The Dallas Green Zine

Sometimes it feels like we’re totally surrounded by city and suburbia. So where are the natural green spaces? Well, they’re closer than you think!

Try this new tool, Nature Find, provided by the National Wildlife Federation. Enter your zip code and it will generate a map with nearby state and local parks and wildlife areas. It also includes aquariums, arboretums, botanical gardens, kids’ museums, zoos, and more. (You will need to play with the zoom tool on the map for more detail though.)

It also makes for a great travel tool too!

You have probably heard of Brominated Flame Retardants that are found in many mattresses and carpets. Although BFRs are used to reduce the risk of fire, they are a group of manufactured chemicals that can cause disrupt thyroid stability and normal hormonal balance and also affect the immune system.

But there are toxins in other common products that you may not be aware of… Some of these toxins occur during production, use, or disposal of the product. For example, cadmium can be released during cigarette smoking, but not during the production or disposal of the cigarette. Arsenic in pressure-treated wood (pre-2004) can be released during any part of the product’s life cycle.

To learn more about where these toxins appear, visit the Toxins Search at GreenerChoices.com at http://www.greenerchoices.org/toxics.cfm

If you’re looking to move to a new neighborhood or you’re wondering how you neighborhood compares to others in terms of being ‘walk friendly,’ then check out this tool at Walk Score at http://www.walkscore.com/.

According to Walk Score, walking matters because it promotes:

• better health
• a reduction in greehouse gas
• more transportation options
• increased social capital
• and stronger local businesses

To use Walk Score, go to http://www.walkscore.com/ and enter your street address.

It will show the score along with a map and the mileage required to walk to specific grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, movie theaters, schools, parks, libraries, bookstores, fitness centers, and more.

Scores are rated as:

90 - 100 = Walkers’ Paradise
70 - 90 = Very Walkable
50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations
25 - 50 = Not Walkable
0 - 25 = Driving Only

Walk Score admits that there are some walkability factors that have not been included in their algorithm (e.g., weather, bodies of water, safety, or pedestrian-friendly design (grid vs. suburban loopy streets with cul-de-sacs).

At the DOE’s State Energy Profiles website, you can get lots of information on a state’s energy production and consumption, and compare energy information by state.

For example, this location provides a profile on Texas, where you’ll find out that Texas produces and consumes more electricity than any other state. Other types of information given is shown below.

• Prices paid for electricity, coal, natural gas, and how those prices compares with other states.

Example: In February 2007, the domestic crude oil first purchase was $55.12/barrel compared to the national average of $52.93/barrel

• Major coal mines, petroleum refineries, non-nuclear eletrcity generation plants, and nuclear power plants–and who owns them and where they’re located.

Example for Coal: Jewett Mine/Texas Westmoreland Coal Co., Oak Hill Strip/TXU Mining Co. LP, Beckville Strip/TXU Mining Co. LP, South Hallsville No. 1/Sabine Mining Co., Big Brown Strip/TXU Mining Company LP

• Consumption statistics for specific types of energy

Example: As of 2000, TX usage of electricity for home heating was 30.3% of the U.S. average. 

• The number of alternative-fuel vehicles in use

Example: As of 2003, there were 55,820 alternative-fuel vehicles in use, and as of 2007, there were zero ethanol plants.

• The percentages of electric power industry emissions for carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide

Example: As of 2005, the electric power industry in TX emitted 10.3% of all U.S. carbon dioxide (approximately 258,660,697 metrix tons.

The Alliance For a Clean Texas (ACT) is providing a web page for tracking the status of environmental and energy bills in the State Legislature. See Bill Tracking to access information about bills  currently being debated on these subjects:

Energy security
Water - Local Control
Water Conservation
Clean Air and Mercury
Enforcement and Permitting
Ground Water Districts
Permanent Protection
Solid/Electronic Waste
Quarries and Rock Crushers

If you are generating electricity through solar panels or a wind turbine, there may be times where you’ve generated ‘extra’ electricity - electricity that you’re not going to use. (In such cases, your electricity meter starts moving backward rather than forward.)

Many states have a net metering policy where you can sell your extra electricity back to your utility company. Texas allows net metering for certain utility types. Additionally, if you want to take advantage of net metering, you need to find an electricity provider that offers it. 

You can find these providers by going to this link http://www.citizenre.net/extras/map.htm, where you will see a U.S. map. Click on Texas to view the providers and their rates. They will appear in the window a scroll bar on the right side.

For additional information, visit these links:

• U.S. Department of Energy - Net Metering Policies
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency