ENVIRONMENTAL HEADLINES, MAY 26 – JUNE 1

NASA CHIEF DOUBTS URGENCY OF GLOBAL WARMING
Houston Chronicle 5/30/07
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, whose agency’s observations of the Earth have helped to confirm a global rise in temperature, said he doubts that global warming is an issue mankind should address.

EXXON INVESTORS PUT EXEC PAY ISSUE ABOVE CLIMATE
Reuters 5/31/07
DALLAS – Exxon Mobil Corp. spent much of its annual meeting on Wednesday defending its environmental policy, but shareholders of the world’s largest company were more concerned with its executive pay and governance practices.

EXXON ISN’T BUDGING ON EMISSIONS STANCE

EXXON ISN’T SETTING CLIMATE GOALS YET

BIODIESEL FACILITY CRANKS UP
Galveston County Daily News 5/30/07
The official opening of the BioSelect Fuels biodiesel plant signals a small step in the move to replace petroleum as our main fuel.

BIOSELECT, CHEVRON UNVEIL GALVESTON BIODIESEL PLANT

DOGGETT SLAMS TYSON-CONOCOPHILLIPS DIESEL-FUEL DEAL
Victoria Advocate 5/29/07
Plans by Tyson Foods Inc. and ConocoPhillips to produce and market diesel made from beef, pork and poultry fat and take advantage of a tax credit are perverting the purpose of the credit, opponents argue.

ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND
Houston Chronicle 5/25/07
Al Gore would be proud. Many of the winners of the recently announced American Institute of Architects Houston 2007 Design Awards have gone green with recycled materials, energy-saving features and designs that respect surroundings and tradition. Here are some examples.

CB RICHARD ELLIS LAUNCHES GREEN INITIATIVE
Houston Business Journal 5/31/07
Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Inc., a national commercial real estate firm with a Houston presence, is launching an initiative to reduce and eventually eliminate its dependence on carbon dioxide-producing energy throughout the 1.7 billion square feet of building space it manages worldwide by 2010.

SPRING ENTOMOLOGIST TEACHES OTHERS THE BEAUTY OF INSECTS
Houston Chronicle 5/29/07
Spring resident Laurie Pierrel is a public relations expert of sorts.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE BEES GONE?
Houston Chronicle 5/25/07
It was truly eerie, when preparing this column, to walk through my garden and not see bees. We had beehives for years, and their presence has always been a given.

READY TO SOAR: BALD EAGLES CONTINUE TO NEST IN THE WOODLANDS; SHIFT SITE
Houston Chronicle 5/30/07
Seven out of 10 times, bald eagles win when naturalist Jerry Walls asks his guests their favorite bird, the final question on his guided bird tours on Lake Conroe.

COUNTY OKS MORE FUNDS TO BATTLE WATER WEEDS

REPUBLICANS BLOCK RESOLUTION HONORING RACHEL CARSON
E-magazine 5/29/07
The late Rachel Carson wrote the influential 1962 book Silent Spring that detailed how pesticides like DDT were wiping out America’s birds. Her far-reaching influence gave birth to the modern environmental movement. But does that make Carson a national hero?

US SENATOR BLOCKS HONOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PIONEER

COMMUNITIES WIN ENVIRONMENT AWARD
Brazosport Facts 5/28/07
Two area cities were awarded the prestigious Governor’s Community Achievement Award.