CEC:AUSTIN ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS UPDATE =AD 1/16/04
__________________________________________________ _______________________=


LOCAL
(1) Renewable energy focus of statewide street canvass
(2) Cattle =


THE WEEK'S EVENTS
(3) MLK Tree Planting
(4) Friends of Big Bend National Park Reception/Fundraiser
(5) Central Texas Trail Tamers
(6) Simple Sounds Concert in the Cave
(7) Rhizome Collective Community Potluck


IN THE NEWS
(8) Austin American Statesman
(9) Austin Chronicle

CEC Environmental News Update is a weekly publication by the Citizens'
Environmental Coalition, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fostering
dialogue, education and collaboration relating to environmental issues
in
the Houston/Galveston and Austin regions. Visit the CEC online at
http://www.cechouston.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe email To
suggest
items for inclusion, or if you have news tips or story ideas, send your
request via e-mail to Erika McDonald at .

Phone: (713) 524-4232
Fax: (713) 524-3311cecaustin wrote:
=

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=

CEC:AUSTIN ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS UPDATE =AD 1/16/04
__________________________________________________ _____________________=
__
=

LOCAL
(1) Renewable energy focus of statewide street canvass
(2) Cattle
=

THE WEEK'S EVENTS
(3) MLK Tree Planting
(4) Friends of Big Bend National Park Reception/Fundraiser
(5) Central Texas Trail Tamers
(6) Simple Sounds Concert in the Cave
(7) Rhizome Collective Community Potluck
=

IN THE NEWS
(8) Austin American Statesman
(9) Austin Chronicle
__________________________________________________ _____________________=

=

LOCAL
=

(1) RENEWABLE ENERGY FOCUS OF STATEWIDE STREET CANVAS
by Erika McDonald
=

Last week, the Austin-based Texas Public Interest Research Group launch=
ed a
campaign designed to increase public awareness of the state=B9s renewab=
le
energy potential and put pressure on public officials.
TexPIRG volunteers are on the streets, in coffee shops, bookstores an=
d
markets in cities across the state collecting signatures to support a
proposed state law requiring that 10 percent of energy generation in Te=
xas
come from renewable resources by 2015.
"Texas is primed to be a world leader for clean energy," TexPIRG dire=
ctor
Luke Metzger said. "We want to show that how excited Texans are about t=
hings
like wind and solar energy."
The Sunset Commission, which makes recommendations to the state
legislature, is currently considering reforms to the Texas Public Utili=
ty
Commission. TexPIRG and other groups including Public Citizen, Texas Im=
pact
and the SEED Coalition want those reforms to raise the renewable energy=

standard to 10 percent. A state law passed in 1999 requires that three
percent of Texas energy come from renewable sources by 2009.
The groups are also targeting Lt. Governor David Dewhurst who has pub=
licly
supported advancing clean energy in Texas. The groups are asking Texans=
to
write letters urging Dewhurst to fulfill a 2002 campaign promise of a 1=
0
percent standard.
Metzger said the 10 percent requirement would help the state reduce a=
ir
pollution from coal and gas powered utilities, create jobs and increase=
tax
revenue for schools and hospitals.
=

(2) CATTLE TUBERCULOSIS FOUND IN CENTRAL TEXAS HERD
Associated Press
=

A herd of dairy cattle in Central Texas has tested positive for cattl=
e
tuberculosis, state officials said.
The infection at a Hamilton County dairy is the first discovered thro=
ugh a
statewide testing program launched in November, the Texas Animal Health=

Commission said in a Thursday statement.
Veterinarians have tested 57 purebred herds and 82 dairies since the
program began, the commission said. They plan to test about 2,400 of th=
e
state's seedstock beef herds and all of Texas' 831 dairy herds before
September 2004 as part the federally funded surveillance program.
Officials are trying to determine how the herd was infected and if th=
e
infection has spread to other herds. Tuberculosis is highly contagious =
among
cattle, causing abscesses and leading to death, but it cannot be spread=
to
humans. All infected animals in a herd must be killed.
The Hamilton County dairy was quarantined by the agency in late Decem=
ber,
after a number of animals reacted to tuberculosis skin tests, said Dr. =
Bob
Hillman, Texas state veterinarian and the commission's executive direct=
or.
Veterinarians collected tissue from several of the dairy animals and
forwarded the samples to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in=

Ames, Iowa.
"Lab results in mid-January confirmed the preliminary diagnosis, and =
we
are working with the dairy owner to determine the most appropriate way =
to
deal with the infected herd," Hillman said.
Texas earned the US Department of Agriculture's coveted tuberculosis-=
free
ranking in 2000 but lost it in 2002 after two infected cattle herds wer=
e
detected. A third infected cattle herd was found in August 2003 in Zava=
la
County.
Hillman said the discovery of the infected herd confirms the need for=
the
statewide testing program.
"Finding an infected herd this early in the testing effort indicates =
we
are on the right track," he said.
Similar testing programs are underway in California, New Mexico and
Michigan -- states that also have lost their tuberculosis-free ranking.=

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=

THE WEEK=B9S EVENTS
=

(3) MLK TREE PLANTING
=

Date: Sat, Jan 17
Time: 9 am-12 pm
Contact: TreeFolks (512) 443-5323
=

(4) FRIENDS OF BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK RECEPTION AND FUNDRAISER
=

Date: Tue, Jan 20
Location: Hyatt Regency, Town Lake
Time: 4-6 pm
Contact: (512) 328-3619
=

(5) RHIZOME COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY POTLUCK
=

Date: Thurs, Jan 22
Location: 300 Allen
Time: 7 pm
Contact: (512) 448-0717 or
=

(6) CENTRAL TEXAS TRAIL TAMERS OUTING
=

Date: Sat, Jan 24
Location: Acacia Preserve, Dripping Springs
Time: 10 am
Contact: Penny Weibly at (512) 280-1792 or
=

(7) MC KINNEY FALLS HIKE
=

Date: Sat, Jan 24
Location: Mc Kinney Falls, Austin
Time: 8 am
Contact: Al Wickline at (512) 864-3665
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IN THE NEWS
=

(8) AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN
=

WEST CAMPUS REDUX, 1/11/04
Plan would promote high-density student housing to preserve neighboring=

residential areas.
http://www.statesman.com/news/conten...s/sunday/news=
_0410
30b1d55de1b6003c.html
=

STENCH NEAR LAKE CAME LATE IN 2003, 1/11/04
That unpleasant phenomenon is called 'turning' or flipping.'
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/...ditions/sunda=
y/met
ro_state_041030f6d55d312e002e.html
=

S. AUSTIN STRIP MALL TELLS GENTRIFICATION TO WALK THE PLANK, 1/12/04
The Crockett Center on Manchaca Road, a strip center a little north of
Stassney Lane, continues to tell swank to take a hike.
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/...ditions/sunda=
y/met
ro_state_0410206fd55d6183007a.html?urcm=3Dy
=

HAZARDOUS SPILL CAUSES RESIDENTS TO EVACUATE, 1/13/04
Train derails near Cameron.
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/...ditions/monda=
y/met
ro_state_0420450a95a2b05a0040.html
=

AREA TO FAIL OZONE STANDARD, STUDY SAYS, 1/15/04
Region's leaders reaffirm voluntary plan to cut lung-damaging pollutant=
s
that includes vehicle emission tests.
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/...ditions/thurs=
day/m
etro_state_0460942c46020268007f.html
=

WATER WILL FINALLY FLOW AT TRAVIS COLONIA, 1/15/04
Three years after grant awarded, unimproved neighborhood likely to get =
water
hook-up
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/...ditions/thurs=
day/m
etro_state_0460949c4602421000cf.html
=

(9) AUSTIN CHRONICLE
=

AUSTIN AT LARGE: TIME TO REPEAL SOS?
What's really at stake in the Temple-Inland deal
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issue.../pols_atlarge=
=2Ehtml

=

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__
=

ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION
=

CEC Environmental News Update is a weekly publication by the Citizens'
Environmental Coalition, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fosterin=
g
dialogue, education and collaboration relating to environmental issues =
in
the Houston/Galveston and Austin regions. Visit the CEC online at
http://www.cechouston.org
=

To subscribe or unsubscribe email To sug=
gest
items for inclusion, or if you have news tips or story ideas, send your=

request via e-mail to Erika McDonald at .
=

Phone: (713) 524-4232
Fax: (713) 524-3311
=

=

=

.

-- =

Celestial Habitats by J. Kolenovsky
2003 Honorable Mention Award, Keep Houston Beautiful
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal