ide is also avail-
able on our Web site at www.cechouston.org.
2006
Environmental
Resource
Guide
CEC Environmental Resource Guide
3
How to Use this Guide
This Environmental Resource Guide is designed as an information resource for the cit-
izens of the Houston/Galveston region. The guide contains a comprehensive list of envi-
ronmental nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and other useful related
entities. The opening section of the 2005 Resource Guide also provides a special overview
of local environmental issues. If you are interested in a specific environmental issue,
browse the index titled CEC Member Groups by Category. To make a complaint about a
nuisance or polluter, go to the City or County Departments. If you cant find what you are
looking for, or you find some out-of-date or inaccurate information, please call us at (713)
524-4232. We welcome suggestions about making this guide more usable and complete.
All of this information is also available at www.cechouston.org.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CEC Board of Trustees ................................................................................................4
Houston Environmental Center ..................................................................................4
About the CEC..............................................................................................................5
State of the Environment 2004 ....................................................................................6
CEC Member Organizations
by Category/Areas of Interest ..............................................................................25
by Alphabetical Listing ..........................................................................................31
Other Environmental Organizations ........................................................................73
Key Regional Agencies ..............................................................................................75
Area City Departments ..............................................................................................79
Area County Departments ........................................................................................83
Elected Officials & Environmental Committees ....................................................86
State Agencies..............................................................................................................93
Political Parties ............................................................................................................96
Universities in the Area..............................................................................................97
Environmental Hotlines ............................................................................................99
Table of Contents CEC Board and Staff
4
CEC Environmental Resource Guide
Citizens Environmental Coalition
2006 Board and Staff
President:
Brian Malarkey
Vice President:
Chris Cunningham
Treasurer:
David Crossley
Secretary:
Alesha Herrera
Trustees:
Rachel Decker
Terrell Dixon
David Gresham
Kathryn McNiel
Robert Sanborn
Fred Schiff
Zane Segal
Executive Director:
David Gresham
Managing Editor:
Ella Tyler
Copy Editor:
Jane Elioseff
Website
Charles Irvine
Web Content
Sarah McMullan
Editorial Volunteer:
Dawn Mallow
Houston Environmental Center
The Houston Environmental Center (HEC) was created in 1998 by the CEC as a place
where member organizations can network, convene meetings and workshops, and share
office resources and information. The HEC offers two equipped meeting spaces, one for
up to 24 and another that can be set up for as many as 150 people. Currently, eleven envi-
ronmental nonprofits maintain offices in the HEC. For information regarding leasing space
or to schedule the use of a meeting room, call the CEC at (713) 524-4232. CEC Environmental Resource Guide
5
About the CEC
About the Citizens Environmental Coalition
Founded in 1970, the Citizens Environmental Coalition (CEC) has evolved to a combined
membership of individuals, corporations, and nonprofit environmental organizations. As the
umbrella organization for the 13-county Gulf Coast region, the CEC fosters dialogue, educa-
tion, and collaboration regarding environmental issues and serves as an information clearing-
house for the benefit of its members and the community at large. To join, return the
membership form found at the back of this book, or call the CEC for details. Our primary
activities are described below.
PUBLICATIONS
Environmental Resource Guide
Annual handbook listing environmental
member groups; state, county, and city con-
tacts; and hotlines to environmental services,
including EPA and special numbers. Our flag-
ship publication, this is the publication you
are reading at this moment.
CEC Environmental
News Update
A weekly e-mail news service, available on
request, covering upcoming environmental
events and hearings, as well as current envi-
ronmental news.
CEC Web Site
www.cechouston.org. The best web site for
local environmental issues, contacts, and
upcoming events. Includes an online commu-
nity calendar of environmental activities. The
information listed in this guide is also avail-
able online.
SERVICES
HEC Meeting Spaces
Two meeting rooms, one for up to 24 peo-
ple, another for up to 150, are available free of
charge to groups engaged in environmental
activities. Call the CEC for scheduling infor-
mation, (713) 524-4232.
FORUMS & EVENTS
CEC Annual Meeting
CECs annual meeting of delegates gathers
each spring to exchange ideas adn discuss the
state of teh regions environmental communi-
ty. Recent guest speakers have included
Michael Talbot and Jeffrey Smith
Synergy Awards
Annual recognition for individuals, organi-
zations, and corporations whose activities con-
tribute to improving the quality of life in the
13-county Houston/Galveston region.
Earth Day
A day of education, celebration and action
bringing the Houston/Galveston community
together to focus on global and local environ-
mental issues. CEC in partnership with local
business and organizations, coordinates the
varies events in the region throughout the
month of April
Workshops
CEC develops and sponsors training work-
shops for environmental organization leader-
ship. Recent trainings have included grant
proposal workshops and electronic publishing.
Special Events
Recently CEC has sponsored events that
bring in speakers from other parts of the coun-
try. Recently, CEC held the first CEC Dia-
logues, discussing food production issues,
from large-scale mechanical farming to small
organic cooperatives.. 6
CEC Environmental Resource Guide
State of the Environment 2006
It seems as if there is more and more inter-
est in doing something about the state of the
environment. Frequently the question is asked
of me, What can I do? The problems are so
big, so complex, that I feel helpless. Tell me,
what can just one person do? This question is
always disturbing because it demonstrates the
degree to which we all have become victims of
something we do not understand and, thus, vic-
tims for many other events in our lives. In this
instance, however, there is a great deal that just
one person can do!
Everyone wants to care for the environ-
ment at some level. No matter where they
live, how much money they make, how old
they are, how much education they have, or
where they were born, people want to leave a
safe world for their children and grandchil-
dren. They want those children and grand-
children to have a quality life experience.
The problem comes when they try to
decide just what to do. There is so much infor-
mation, so many choices, and it frequently
may seem like it is not enough or that it is not
worth it. But in each case, it is. Every little
baby step we take with a little bit more care
for the long-term health of our environment
makes a difference.
How do we know this? Because we have a
myriad of success stories where the aggregate
actions of everyday people doing relatively
simple things clean up streams and rivers,
improve the functioning of a wetland, avoid
the cutting down of thousands of trees, slow
down the depletion of soil, reduce the num-
ber of miles driven in cars, and on and on.
Consider this excellent statement by Sir
Edmund Burke: Nobody makes a greater
mistake than he who did nothing because he
could only do a little.
If you do not know what to do or what
else to do about your environment, you might
want to sample some of the ideas from the list
that follows:
Food Purchasing/General Shopping
Buy products grown locally.
Avoid highly packaged items.
Do not use shopping as a therapy.
Buy hormone-free milk and meat.
Buy fair-trade coffee.
If the grocer doesnt have it, ask!
Dont accept plastic bags. Ask for card-
board you can recycle it!
Try eating one organic fruit or vegetable
per week.
Compost all of your nonmeat and
nondairy leftovers.
In the House
Dont run the water while you brush your
teeth.
Use cotton instead of paper napkins/towels.
Use ceramic or glass instead of plastic or
Styrofoam.
Use nonfossil-fuel-based cleaning agents
such as those based on citrus products
In Paper Products
Remember that (generally) recycled
paper is just scrap paper from the mill and that
post-consumer waste paper is the paper you
likely recycled.
Buy chlorine-free, 100%-post-consumer
recycled paper products (copier/fax and printer
paper), and use both sides whenever possible.
(This is part of a longer article that
appeared in the Decembe