage citywide residential recycling is a giant step forward for Dallas in terms of the city's efforts to increase environmental responsibility, I am repeatedly confronted by the fact that our city is light-years behind others when it comes to creating effective and accessible "green" programs for its residents. Several months ago, I wrote about my passion for rainbarrels and pointed out the lack of a rainbarrel distribution program in Dallas (like that available in Austin) despite a huge municipal push for water conservation. (I'm sorry, but hosting a "Waterwise Garden Tour" and restricting sprinkler usage between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm just isn't going to cut it unless the city makes a concerted effort to crack down on offenders. I personally reported a sprinkler violator at a massive "estate" on Park Lane three separate times only to be told that "we did not find evidence of water restriction violation at the reported address". And exactly HOW did you manage to miss the sprinkler wand placed less than three feet off the curb, spilling half the water onto the steaming asphalt road???)

Continue reading "Why Dallas Is Failing Environmentalism 101" »

Posted by Callie at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Tonight I called Representative Will Hartnett. Not exactly expecting him to pick up the telephone, I was startled when he answered his office phone at 7:15 in the evening. Mostly, I wanted to speak with him about the proposed coal-burning power plants. I expressed to him that I was concerned about everything that was going on, and I wanted to know where he stands on the issue. The one most important thing that he told me was that he plans to hold TXU to their word that the coal plants will not raise local pollution levels by even one particle. In fact, Hartnett said that he is considering drafting a bill to ensure that they live up to their promise. My experience tonight truly showed me the power of democracy. Just like my previous entry "Organics in Action", tonight was Democracy in Action!

I mentioned to him that I felt it is sad that we are forced to build more plants in order to meet rising energy demands when we should be making an effort to educate people on energy conservation. He said that the government can't mandate how people lead their lives. I don't agree with this, but it was the best answer he could give me without admitting that I was right; we do need to encourage people to conserve energy instead of just putting a band-aid on the problem by building more plants. Lesson learned tonight? CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. You will be amazed what you can learn, and how just one phone call could influence future government action.

Posted by Callie at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Instead of encouraging consumers to conserve energy, TXU has plans to build 11 coal-fire power plants in Texas to meet growing power demands. This enfuriates me. I can't believe that in the 21st century big businesses are spending capital on 19th century energy generation methods.

Check THIS out from an article on NPR.com: "Perry has received $148,000 alone from Earle Nye, retired chairman of TXU. Nye gave the governor $2,000 on the day Perry signed the order to expedite TXU's coal-fired plants," McDonald says. "Last year, [TXU] employed 52 paid lobbyists to the tune of $3 million."

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to take action against this, but until then:

E-mail Governor Rick Perry

E-mail TXU Executives 

Posted by Callie at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)