Coalition Notes 09-28-2011

1. Gulf Restoration Network: Unnatural Histories, Unnatural Waters. Thursday, September 29, 2011, 6:00pm to 8:00pm, Inman Gallery. Join GRN this Thursday evening for a reception at Inman Gallery with paintings by artist Kristin Musgnug and a short presentation by Gulf Restoration Network about its response work to the BP oil drilling disaster and campaign for clean water in the Gulf of Mexico region. The event is free and open to the public.  With questions, call (504) 525-1528 x210 or e-mailmembership@healthygulf.org.
2. Getting to Go: Sustainable Transportation Strategies. H-GAC is hosting Getting to Go: Sustainable Transportation Strategies luncheon and workshop Friday, September 30, 2011, from 10:30 to 3:30 at Embassy Suites in the Houston Energy Corridor. Participants will hear from prominent local and national experts who will share their successful strategies, including bicycle/pedestrian planning, livable centers projects and Commute Solutions. A networking expo will follow. For more information and to register ($25), visit www.h-gac.com/go/sustainabletransportation or contact Meredith Dang at 713-993-2443 or meredith.dang@h-gac.com.
3. Texas Stream Team: Meeting of the Monitors. Texas State University’s Texas Stream Team and Houston-Galveston Area Council have organized the Meeting of the Monitors from September 29th to October 1st at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake. The three day event is designed to encourage communication and networking between regulatory agencies, community members, volunteer monitors, and other stakeholders; provide opportunities for citizen monitors to expand their skill-sets as citizen scientists by participating in many hands-on workshops; recognize and reward citizen water quality monitoring efforts; and, provide educational and professional development opportunities. To view a detailed schedule, and to register, visit http://www.rivernetwork.org/events/texas-stream-team-meeting-monitors.
4. Scenarios 2040. The Center for Houston’s Future will be hosting Scenarios 2040 on October 4th at 5pm at the Bell Tower on 34th. Scenarios 2040 stories are based on rigorous research, analysis and community interviews that help us understand how the powerful driving forces that affect our world – and the choices we make right now – could affect our region’s future decades from now. For more information, visit http://centerforhoustonsfuture.org/.
5. Transition Houston: Recycling in Texas.  Transition Houston has a great program lined up, as Shawn McFarland will be speaking about recycling in Texas, as well as her experiences campaigning to improve recycling laws.  Representatives from the City will provide information about the upcoming neighborhood organizing conference, and updates fromNeighborhood Initiatives and Action Groups will be provided.  As always, Transition Houston will close out the meeting with refreshments, conversation, and community! Tuesday, October 4, 7-9 PM, Christ the King Lutheran Church at the corner of Greenbriar and Rice Blvd. http://www.transitionhouston.org/content/transition-houston-october-meeting.
6. Central City Coop: Healthy Living Seminars. Natural Living will be presenting “Healthy Living” seminars at Central City Co-op on the First and Third Wednesdays of each month this fall. Pre-registration is required. Please Email to Register October 5 ~Eco cleaners for the home~11am-12:30pm Cost $30 Co-op members $25 come learn how to make sustainable cleaners for the home. Use natural ingredients for cleaning anything at the house in a low cost/ non-toxic way! Guests will make and take home samples as well as all the recipes. For more information or to register, e-mail.
7. HARC and Huntsman Congratulates Township on Bicycle Friendly Community Designation. The League of American Bicyclists announced Wednesday that The Woodlands has received a “Bicycle Friendly Community” designation at the Bronze Level. Currently only Austin and San Antonio are Texas cities rated as Bicycle Friendly. David Hitchcock, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) staff member, and Ronald Keichline, resident of The Woodlands and Huntsman Associate, helped organize a Woodlands Ad Hoc Bicycle Committee in early 2010 to seek this designation and to lend support to the Township in assembling the lengthy application. In addition to Township staff and HARC, other important partner organizations include The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N., the Woodlands Cycling Club, and Lonestar Multisport. More at http://www.bikeleague.org.
8. STS-AIChE meeting: Living and Working in Space: Perspectives of a Chemical Engineer. The October STS-AIChE meeting will be held on October 6th, 2011 at the Moody Gardens Hotel, Seven Hope Blvd, Galveston, TX – 77554. This meeting is part of the 3rd Annual Regional Process Technology Conference. If you are on the North side of Houston, consider attending the satellite meeting at Stir Crazy,25 Waterway Ave, The Woodlands, TX 77380. The satellite meeting is a social, networking meeting. Our dinner speaker will be Al Sacco, Jr., Dean of Whitacre College of Engineering at TexasTechUniversity in Lubbock, TX. A visual tour of traveling into space will be given along with anecdotal stories of what training, flight and landing is like. Data will be shown on zeolite crystallization indicating that crystals grown in space are more uniform and may have different catalytic properties. http://sts.aiche.org.