The Barton Creek Greenbelt has temporarily closed due to the inclement weather conditions associated with Tropical Storm Hermine. The trail is expected to reopen on Friday, September 10, 2010. The trail is being closed for public safety reasons and to prevent damage to the trail. Trail patrons can get the current status of the greenbelt via the Barton Creek Greenbelt Hotline at 472-1267.
The DIY Network hosted a special screening of its new show, "This New House," at the Solutions Oriented Living (SOL) subdivision here in Austin this evening. The screening was part of a special event honoring the SOL subdivision as the first Net Zero energy housing development in the city.
The homes in the subdivision are 100% electric, and are capable of producing as much energy as they consume. They are also owned or being rented by lower-income Austin residents, falling below the Median Family Income in the city. Fourteen of the 16 homes are occupied at this time, with two still available to own.
The SOL project is the first example of the City of Austin's strategy to partner with the private sector to create sustainable developments that are also affordable options for housing. SOL’s affordable houses were made possible by a partnership between the city, Austin Housing Finance Corporation, Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation (GNDC) and the design builder KRDB of Austin.
Divers are heading underwater to check out the condition of Longhorn Dam along Lady Bird Lake this morning.
Austin Energy has maintained the dam since 1959, when it was first built to create a cooling reservoir for the steam generators at the Holly Power Plant and ensure that the plant always had enough water to operate.
While commercial divers are inspecting the structural integrity of Longhorn Dam below the surface, the City of Austin Police and Fire Dive Team will conduct a training dive to learn how to navigate the dam as well.
Austin Energy says the 51-year-old dam is not in any danger of failing at this time, but is beginning to show signs of old age. The utility plans to make necessary replacements or upgrades to equipment over the next two years, including an already-planned upgrade to the hydraulic systems that move the two gates in the center, as well as replacing the dam's analog controls with modern digital equipment. Austin Energy will also discuss turning over responsibility for Longhorn Dam over to the Lower Colorado River Authority, which already manages the Colorado River.
The hot Texas sun will generate more electricity for Austin Energy after the city council approved the utility's first solar supply agreement this week. Since prices have dropped on solar modules over the past two years, Austin Energy will purchase up to 2 megawatts (MW) of solar modules - as many as 8,500 modules - over three years.
When they have been purchased, the modules will produce enough electricity to power 270 average-sized homes in Austin for an entire year. Austin Energy says that's the equivalent of taking 400 cars off the road for a year, or planting 60,000 trees.
The solar panels will be installed at high profile locations such as city buildings, libraries and schools to increase public awareness about the advantages of solar power. Right now, 35 facilities that belong to the City of Austin have solar installations.
After the planned purchase of modules is complete, Austin Energy will have 2.4 MW of solar capacity, moving the city toward a goal of 200 MW of solar capacity by 2020.
The University of Texas is devising a new way to raise money for scholarships - the first-ever mini-sculpture of the UT Bell Tower, rendered in a plastic water bottle.
H2Orange® features purified Texas water sourced from the Corpus Christi Municipal Water District, cleverly packaged in a scale-model replica of the Tower.
The release of the beverage was announced Monday by UT President William Powers Jr. and the co-founders of Austin ad agency GSD&M Idea City, Steve Guraisch and Tim McClure.
UT hopes that sales of H2Orange will result in $1 million raised for scholarships annually, and will be initially distributed in Austin. A rollout into other major Texas markets is expected this fall.
Commenters at the University of Texas News website had mixed reactions to the announcement, with some praising the plan as a good project to raise scholarship money, while others criticized the decision to market water in disposable plastic bottles.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, McClure is the author of the Don't Mess With Texas anti-litter campaign. Additionally, the city of Austin no longer serves bottled water at City Hall meetings, in an effort to reduce the waste that accumulates in landfills from empty plastic bottles.
We're getting better about filling our cart with fresh fruits and veggies. Ryan likes to include them in his lunches, coming up with interesting new ways to use the produce we bring home. (He even tweets the creative lunches he arranges in four containers every day at @Lunchx4.)
But most of our produce purchases make their way to us via the neighborhood H-E-B. We do visit the downtown farmer's market sometimes, when we're feeling particularly inclined to venture out on the weekends before noon. But with so many local options for getting our fresh fix, we've talked a lot about joining a CSA, or community supported agriculture program.
One of the most popular CSAs I've heard about from several friends who are members is Johnson's Backyard Garden. In fact, I just read aloud the contents of this week's CSA box and it read like summertime poetry. San Marzano Tomatoes. Basil. Garlic. Delicious.
Even with what is undoubtedly an outstanding quality and value, and an opportunity to support our local farming community, for some reason we are still on the fence. So make your pitch in the comments - should we bite the bullet and shell out the cash for a CSA? And if you have a favorite grower in Austin, let us know whose greens reign supreme!
The City of Austin has announced six candidates for the newly-created position of Chief Sustainability Officer. This person will develop, coordinate and administer various environmental programs, both within the City of Austin as an organization, and with the people who live here.
The candidates were chosen from a pool of 185 applicants after the process started in February and will be interviewed in the coming week by management and staff from the city.
Lucia Athens is Senior Sustainable Futures Strategist with CollinsWoerman architecture, a planning and interior design firm in Seattle. She has former Austin ties as well, having received her master's degree from UT and assisting in developing the City of Austin's Green Builder Program.
Brandi Clark is the founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Austin EcoNetwork, and the founder of Citizen Gardener. She grew up in Austin and received a B.A. in Sociology with Political Science from Yale University, and is a graduate of Leadership Austin.
Natalie Marquis is the General Manager of Habitat Suites Hotel and Executive Director for the Texas Solar Energy Society here in Austin. Habitat Suites Hotel conducts its business while adhering to green practices, such as using solar power and natural, nontoxic fertilizers, pesticides, and cleaners.
Dennis Murphey is the Chief Environmental Officer of the City of Kansas City, Mo. He heads the office of Environmental Quality for the city and reports directly to the city manager there. Murphey has 30 years of environmental management experience.
Beth Pratt is the Director of Environmental Affairs for Xanterra Parks & Resorts at Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. She has worked in various environmental roles for almost twenty years.
Matt Watson left Austin in 2009 to become an Energy Policy Specialist with the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. He was an aide to former Mayor Will Wynn, with responsibilities that included environmental and sustainability initatives.
Two or three of these candidates will advance to the next step in the hiring process - meeting with the public. Two question and answer sessions are scheduled for Thursday, June 3rd from 2:30-4 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. at the Town Lake Center. Free parking will be available in TLC garage as well as across the street in the Palmer Events Center garage.
The hiring decision will ultimately be made by City Manager Marc Ott.
Car2Go launched publicly Friday with the forethought that anyone who wants to zip around downtown can do so - not just city employees who test drove the Smart cars for the first few months of the program.
Greening Austin Daily reports the Car2Go program has been in a test phase since November. The site says the company wants to stay in Austin for good. Normally, there will be a $35 registration fee, but for a limited time the registration fee is waived if you sign up on the Rock, Register, and Drive website.
Check out car2go and and get an explanation of how car2go works by the folks at Greening Austin Daily, or watch the car2go video below.
The Austin Nature and Science Center invites families to come out for Earth Day on April 24th, for an interpretive hike at the Zilker Nature Preserve's trails. Staff will introduce families to some of the resident wildlife, help participants search for frogs and toads, and enjoy the woods and meadows at the center.
Activities will be ongoing from noon to 4 p.m. If you plan on going, wear comfortable shoes and bring an item from nature to trade at the Naturalist Workshop.
This is the Austin Nature and Science Center's 50th year. It's located at 301 Nature Center Drive on the western edge of Zilker Park.
Wildflowers blanket rural Texas roads, the sides of busy highways, and lesser traveled rural spots. Wherever Texans find themselves in the vast open space of the state, almost everywhere you look is a blank canvas for your camera. Family photos are in full swing, and people are taking photographic advantage of the beautiful Texas spring.
“It’s green, it’s lush and we’ve just been waiting for things to pop,” said Dr. Damon Waitt, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's senior botanist.
Bluebonnets and Indian Paint Brushes have become eye candy for the nature lover. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's web site, cooler temperatures have kept wildflowers in check, but as the mercury rises, the flowers are growing like weeds - except the wildflowers are much prettier!
“There will be beautiful displays of wildflowers in upcoming weeks – sometimes thousands in one place – based on what we’re seeing throughout Texas,” said Waitt.
The warmer weather, according to Waitt, wildflowers will be the "showiest" in central Texas by the middle of April. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center web site says central Texas sightings have included bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, coreopsis and Indian blanket along the Llano River northwest of Austin; stands of Mexican buckeye south of Blanco along part of RR 32; of bluebonnet and Indian paintbrush along FM 20 between Lockhart and Fentress; and just south of Fentress on FM 20, wildflowers sighted include large buttercup and Texas baby blue eyes.
Waitt says native plants face challenges. After all, they're growing in Texas, where, as anyone knows, the weather can change in ten minutes. “The same climatic conditions that make for a good wildflower season help invasive plants grow that can outcompete the native plants for resources,” said Waitt. The web site said:
As an example, roadways such as FM 621 south of San Marcos that would normally be covered in golden groundsel instead contain miles of turnip weed, also called bastard cabbage. The Mediterranean invader with highlighter-yellow flowers that can grow waist high is also present along many roadways in Austin. Most of those roadways are also likely to be lined by tall, lush exotic grasses such as Japanese brome that compete with native Texas grasses.
“These invasive plant species preempt and crowd out native vegetation,” sad Waitt.
Families are popping up, too, just like the bluebonnets themselves. They're taking pictures and enjoying the gift from mother nature. It's not every year bluebonnets and other wildflowers are out in full force.
The pictures may be a dime a dozen, a cliche event that every family must take part in. But they, like the flowers, never get old to look at.
To visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's web site, and to view the bluebonnet cam, click here.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will give school districts $1.7 million in grants to retrofit older school buses to reduce air pollution in Texas. The grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis and is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The buses would have pollution-control devices installed to reduce emissions that can aggravate respiratory problems, asthma and allergies, especially in the kids who rely on the buses for a ride to school.
School districts can apply for the grants by visiting texascleanschoolbus.org or calling 512-239-3143. The application deadline is April 30.
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From the City of Austin:
The Austin Nature and Science Center invites families to come out for Earth Day on April 24th, for an interpretive hike at the Zilker Nature Preserve's trails. Staff will introduce families to some of the resident wildlife, help participants search for frogs and toads, and enjoy the woods and meadows at the center.
