Professional Documents
Culture Documents
For the latest news and updates, see www.bexaraudubon.org and www.sa-naturecenter.org.
Inside this issue:
Beloved Audubon
Thursday, November 13, 2008,Gems
6:00 PM on Rare Public Display
January Chapter Meeting & Program at the McNay, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009—6 PM The Unexpected 2
President
January's chapter meet- The date will be the The McNay display has
ing will be a special outing same as always, the second 20 mostly hand-colored
to the McNay Art Museum Thursday (Jan. 8), which lithographs from the books Trinity River Audubon 3
for their exhibition "Prints has two benefits for us. on birds (double-elephant Center
Gone Wild: John James First, the McNay charges no size) and quadrupeds
Project FeederWatch
Audubon." admission on Thursday eve- (imperial size). Featured in
nings. Second, prints “Prints Gone Wild: John Mitchell Lake 4
curator Lyle Williams James Audubon” are three
Audubon Center
will be giving a public great Texas subjects, Texas
lecture on the exhibi- Wolf, Nine-banded Arma-
tion that evening in dillo, and Texas Rabbit, plus
the Lawson Print Gal- one of Audubon’s most fa- Community Events: 5
lery. mous images, American Cibolo Nature Center,
Flamingo. This particular San Antonio Natural
The lecture starts Areas
lithograph, printed on a
at 6 PM, a half hour
sheet of paper nearly four
earlier than our nor-
feet long, has not been on Sustainable Landscapes 7
mal meeting time and
public display for over 15 Guidelines Report
an hour earlier than
years.
our usual program
time. So we encour- A few of these lithographs Membership 8
age you all to make a belong to the McNay but
note on your calen- have never been exhibited
dars to arrive early. before. Others have been
After the lecture, we loaned by San Antonio-area The McNay Art Museum
will have until 9 PM to collectors. Come and join us is located at 6000 New
view these magnifi- for a “dazzling visual ency- Braunfels, San Antonio. For
cent prints. clopedia of America’s native more information call
flora and fauna.” 210.824.5368 or log on at
(Courtesy McNay Art Museum) www.mcnayart.org.
John James Audubon's "American Flamingo."
Ernie Roney
The
Unexpected
President
- Harry Noyes -
Trinity River Center is flagship site for Calling All Texas Bird Watchers
National Audubon Society More eyes needed to tally state birds
Chapman
giants.” If you aren’t sure what you can
do or want to do, contact me: let’s talk. Library Laurie
Together Green
Audubon and Toyota launched the five-year TogetherGreen initiative earlier
this year to fund conservation projects, train environmental leaders, and offer
volunteer and individual action opportunities that significantly benefit the envi-
ronment. To date, TogetherGreen volunteers in 40 communities have do-
nated more than 15,000 volunteer hours to community conservation efforts.
Funding totaling $1.4 million was recently awarded for the first year of innova-
tive conservation projects nationwide.
Ya Gotta Let ‘em Know You’re Out There! Creating Sustainable Landscapes
Focus of
In all my years as an environmental activist, one of the things I have First Comprehensive Report
heard most often is “Oh, my U.S. Representative (Senator, State Rep,
Councilperson, etc.) is _________. S/he’s so unconcerned about the envi-
The Sustainable Sites Initiative, a partner-
ronment there’s no point in contacting him/her. It’s just a waste of my time.”
ship that includes The University of Texas at
I have heard almost as often, from the kind of representative mentioned in
Austin's Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Cen-
the preceding sentences, “Well, I’m surprised about your position on this
ter, invites public comment on a new report
issue. You’re the only one who has ever contacted me about it.”
that offers the most comprehensive set of
My message to all who read this is: Write or call your political reps! If you voluntary guidelines yet developed for sus-
have the sort of rep who doesn’t give a fig about what concerns you the tainable landscapes. Titled "Guidelines and
most, that rep is the one who should get the most contacts. If enough of Performance Benchmarks Draft 2008," it pro-
his/her constituents needle him/her, some very rigid stances may change, vides more than 50 prerequisites and credit
even with vested interests calling a lot of the shots. In the end a political options that cover everything from initial site
leader has to win votes, and votes come from individuals, not corporations. selection and design to construction and
If the leader believes there is a groundswell about a particular issue—let’s maintenance.
say, global warming—that leader just might come around sooner rather
The Sustainable Sites Initiative, which also
than later.
includes the American Society of Landscape
You have a voice—use it! Your message to the representative doesn’t Architects and the United States Botanic
have to be long or involved. Postcards to Congress don’t have to go Garden, is asking for comments before Janu-
through the screening that letters do, and there are always phone calls and ary 20, 2009 on the report that is available for
e-mails. But the contact has to be made, and made as often as possible. download at www.sustainablesites.org.
And don’t forget to write letters to newspaper editors!
The report is timely because of increased
Loretta Van Coppenolle concerns about such environmental issues
Alamo Group Conservation Co-Chair BACK as scarce resources, climate change, waste,
and air and water pollution. Landscapes have
Reprinted with Permission the potential to use resources more efficiently
and to improve air and water quality, and
they can reduce the urban heat island effect
and remove carbon dioxide, an important
greenhouse gas that contributes to global
warming, from the atmosphere.
Reprinted from In the Flow, the weekly
freshwater news wrapup and analysis pre-
pared by the River Systems Institute.
Environmental Notes
1. It has often been assumed that less sunny
places can not use solar, but Germany is doing it
despite its location. Part of this is because they
are using amazing cables that lose no more than
15% energy over very long distances.
2. There has been much illegal logging going on
in the world, and it still goes on today. When
prized merbau trees were cut down in Papua, the
locals were paid $11 per cubic meter. By the time
they reached China, their value was $240 per cu-
bic meter. When they arrived as flooring in the US,
Earth Share of Texas raises money for environmental and conserva- they brought $2288 per cubic meter. Building a
tion organizations through workplace giving. If your employer partici- new home? Replacing flooring, paneling, siding?
pates in such programs, please ask them to add Earth Share to your Check on the history of the wood you use. This is
giving options. By designating the Audubon Foundation of Texas one way to stand for law and sustainability.
(AFT), Bexar Audubon Society can benefit. BAS receives credit for
our support and receives funding annually form AFT. For more infor- 3. When using a tea kettle, only fill it for the
mation, call, email or log on: 800.GREENTX, ESTX@earthshare- amount of water you are going to use. This will
texas.org, or www.earthshare-texas.org. save heating times and also save water.
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