The films presented by the Houston Green Film Series are free to public and funded by volunteer efforts, in-kind contributions and donations from the public. Free tickets on Eventbrite.

“There has to be a fuel revolution.”

-Donnie Tipton of Going Green Grease Recycling

Set in Houston, Texas in the shadow of the nation’s oil industry, Hot Grease tells the surprising story of how the biodiesel industry is turning an ostensibly worthless raw material, spent kitchen grease, into a renewable energy source capable of fueling cars, buses and fleets of trucks throughout the country.

The millions of gallons of cooking oil that our country’s restaurants use to fry up chicken, fries, and donuts used to end up as waste in landfills and pollutants in our waterways. But today, thanks to innovators, entrepreneurs, and politicians, it’s being turned into a functional fuel: biodiesel. Biodiesel reduces carbon emissions up to 85% compared to petroleum fuel, the equivalent of removing over 19 million cars from our highways. This film dives into the untapped market of biodiesel as it rapidly becomes a commodity and individuals dedicate their livelihood to making it an accessible fuel choice in Houston.

This month’s panelists & exhibitors:

Chris Powers, Houston Biodiesel

Jody Gibson, Energy Institute High School

Michael McClere, Dependable Cooking Oil

Alona Hernandez, Houston Public Works

Ted Driscoll, Galveston Bay Foundation

Free to the public, though donations are kindly appreciated. Rice Cinema is located at 2030 University Blvd, near Stockton and University.

• 6:30 PM Reception & Refreshments
• 7:00 PM Film Screening
• 8:00 PM Panel Discussion
• 9:00 PM The conversation continues at Valhalla, Rice University’s Graduate Student Pub

For questions about transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event go to https://park-trans.rice.edu/

What’s new with solar?  Time for an update.  A solar farm is in development for Houston, and Tesla will tell us what their solar offering is these days. In addition, we’ll have a bit of permit data about solar installations in Houston.

Dori Wolfe, founder of Wolfe Energy, will discuss her C-40 proposal to the City of Houston to convert a brownfield landfill to a solar farm including systems thinking and recent progress in the community solar movement.  Mark Mason, market manager of Houston Metro/Mexico of TESLA, will fill you in on the various solar products offered by Tesla, such as those solar roof tiles you’ve heard about, and how those are different from the other products on the market.

The City of Houston—Public Works & Engineering Code Enforcement Green Building Resource Center presents this Education Seminar in partnership with the Texas Chapter of the US Green Building Council.  This 2019 series is generously underwritten by Rockwool.

CEUs available.  Please RSVP to steve.stelzer@houstontx.gov. Free parking.  Bus stop: Preston@Elder.

Shell Educators’ Preview: Start your evening at 4 p.m. and earn one hour of CPE credit while viewing our newly renovated George W. Strake Hall of Malacology.

HMNS’ Educator Members will have an opportunity to speak to Tina Petway, the
Museum’s Associate Curator of Malacology, during the Shell Educators’ Preview.
As a special treat, all guests will also be able to visit our newest special exhibition,
Art of the Brick until 6:00 p.m.!

The Educator Event @HMNS: Continue your evening with us starting at 5 p.m.
and earn up to three additional hours of CPE credit depending on which
programming you attend. HMNS is featuring several ways to earn CPE credit from
attending workshops to taking a guided tour to seeing a show in our Planetarium.
Educators are able to earn a total of up to 4 hours of CPE credit while attending
HMNS’, An Evening for Educators!

Registration Information
Educators: Free
Non-Educators: $10.00

(Pricing includes entry to the George W. Strake Hall of Malacology and Art of the Brick)
Registration begins Tuesday, July 30th and ends Wednesday, October 2nd.
Please complete the online form at hmns.org/eveningforeducators to reserve your spot. For questions, contact educatorevent@hmns.org.

Chimney Rock Market is an outdoor market that features local artists and farmers. Beginning on Feb. 18, 2018, are open the first Sunday of each month.

Their vendors sell mouth-watering eats and artisan gifts the whole family can enjoy. As always, four-legged friends are welcome. There will be plenty of treats for them too!

When you’re done shopping, stop in Sean Anthony Salons to browse the beautiful art gallery brought to you by Creative Energy. Art Reception is from 2pm-4pm. Meet the Artisits! Refreshments will be served.

If you are interested in becoming a vendor, please email chimneyrockmarket@yahoo.com.

Visit the Chimney Rock Market’s Facebook page.

The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N. is sponsoring a FREE Going Green Sustainability lecture: “Mycophile or Mycophobe–we all need mushrooms” with guest speaker, Teri MacArthur, Certified Texas Master Naturalist. This event is free and open to the public.

Rain is as important as carbon dioxide in cooling our planet. People must restore trees and soil to restore the water cycle.

The image above shows how trees pump huge amounts of water back into the air and create more rain further inland. It is a river in the sky.

When folks started climate modeling, to simplify, they ignored water vapor and focused on carbon dioxide. But the water cycle is 95% of planetary cooling while carbon dioxide is only 5%, according to Dr. Walter Jehne. We need to keep on reducing emissions, but it’s time to also work on restoring ecosystems and their soils. Besides this may be an easier and faster way to make a difference.

To learn more and register to this event visit Coolingourplanet

Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) will receive the 2019 Rudy Bruner Award Silver Medal for the transformation of Buffalo Bayou Park during a presentation on October 28. Following the presentation by Rudy Bruner Director Anne-Marie Lubenau, a panel discussion will highlight Buffalo Bayou Park and proposed improvements along Buffalo Bayou east of downtown.

Co-sponsored by AIA Houston and BBP, the panel will include Anne-Marie Lubenau; Guy Hagstette, Vice President of Parks & Civic Projects at the Kinder Foundation; Cary Hirschstein, Partner at HR&A; and Scott McCready, Principal of SWA Group.

The panel will be moderated by Bill Fulton, Director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.  The event is free and open to the public. 

Chimney Rock Market is an outdoor market that features local artists and farmers. Beginning on Feb. 18, 2018, are open the first Sunday of each month.

Their vendors sell mouth-watering eats and artisan gifts the whole family can enjoy. As always, four-legged friends are welcome. There will be plenty of treats for them too!

When you’re done shopping, stop in Sean Anthony Salons to browse the beautiful art gallery brought to you by Creative Energy. Art Reception is from 2pm-4pm. Meet the Artisits! Refreshments will be served.

If you are interested in becoming a vendor, please email chimneyrockmarket@yahoo.com.

Visit the Chimney Rock Market’s Facebook page.

Environmental Impacts of ITC Fire:
What Galveston Bay Foundation Has Found

Galveston Bay Foundation has partnered with Texas A&M’s Superfund Research Center to collect and analyze water samples around the ITC incident for PFAs, a group of chemical compounds frequently found in industrial product and firefighting foam. Join us for a presentation by Galveston Bay Foundation and Texas A&M Researchers to share our monitoring efforts and subsequent findings related to the ITC Chemical Fire.

Presenters include:
Weihsueh Chiu Ph.D, Professor, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Texas A&M SRP Principle Investigator for Decision Science, Research Translation Cores.
Garret Sansom, DrPh, Research Assistant Professor, Texas A&M Environmental and Occupation Health, and Texas A&M Superfund Research Center Co-Investigator for Community Engagement Core.

Please RSVP at
http://support.galvbay.org/site/Calendar?id=100421&view=Detail

From the Garden of Eden to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon – gardens have played a central role in human history and have been a popular subject for artists throughout time. Join us to explore the gardens depicted in the collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. GARDENS is sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts Guild and is presented by Gerry Aitken, past president of the Museum Guild and a current docent and coordinator of the Speakers Bureau at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Bring lunch and enjoy a different gardening topic each month during these presentations. Lunch Bunch is recommended for ages 12+. Call Mercer Botanic Gardens to RSVP. Please note: Location temporarily outdoors in main garden under staff building.