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)

TOWN HALL MEETING

... on Climate Change and Green Jobs
Moderated by: Gene Norman
Chief Meteorologist, KHOU Channel 11

WHERE Communications Workers of America, Local 6222
1730 Jefferson Street, Houston, TX 77003

WHEN Wednesday, June 17, 2009 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Registration will open at 5:30 p.m. and refreshments will be
provided.

INFO For more information, contact:
Dallas Jones or Brandon Dudley
Office of Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis
713-236-0306
Dallas.Jones@senate.state.tx.us
or
Royce Brooks
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
202-789-3528
rbrooks@jointcenter.org

Co-Sponsors: Congressman Al Green, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, State Sen. Mario Gallegos, Rep. Garnet Coleman, Rep. Sylvester Turner, Rep. Ana Hernandez, Rep. Alma Allen, Rep. Carol Alvarado, City Councilmember Ronald Green, City Councilmember Jolanda Jones, NAACP - Houston Branch, American Association of Blacks in Energy- Houston Chapter, Houston Citizen's Chamber of Commerce, Houston Area Urban League, Public Citizen, Environment Texas, Defense Fund, Sierra Club, Houston ACORN

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...

Living Green SA

For those living in the San Antoino/Hill Country area, there's a great new website dedicated to living green!  Browse through it and you'll find an events calender full with green events, tip of the week, local and national green stories/news, forums and lots 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.

Solar America Cities

The 2nd annual meeting for the Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities is taking place right now in the Alamo City, March 31 through April 2.  City leaders from across the nation will talk about the best ways to promote solar energy use and how to use solar energy for a cleaner more secure energy future.  This year Houston and San Antonio were the only Texas cities to be named Solar America Cities and joins Austin which became a Solar City in 2008.  For more information visit Solar America Cities.  

H-E-B, Eva Longoria Parker are encouraging people to go ‘green’

From our friends at the San Antonio Biz Journal:

HEB and Eva Longoria Parker have teamed up to produce a 30 second commercial for Earth day promoting environmental awareness. The commericial will debut on April 1 and continue throughout the month. During this time, you'll be able to purchase a limited-edition reusable grocery bag for under $1.50. It looks cute!
According to the article, our local HEB stores are trying to do their part in contributing to a better environmnet. For example, they allow customers to recycle plastic bags at store bins and also recycle aluminum, steel, paper etc at their company. Very soon HEB will start recycling their own tires into mulch to be sold in several stores in Texas.

Easy DIY Greywater Recycling System: Sloan Aqus

Great article from our friends at Inhabitat:

"Who says plumbing is boring? The forward thinking folks at Sloan Valve Company have come up with a compact greywater system for your bathroom that is easy to install and works with the existing fixtures. The Sloan® AQUS® Greywater System filters the water that goes down your sink drain and then uses it to flush your toilet, potentially saving a household up to 5,000 gallons of potable water each year."

Homes Tour

Choose one of two tour times: 10AM or 2PM on Saturday, April 25.

RSVP by April 17
Order tickets by mail from Houston Mod at P.O. Box 541353, Houston, TX 77254 or
reserve tickets for pickup the day of the tour by e-mailing: info@houstonmod.org

Tours depart the Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main Street. Browse the 20th Century Modern Market before or after the tour (10A-5P).

Both tours have limited space, so reserve early. Priority extended to current or renewing members of Houston Mod.

Tour Price, Members of Houston Mod: $20
Tour Price, Non-Members: $30
Mod Enthusiast Package: Tour, Membership and Guidebook: $60

Your reservation will be reconfirmed ahead of the tour by e-mail.

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.

Solar Containers in Houston

On the corner of Waugh and Hyde Park in Houston, Texas a typical 20 foot shipping container has been adapted into a sustainable "green" design for the offices of Mirabeau B. Condominiums.

Powered by the solar panels, their last energy bill was NEGATIVE $193.

Their proposed development boasts an array of sustainable design components from green screens and roofs to energy efficient HVAC systems and a water retention system.

Watch the video

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.

Dallas Design Charette

The City of Dallas will host a full-day “Design Charrette” this Friday to examine the necessary framework and community impact of what will become the first fully sustainable, urban square block in the United States. The Charrette, attended by community design and urban planning experts from across the nation, will be held at City Hall from 8:30 am until 5:30 pm. The outcome of the day will include a series of recommendations which will in turn structure an international design competition to create the actual block. That competition, which kicks off in January 2009, will invite architects and planners from around the world to translate the needs of the Dallas Community into structural designs for the future city block.
“The goal is to create the first fully sustainable block downtown,” said Brent Brown, Dallas architect and founder of the building community WORKSHOP . “And by sustainable, we mean a place that is socially, economically and environmentally healthy. We’ll take the first step in that effort on Friday.”

Hosted by the City of Dallas, San Francisco-based Urban Re:Vision and Dallas’ building community WORKSHOP, the Charrette will look at the common city block in an uncommon way, examining the impact of this particular city block’s development on the City of Dallas and its surrounding area. In rethinking the city block, experts will re-assess the potential value of available resources like water, waste, and air and how to strike the delicate balance between economy and equality.

“Our job on December 5th is to explore how pivotal the city block is in the urban landscape, and how it can be used as a catalyst for a whole new way of living,” said Stacey Frost , Founder of Urban Re:Vision. “This process is one that puts real people first and promotes sustainability.”

Potential requirements, barriers, and changes will be examined in an effort to pave the way for the implementation of the proposed site. This examination will also serve to aid both site-specific, and regional decision-making. Topics will include: energy systems, transportation, the natural and developed environment, community, the economy and technology.

Additional groups involved include Downtown Dallas, The Real Estate Council, Central Dallas Ministries, The Institute for Urban Policy Planning, Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture, Enterprise Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, Vision North Texas and others. Participants from outside the Dallas area include representatives of the Biomimicry Institute, Architecture for Humanity, ARUP, Organic Architect, United States Green Building Council, and others.

Media attendance will be strictly limited, RSVP required
Location: Dallas City Hall
Date: December 5, 2008

Timeline:
8:30 - 10:30:Registration, Discussion & Mayor’s Welcome
12:00 - 1:30: Lunch / Interviews
4:00 - 5:30: Presentation of Regional Plans / Question and Analysis

another one for ike...

Just had to share this last piece composed of a pine slab wish simple and clean glass shelves by design lush

Ike Trees

After Hurricane Ike's passing I'm sure we all witnessed the demise of so many beautiful oaks among many other trees that lined our streets and yards.

The city of Houston proposed a contest- Recycle Ike - for the best idea of what to do with all these fallen trees (aside from converting it to mulch).
The site said it was "looking for ideas that are creative, practical, sustainable, adaptable, and make a big impact. Ideas should also address green house gas reductions, economic issues (benefit/cost ratio), and sustained creation of enterprise. The wood debris consists of branches, limbs, natural wood, woody prunings, stumps, trunks, and other woody vegetation."

Although the deadline has passed and the winners are yet to be announced, it seems like everywhere i look i see ideas. These are a few I'm quite fond of:

Simple stools or drink tables at a lounge in D.C.

These mutli-purpose tables/stools are dried in a solar-powered kiln and painted with VOC-free milk paint. According to the Pfeifer Studio site, the paint is made with the "same basic ingredients used during the Colonial era—milk protein, lime, and earthly pigments."
Custom teak coffee table:
I can't imagine how heavy this piece is but beautiful none the less.

Log Bowls from Loyal Loot. Made from reclaimed wood logs and water-based glossy finish

New York based Shimna has created some new natural pieces of furniture for 2008. They are the ‘Log’ table made from a walnut tree trunk with a 12″ round glass inset and the Susquehanna Coffee Table made from solid walnut with an individually carved seat. As an added bonus the coffee table has hidden storage.

Side table made out of glass and wood branches from fallen trees - vivaterra.com