Ebb & Flow: life on the Rio Grande

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Ebb & Flow: life on the Rio Grande"

Hester Page
5 years ago
Views:

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here Ebb & Flow: life on the Rio Grande /eb and flo/ noun: the recurrent or rhythmical pattern of water's coming and going.

For starters, RGISC achieved a tremendous victory this month when the Laredo City Council passed a plastic bag ban that takes effect April 2015.

1 Having trouble viewing this ? Click here Ebb & Flow: life on the Rio Grande /eb and flo/ noun: the recurrent or rhythmical pattern of water's coming and going. V Dear River Friends, Message from the Director We're back! We have much to share with you about all that's taken place the first half of this year, and what's in store this summer. For starters, RGISC achieved a tremendous victory this month when the Laredo City Council passed a plastic bag ban that takes effect April Earlier this spring, we carried out our first ever Eco Festival for Laredo, attracting a crowd of nearly 1,500 people, to learn how to live a more eco friendly lifestyle. We also organized our first ever Laredo BioBlitz, and had scientists here from Central and South Texas to document all living flora and fauna at the bend of the river downtown. We also carried out an incredibly successful Laredo Birding Festival in February, attracting 114 registered birders, most of whom traveled from 16 other U.S. states and Canada. Not only that, we successfully campaigned to have San Antonio Water Systems withdraw its bid to build a pipeline that would export billions of gallons of In This Issue (Click on a link) WE WON!! New Plastic Bag Ordinanace Quick Facts Plastic Bags Photo Recap Eco Fest Solar Raffle Tickets! EPA Visit to RGISC Become a RGISC Member RSVP June 28 Annual Meeting Photo Recap Laredo Birding Festival Photo Recap BioBlitz Like us on Facebook! UPCOMING EVEN SAVE THE DAT Join us at ou

Now, with RGISC turning 20 years old, we find ourselves busy preparing for our 20th Anniversary Gala in October. We hope to see all of you there!

2 water that feed into the Rio Grande. We also held a townhall event earlier this year with residents from Rio Bravo and El Cenizo to get a status report on the situation involving 17 state violations at their water treatment plant. Now, with RGISC turning 20 years old, we find ourselves busy preparing for our 20th Anniversary Gala in October. We hope to see all of you there! Our "Beat the Heat" raffle is also attracting attention, as people have a chance to win a jaw dropping 4kW solar panel system for home or business/ (installation included!) Next weekend, we hope to see you at our always fun and always entertaining Annual Meeting (June 28). Please click and RSVP below. Thank you to everyone who has been part of our 2014 growth and successes. We hope to see you on June 28. Environmentally yours, Tricia Cortez WE WON!! New Plastic Bag Ordinance for Laredo RGISC ANNUAL M What to Expect: Saturday, June 2 Laredo Public Libr 11 a.m. Learn more about what we do. Become an official RGISC me Meet our Volunteer of the Yea Meet and vote for members o Directors Purchase a lovely environment Get involved with an environm your choice Network and have fun wi people. Be part of a winning team positive difference in our comm Free admission. Lunch served, but you must RSVP. Click here to RS Laredo Birding Fe Quick Facts: About the Ban: Takes effect April 30, The final reading passed City Council on June 2, 2014 with a 6 1 vote. (Voting against: Cindy Liendo) 2014 was a terrific success for the Festival. It was the 2nd year that RGIS multi day event with the Monte M Society and city's Convention and Visi

3 No fees. The ban applies to: plastic bags thinner than 4 mils paper bags less than 30 weight standard. Exceptions apply to: fast food establishments restaurants meat products produce and other food items nonprofits steak plate sales. Recap: 114 registered birders, a 50% in previous year! More than half came 16 U.S. sta Canada. We identified nearly 170 species of b rare Slaty backed Gull that migrates fr 2014 Festival: In Laredo, we use an average of 120 MILLION plastic bags each year (City Solid Waste Dept.). Plastic bags are made from petroleum products, and take hundreds of years to decompose. Plastic bags ARE NOT recycled in Laredo because of damage to sorting equipment. Nearly 170 places in the U.S. (including the entire state of Hawaii) have a plastic bag law in place, nearly all have bans. Around the world, nearly 90 places have a plastic bag law in place. This includes 39 entire countries. In Laredo, 81 percent of all households surveyed in the TAMIU RGISC Environmental Survey said they strongly support a plastic bag ordinance. This included 827 door to door surveys. (Minimum of 100 households were surveyed in each of the 8 City Council districts). This new ordinance will be the first step to create longlasting meaningful change in our community, to beautify it and remove these bags from our environment. We are working with the City on a 10 month plan to help Laredoans with the transition. We hope tha you will join us with this effort. Photo Recap!

4 1st ever RGISC Held on April 12, 2014 at Alexander Crossings. Thank you to all of our vendors, sponsors, guest speakers, entertainers, and attendees!

6 1st ever BioBl Held the weekend of April 25 27, 2014 river known as Lost Lakes (former gra downstream from LCC and just above rail bridge.

8 GET YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS!! "Beat the Heat" Solar Raffle To get your tickets, call us at (956) High Level Visit U.S. EPA Region 6 Administrator Ron Curry On May 16, 2014 Ron Curry and his staff visited the RGISC office for two hours to discuss pressing environmental issues in the Laredo area. Curry is in charge of all EPA environmental issues

Would you like to become part of a dynamic community organization? JOIN RGISC! BENEFITS OF RGISC MEMBERSHIP Why I should become a member?

9 in the five states of Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas and Oklahoma. We look forward to working closely with the Dallas based regional office on upcoming projects that include water quality monitoring, among others. Are you interested in the environment? Would you like to become part of a dynamic community organization? JOIN RGISC! BENEFITS OF RGISC MEMBERSHIP Why I should become a member? Founded 20 years ago, in 1994, RGISC is the only environmental nonprofit organization in Laredo. Through the dedication of its staff, board members, sponsors, investors and countless volunteers, RGISC has achieved results to protect the environment. Our efforts to defend and restore the Rio Grande (our only source of drinking water) and green spaces depend entirely on your support. By becoming a RGISC member, you are helping to protect our environment and preserve one of America's greatest rivers. Memberships are valid for one year and are taxdeductible. Your support helps to: fund projects that educate thousands of students, create greater awareness throughout the river basin, and enact meaningful policies and laws to protect the environment. To become a member, click your membership level below. Payment will be taken via Paypal. (Note: You don't need to have a PayPal account to do this step.) Student Membership $15 Individual Membership $25

10 Sponsor del Rio $50 Amigo del Rio $100 WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT OUR ANNUAL MEETING ON JUNE 28! PLEASE RSVP ABOVE. Guardian del Rio $250 Angel del Rio $500 RGISC Social Media

11 Newsletter Contributors Text: Tricia Cortez Photography and Graphics: Diana Garcia, Tricia Cortez, Santos Jimenez, Raul Delgado, Holly Reinhard, Lee Hoy Forward this This was sent to by Update Profile/ Address Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe Privacy Policy. Rio Grande International Study Center 1 West End Washington Street Bldg. P 11 Laredo TX 78040

2014: An historic 20th year for RGISC

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here December 31st, 2014 2014: An historic 20th year for RGISC As 2014 draws to a close tonight and we prepare to ring in an exciting new year, we'd like to recap