Dish Sale Fundraiser

Glenbrook Valley Dish Sale Fundraiser
via Houston Mod
The Glenbrook Valley preservation committee is holding a sale of fine china to support its efforts to be designated Texas' first post-World War II historic district. The neighborhood includes numerous architecturally-significant mid-century houses including some detailed in Houston Mod's on-line database.

According to organizers, the sale will include "100's of pieces, prices starting at 50 cents. Great Christmas gifts, traditional pieces to more mod pieces like Russell Wright."

Sale hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday. The sale will be held at 8206 Glencrest at the corner of Glencrest and Montglen.

CRUDE

A documentary on the true price of crude.
"Three years in the making, this cinéma-vérité feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet. The inside story of the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case"...The landmark case takes place in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, pitting 30,000 indigenous and colonial rainforest dwellers against the U.S. oil giant Chevron. The plaintiffs claim that Texaco – which merged with Chevron in 2001 – spent three decades systematically contaminating one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, poisoning the water, air and land. The plaintiffs allege that the pollution has created a “death zone” in an area the size of the Rhode Island, resulting in increased rates of cancer, leukemia, birth defects, and a multiplicity of other health ailments."

Find out where it's showing near you and Stay Updated. Sign Up to receive occasional updates about the movie’s release, special screenings and events, the ongoing legal case against Chevron and more.
Check it out.

PNC greenwall

PNC UNVEILS LARGEST GREEN WALL IN NORTH AMERICA- PITTSBURGH, PA

"The 2,380 sq. ft., soil-based wall - similar in size to a doubles tennis court - features a variety of regional plants grown into living art on the south-facing wall of One PNC Plaza at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street in downtown Pittsburgh.

It is estimated that each of the 602 panels, with 24 plants in each 2x2 sq. ft. space, will offset the carbon footprint of one person. The vertical garden, similar to a green roof, will help to cool the 30-story building. Preliminary studies show the south-facing living wall will be 25 percent cooler behind the wall than ambient temperatures. "The wall is a fitting reminder that PNC is the world leader in green building," said PNC Director of Corporate Real Estate Gary Saulson. "City sidewalks are cooler and quieter thanks to shade and sound absorption by green walls and urban planting."

Watch the video below: (or if you if you're viewing this in your email- click on post to view online)
Read More

Toxic Ocean

These guys traveled to the middle of nowhere to document the seriousness of the plastic pollution that ends up in the ocean. It's not the "island of trash" they expected... but worse. Tiny particulates that are impossible to ever extract completely, that get eaten and re-absorbed ...

"it's the composition of the ocean...we've without realizing it consigned ourselves to eating our own sh*t"

It's completely disheartening.
I've posted links to videos 1 and 3 of this series... they're a little long and the people documenting it can get a bit annoying. Still worth a watch.

Part I:

Part III:

6 Acre Living Roof

Vancouver's 6 Acre Living Roof from Dave Budge on Vimeo.

The roof of the Vancouver BC Convention Centre is covered with over 2.5 hectares (6 acres) of native grassland.

Tour and interview with the landscape architect of the project, Bruce Hemstock.

(via Archinect.com)

Last chance to see 'Tapumes' at Rice Gallery!‏

Save the Rainforests

Featuring a very green frog....and a prince or two ;)
Thought i would share this cute video i saw via- treehugger.com



If you can't see this video in your email click here

The Green House of the Future

Via - Wall Street Journal - APRIL 27, 2009 - CONSUMERS- By ALEX FRANGOS

"....A fresh look may be long overdue, given the amount of damage that homes can do to the environment. It's easy to envision a power plant spewing pollution or a highway full of cars burning billions of gallons of petroleum. But buildings -- silent and unmoving -- are the quiet users of much of our energy, through electricity, heating and water consumption. The U.S. Energy Department estimates buildings are responsible for 39% of our energy consumption and a similar percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions."

Read more...

Earth Day Houston

EARTH DAY HOUSTON

Start celebrating Earth Day, which falls on April 22

Where: Discovery Green, downtown, near McKinney and Crawford

When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; an Earth Day 5K run begins at 8 a.m.

Information: For more on the event and 5K, go to www.earthdayhouston.org

All the events are free. Most of the activities will be divided into zones:

• Air Zone includes smelly scavenger hunts for hidden air-pollution sources and a find-it-and-fix-it leak-detection test.

•Land Zone offers activities to help people with the four R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle and respect the Earth.

•Water Zone involves interactive activities, a look at a pile of trash gathered from Houston’s bayous, games and puzzles.

•Renewable Energy Zone has solar ovens, displays and a microwave powered by solar and wind energy.

• Environmental Education Zone houses 30 local green nonprofits.

• Kids Energy Zone includes inflatables, recycled art and the Discovery Green playground.

Tapumes Invite

Gulf Coast Green 2009 Symposium & Houston Green Expo

WHEN: April 16-17, Symposium
April 18-19, Consumer Expo

WHERE: Reliant Park, Houston

www.gulfcoastgreen.org

The Houston Green Expo is free and open to the public on Saturday and Sunday April 18 and 19 at Reliant Park. It is the largest green product expo in the city, offering the latest in green companies and their products for living a green life. The Expo will also offer educational presentations targeted to homeowners and interactive programs for children and young adults. The Houston Green Expo is free and open to the public, and requires no advance registration.

The Houston Green Expo is conducted as a green event. Your attendance promotes responsible use of materials and resources.

Visit www.gulfcoastgreen.org for more information.

Henrique Oliveira at Rice Gallery

March 26th - May 9th, 2009
Brazilian artist Henrique Oliveira’s “tridimensionals” installations will be exhibited at the Rice Gallery.

More reused IKE wood? ;)

Kidding aside,(although not a bad idea in my opinion) Oliveira's work is pretty amazing. My favorites from the images are the ones where the wall seems to morph into a crashing wave or a maelstrom.

I find the bulging blobs a little disturbing, like a growth that needs to be operated on. Yet,considering that they are "blobs", it manages to be a pretty dynamic composition ...as if they're still growing.

"Oliveira uses tapumes, which in Portuguese can mean “fencing,” “boarding,” or “enclosure,” as a title for many of his large-scale installations. The term makes reference to the temporary wooden construction fences seen throughout the city of São Paulo where Oliveira lives. It also refers to the weathered wood Oliveira uses as the primary material in his installations."

Read more about his work by visiting Henrique Oliveira’s website - here.
Visit the Rice Gallery’s website - here.

Local events

January 29- March 2009



February 19, 2009

First member meeting of 2009 will be held on February 19, 2009.

Mark your calendar and plan to attend a special evening event to be held in a fantastic mid-century home designed by one of Houston's finest architects. We'll come together for refreshments, conversation and an update on Houston Mod's plans for 2009, including the April home tour and August exhibit.

Learn how you can participate in Houston Mod by helping with these events and our efforts to document, protect and preserve Houston's modern legacy.

We welcome all current Houston Mod members, plus current and prospective volunteers.