Julie Thibodeaux

Rapidly rising gas prices across the country are shining a spotlight on the dire consequences of America’s dependence on oil. The transportation sector accounts for nearly two-thirds of the more than 19 million barrels of oil consumed each day in the United States.

The largest percentage is consumed by passenger cars and light duty trucks, such as SUVs, vans, and pickup trucks.

Richland College has announced that its 118,000-square-foot Sabine Hall science building has been awarded LEED® Platinum certification, established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

Harvey Lacey has a plan. Inspired by a workshop given by Kenyan architect Ronald Omyonga on holistic housing, Lacey has developed a machine for creating plastic blocks out of plastic bags, styrofoam, bottles, and whatever plastic trash people are trying to throw away. These plastic blocks can then be use to build houses.

Wouldn't it be nice if....?

A 1700-mile Keystone XLpipeline is due here in Texas in 2012.

If you have not been following what has been happening across the Barnett Shale area of our metroplex, you may not know that drilling companies have been suing town and cities across this area--trying to intimidate them to approve drilling permits.

To counter this, Representative Lon Burnham introduced a bill (HB 3792) that would give cities the right to deny drilling and pipeline permits. His bill was only one person short of getting passed through the committee.

There were many Earth Celebrations around the DFW metroplex these past two weeks, and unlike previous years, all of the events somehow managed to escape rainfall.

Some of these celebrations have been highly successful for the past few years including Plano's Live Green Expo and Oak Cliff Earth Day.

Now in its fifth year, Plano's Live Green Expo featured a wide range of exhibitors, and included rain barrel workshops, square-foot gardening, electric/hybrid cars, and more.

Many of us use hoses to water our gardens, fill our dogs’ water bowls, and fill pools. And in summer months, kids playing outdoor will often drink from the hose. What you may not know is that many hoses are made of polyvinyl chloride, which uses lead as a stabilizer. A 2007 Consumer Reports Study tested 16 hoses:

In May of 2009, students at Fort Worth Country Day met with Upper School science teacher Perri Carr to discuss applying for a Texas Healthy Habitat Grant. The grant money is funded by EnCana Oil and Gas (U.S.A. Inc.), North America’s largest natural gas producer, and distributed by Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation.

Dallas Greendrinks and Net Impact are planning another Carrotmob. This time they are coming together under the green umbrella of Earth Day Dallas to once again bring people together to ‘mob’ a local Dallas business.  Carrotmob will reward an environmentally and socially responsible business with a mob of new customers.

On Wednesday, March 23rd, the House Appropriations Committee voted 18-7 in favor of a state budget that would make major cuts to our state parks system. This budget could force the closure of at least seven state parks, drastically reduce services at the rest, and eliminate funding for local parks and playgrounds.

Ninety percent of the energy used to wash clothes comes from heating the water. However, you can reduce demand on the hot water heater by washing most clothing in cold water. You will also see less color fading with the clothes. Use hot water for whites, towels, and sheets. Washing sheets in hot water is especially important for killing dust mites. But even with the warmer loads, consider using the hot cycle initially and then using cold water in the rinse cycle. Hot water more effective at killing germs.