research & news
Report: Green businesses and cities at risk
Our friends from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) have issued an important new report about how many corporate and local “sustainability” plans are anything but sustainable–they are burning trash and causing terrible environmental harms.
An Enormous, Urgent Task: Hauling Away Harvey’s Debris
New York Times: Of all the challenges that southeast Texas faces after Hurricane Harvey, few will linger longer or more visibly than the millions of pounds of debris already crowding curbs and edging onto streets.
Council to consider changes for waste disposal contracts
Austin Monitor: A series of recommendations made by a City Council working group seeks to address concerns from environmentalists and private waste haulers about how the city chooses the companies it pays to pick up and dispose of waste generated by its own employees and departments.
What Environmentalists Are Hoping For In A New City Recycling Contract
Houston Public Media: Joshua Zinn spoke with Rosanne Barone, the Houston Program Director for TCE, about the current state of recycling in Houston, the possibilities of implementing a Zero Waste Plan, and what her organization would like to see come out of a new recycling contract.
In Houston’s Fifth Ward, Concern Over Superfund Site Grows With EPA Budget Cuts
Houston Press: Houston-area activists gathered in the Fifth Ward on Tuesday to announce that they are joining organizers from across the country in influencing how the EPA deals with the Superfund program.
Members of Fifth Ward community protest budget cuts to superfund site
CW39 Houston: In Houston’s historic Fifth Ward, neighbors worry that politics and profits are taking priority over cleaning up their community.
One Bin for All is dead. So how should Houston handle its trash?
Houston Chronicle Op-Ed: According to the Houston-Galveston Area Council, when we include composters, hard-plastics reclaimers, electronics processors, construction- and demolition-debris recyclers and manufacturers of goods made from recycled items, we have 21,550 recycling jobs in our region and an industrial output of $4.5 billion per year.
Developing leaders to change the world
From our blog: We are proud to see our activists whose skills we have developed make great strides in their careers to transform policy for a healthier, more just world.
Report: Texas Tops Nation for Safe Drinking Water Violations
Public News Service: Researchers for the Natural Resources Defense Council looked at Environmental Protection Agency data from 2015 and found almost 14,000 violations in more than 5,000 water systems that together, serve 7 million Texans. The report also found that no penalties were assessed for 8-in-10 of those violations.
How grassroots groups are mobilizing Texans on top issues
Texas Tribune: Five community organizers tell us how they rally people around issues.