ENVIRONMENTAL HEADLINES, APRIL 21 – 27

ASTRONAUTS RECALL VIEW BEFORE EARTH DAY
Environmental News Network 4/20/07
The rarest view in humanity — Earth from afar — moves many of the lucky few observers to tears and gives them a new appreciation of that blue marble we all call home.

RHODIA ORDERED TO MAKE CHANGES AT EIGHT SULFUR PLANTS
Houston Business Journal 4/26/07
Rhodia Inc. will pay a $2 million penalty and spend about $50 million on air pollution controls at eight production plants in four states, including two in Houston, as part of a U.S. Department of Justice settlement over allegations that the company violated the Clean Air Act.

DATA SOUGHT FROM BP AIR TEST
Houston Chronicle 4/25/07
A federal judge in Galveston has given BP 10 days to turn over results of air-quality tests at its Texas City refinery after more than 100 contract workers were sent to hospitals last week, complaining of flu-like symptoms.

SEA SICK: POISON CASE COULD SIGNAL TREND
The Galveston County Daily News 4/22/07
GALVESTON – A dangerous toxin that causes an unusual illness could be making its way into Gulf fish.

RIDERS’ WAIT IS OVER: BIKE RACKS ARE HERE
Houston Chronicle 4/21/07
The Metropolitan Transit Authority announced in 2000 that it planned to put bike racks on its buses, a standard practice in many cities, by 2001.

METRO ROLLS OUT 10 HYBRID BUSES

HOUSTON NONPROFITS’ $1 LEASE CONTRACTS EXAMINED
Houston Chronicle 4/22/07
There’s the museum on Milam where the city’s firefighting history is on display in a stately brick building that is a protected historical landmark.

WORKING TO PRESERVE ‘JEWEL’ IN OUR BACKYARD
Houston Chronicle 4/22/07
Twenty miles from downtown Houston and minutes from George Bush Intercontinental Airport flows a placid waterway that seems much farther from those urban landmarks.

FIRST STEPS TAKEN TO PRESERVE RIVER OAKS THEATERS
Houston Chronicle 4/26/07
The Houston Archaeological and Historic Commission unanimously agreed Wednesday to take the first steps to designate the River Oaks and Bookstop/Alabama theaters as historic landmarks.

CONSERVATION GROUP GETS FIRST LAND DONATION
The Galveston County Daily News 4/25/07
GALVESTON – Developers hoping to preserve an area of wetlands on the island donated the parcel to the Cabeza de Vaca conservation group.

FLOWERS AND TREES, THE LEGEND OF TEAS
Bellaire Examiner 4/25/07
One tree at a time is how John Teas has watched Houston grow. And as he celebrates his 50th anniversary with his family’s nursery, he can take satisfaction in the notion that Teas Nursery may be responsible for more flowers and greenery here than even Mother Nature.

AFTER 50 YEARS, JOHN TEAS’ ROSES ARE STILL IN BLOOM

EVEN TREE HUGGERS HATE THE CHINESE TALLOW
Bellaire Examiner 4/25/07
As we note the accomplishments of the Teas family on this, John Teas’ 50th anniversary year with the nursery business, we can’t help but point out one big boo-boo by founder Edward Teas.

IS HOUSTON READY FOR ZONING? WHY? WHY NOT?
Houston Business Journal 4/20/07
TAPPING INTO LOCAL PRIDE
Houston Chronicle 4/26/07
It’s a strange phenomenon, the same thing all over Houston. When I tell people I recently moved from the Chronicle’s Austin bureau to start writing this column, I often get an apology.