EcoAustin

ECO AUSTIN

Austin’s Aquifer Issue

What’s really endangering your drinking water? Find out today on page

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Austin’s Going Green page

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Diving into the Blue

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page

Photo taken by Jake Atlas

Changing the World Today

Harness the Sun One House at a Time

Experience a whole new level of Energy

Lighthouse Solar

Table of Contents

6Diving into the Blue

Photo by Randall Chancellor (jrandallc) at Flickr

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Axolotl: A Fight to Survive

Photo by Luis Tamayo (chasqui) at Flickr

12Austin’s Aquifer Issue 16 19Austin’s Going Green 24 27 Housing Electricity

Photos by Jeremy Brinker

Dehydro-lake-tion

Insecticide of Austin

Letter From the Editor

Photo by Ivan Torres

Dear Ecoaustin Reader, Here at Ecoaustin we believe that we are not only creating a magazine that discusses local environmental happenings, but are also envisioning a lifestyle that challenges the status quo, and helps people to be better and more informed citizens. From day one we made a promise to ourselves to show the public what is really going on in their own local environment, because change cannot happen on a national level, but must be made on a local level where the average person can make a huge difference.

For this month’s issue, we decided to address a huge topic that has been a source of fun and stress in Texas for years, and that topic is water. Water at its core is a key part of the human experience, so we try and discuss this topic from all angles. We look at Hamilton Pool, a magical place that has been a hidden gem, and a source of joy for central Texan citizens for decades, to Lake Travis where drought is an epidemic and some analysts believe it may be dried up by 2016. From there, we take an about turn and begin addressing the root causes of drought in the form of climate change, and how the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is unwilling to address Texas’s growing electrical needs through renewable resources. Changing our electrical fuel sources may be the only way to protect these Texan landmarks, but to protect these landmarks citizens must change as well to meet these growing concerns.

Change may be a difficult thing to accept, however spurring and creating change is what Ecoaustin is all about. So I implore all readers of Ecoaustin, who wish to create a better world, to change. In the immortal words of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.”

Sincerely, Jake Atlas, Editor-in-Chief

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Meet the Staff of ECOAUSTIN Shawn Lee

photos by Ivan Torres

Jake Atlas Jake Atlas is an avid amateur naturalist and botanist. Ever since he was young he would explore his garden, looking for new and exciting plants to eat and animals to look at. It was in this environment that he discovered his love of wild and exotic fruits. At the moment he is searching for a mangosteen, akin to a leche, and the durian, which smells like sulfur, making treks through Asian markets and reading one of his favorite magazines, Fruit Gardeners, to find these peculiar fruits.

When Jake is not eating fruit he can be found reading German literature by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe or watching North Korean or sushi documentaries on Netflix. He is a founding member and Editor in Chief of Ecoaustin, working tirelessly to promote and support the magazine that he loves so dearly.

When Ecoaustin runs its course after a decade Jake hopes to finally make that fruit magazine with Dylan Baldridge.

Hyeonseung “Shawn” Lee is a self-proclaimed nerd, as are all who attend LASA. His intellectual experiences in South Korea for over a decade have given him an ability to view his society through different lenses. Shawn enjoys being a part of the student community of LASA. He is the current student council treasurer for the class of 2017, contributing his full-on effort to serve and improve the class. Shawn considers himself an enormous band geek. As a state-level flautist, Shawn is a member of three LBJ bands; symphonic, marching and stage band. Shawn is also on the LBJ baseball team, aiming for success with every swing he takes. Outside of his school life, Shawn loves to bike with his brother and watch episode after episode of “The Office” and “How I Met Your Mother.” Shawn respects the nature of Austin in the most sincere way, making him a great staff member of Ecoaustin.

Jeremy Brinker You can always find Jeremy at a pollen filled pool, swimming the day’s problems off his mind. Finding peace has been important to Jeremy since he began his freshman year as a LASA student. When Jeremy isn’t pushing through mobs of screaming children attempting to practice his strokes, he can normally be found in his house’s study, procrastinating by reading a book he should have finished for the next day.

Immediately after he has finished his homework, he typically collapses into his bedroom, with the fan on high, and salvages whatever remains of his night before beginning again. On the weekends, Jeremy doesn’t mind staying up into the wee hours of dawn watching one of his favorite shows, “Doctor Who”.

When asked, he answers that is favorite food isn’t in existence, as whatever enters his mouth typically doesn’t have time to be tasted before being devoured.

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Diving into the Blue

Major water features of the city of Austin

By Hyeonseung “Shawn” Lee

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ou are walking through the sound of blue jays and mockingbirds. The wind rustles through your hair and make the greens and browns of leaves and branches dance to the symphony of nature played by animals and splashes of water. Where are you? Open your eyes.

The natural water features of Austin await you.

“They’re getting away from their job, taking a break from life, and going out and enjoying the animals, enjoying the run,” Beth Carroll, project director of the Trail Foundation of Austin said. “It’s where people live their life.”

The world is fast-paced, dense, and busy.

People let their minds become occupied by the reality they live in. But with nature, escape is possible. Carroll believes

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that numerous people of the city go out to nature to take a break in life. But what are some natural landmarks in Austin that people can escape to? Let’s find out together.

Lady Bird Lake “We call it the crown jewel of the city,” Carroll said. “It’s an intensely natural space inside of a dense urban core.”

Texas Parks and Recreation Department says that Lady Bird Lake is the easternmost reservoir of the Colorado River that is located in downtown Austin. The reservoir was created after the construction of Longhorn Dam. The western end of the lake is bounded

by Tom Miller Dam, built in 1939. The name Lady Bird Lake was given to the reservoir in honor of Lady Bird Johnson,

the former First Lady of the United States who was also a resident of Austin.

“There are so many activities people can have at the lake,” Carroll said. “Paddle boarding, and kayaking are definitely few of the popular activities.”

The lake started to gain its popularity as the polluted shorelines of the lake overgrown with weeds were renovated into hike and bike trails with recreation areas for public by the Mayor of Austin Roy Butler in partnership with former United States First Lady Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson in the 1970s.

The lake is used by the public for numerous purposes, most of them being recreational. In summer, kayaking, paddle boating, rowing, and fishing are very common sights at Lady Bird Lake.

People also utilize different shoreline trails throughout the four seasons.

Photo by Randall Chancellor (jrandallc) at Flickr Lady Bird Lake runs through the heart of downtown Austin, adding environmental aspects to the beauty of the city.

According to Carroll, bird watching recently became a popular activity at the lake as the bird species diversified. Other than recreational usage, the trails are also used for transportation.

“Not only does it contribute to health and physical fitness of the city, but it can also contribute to emotional health of the city,” Carroll said.

According to the Trail Foundation, an organization founded for protecting and enhancing Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake, the recreational activities at the lake or the trails can improve physical health.

But those activities also have effects on people’s emotion and mental strength.

The scenery, sound and scent of nature one can find in Lady Bird Lake makes the weight people have on their shoulders a lot lighter. Carroll, who is also a huge fan of the lake believes that it is a place where many insightful and heartwarming memories are made.

“There is so much connecting that happens at the trail, whether it’s just as friends or family,” Carroll said. “It’s just a very peaceful entering place.”

Carroll has numerous memorable moments at the lake in her life. It is the

Photo by Dzung Tran (dzung_ banme) at Flickr Paddleboarding, along with kayaking and rowing, is a popular summer recreational activity at Lady Bird Lake.

place where her friend got engaged and the place where her husband and she spend their special moments together.

The beauty of the lake just makes it the perfect place for memories that will last for many years to come.

“The trail is a special habitat for the wildlife that come through,” Carroll said. “Many species of tree such as Bald Cypress at the trail are essential to the city because they stabilize the bank, it can handle drought, or an extreme flood.”

The members of the Trail Foundation believe Lady Bird Lake is a place for people to enjoy nature, and it is also the home of diverse species of animals and plants. Not only are they intensifying the environmental structure of Lady Bird Lake, but many of them are essential to the city of Austin. Bald cypress trees, which are located near the shoreline of the lake, are native species of Lady Bird lake. Numerous bird species of Austin such as the cormorants are know to utilized the Bald cypress trees as their

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habitats. Also, the Bald cypress tree is one of the major contributors of stabilizing the bank. Lady Bird Lake, a jewel of Austin, is truly a place for both human and nature to bond and interact. Not so far from the lake lies Barton Creek, where another ecological jewel of the city is found.

Barton Springs Pool “The springs themselves are few of the many icons of the city,” Brian Hunt, a Ph.D. in hydrogeology said. “These kinds of springs are very important to the city.”

Barton Springs Pool is a man-made pool that is located inside Zilker Metropolitan Park of Austin. The pool is a part of Barton Creek Channel, segmented by a dam. Barton Springs Pool is filled mostly by the main spring, the major spring out of four Barton Springs that are located near the area. Brian Hunt, Ph.D., a senior hydrogeologist for Barton Springs/ Edwards Aquifer Conservation district, believes that Barton Springs Pool is both an ecological and recreational hotspot with an intense historical background.

“The native Americans first used the springs, and the Anglo settlers came to settle at Austin.” Hunt said. “In the 1930s, they built the currently existing dam in the creek. It was a privately-owned land there but Zilker donated to city of Austin.

And that’s when it became a more public swimming hole.”

Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District says though the actual pool was built in the 20th century, Barton Springs was used by different communities of people for several centuries. The Tonkawa Native Americans who inhabited the area used the springs for purification rituals before the European settlers came. When the Spanish explorers discovered the springs, they built temporary missions in 1730.

In 1837, William “Uncle Billy” Barton settled the area around the springs, naming them after his three daughters: Eliza, Parthenia and Zenobia. The Barton Springs area was privately owned until 1917, before Andrew Jackson Zilker donated it to the city of Austin.

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Photo by Randall Chancellor (jrandallc) at Flickr Polar bear swimming contest is one of many recreational programs Bartons Springs Pool promotes.

“The springs being a major recreational point to city of Austin,” Hunt said.

In 1917, Austin was deeded with the Barton Springs area, in which became a public park and an attraction for the city. In the 1920s, the city of Austin took a construction plan to build a currently existing dam and two sidewalks to create the Barton Springs Pool. The pool instantly became a municipal resort in the entire southwest, attracting crowds not only from Austin, but from entire Texas.

“It’s a habitat for endangered species,” Hunt said. “There are two species of salamanders; Barton Springs Salamander and Austin Blind Salamander.”

According to the Texas Environmental Center, the pool itself contains wildlife.

Barton Springs Pool is home to diverse species of turtles and fish, including Mexican tetras, sunfish and even catfish.

The intense aquatic vegetation that lies on the floor of the pool provides habitats and nourishment for almost all underwater life of Barton Springs pool.

Many bird species such as cormorants

and mallards also visit the pool to feed on small fish and other prey. There are two very special species of salamanders that live in Barton Springs Pool. They are Barton Springs Salamanders and Austin Blind Salamanders. Those two species of salamanders are currently endangered, and the pool is essential for them since Barton Springs Pool is the only known habitat for both species. Being a home for numerous species of animals and plants, Barton Springs is a perfect harmony of nature and humans, making it one of the treasures of Austin. Speaking of treasures, a gem of nature which was hidden from the world until the late 19th century is located just a few miles off of Austin.

Hamilton Pool “We felt like we had found the Garden of Eden,” Tami Harrington, a resident of Austin who enjoys the nature of Austin, said. “It was unique and beautiful!”

According to the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Hamilton Pool Preserve is a 232-acre nature reserve located 23 miles west of Austin. The

Photo by Floyd Wilde (floydwilde) at Flickr The grotto surrounding the pool was created over thousands of years due to water erosion as Texas was once underwater. The grotto, combined with the pool and Texas wildlife, displays a magnificent view before people’s eyes. reserve is located within Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. Hamilton Pool Preserve was designated as a preserve in 1990 by the Travis County Commissioner’s Court. The preserve is a home of diverse species of birds and other animals and plants.

“We had no idea how much our breath would be taken away when we saw the waterfalls and cave,” Harrington said.

Hamilton Pool Preserve features a jade green pool with a 50-foot waterfall. The distinct limestone grotto and canyon features surrounding the pool were created thousands of years ago by water

erosion. Harrington was amazed when she went for a hike for the first time, and the magnificent view came before her eyes. According to the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, in the 1800s, the Hamilton Pool area was home of the Tonkawa Native Americans and the Lipan Apaches. In the 1860’s, the area was owned by Morgan C. Hamilton until the 1880s when an immigrant family bought the land and discovered the pool.

Since then, Hamilton Pool has been considered as a crown jewel of Austin.

People have been visiting the preserve as it became a major hiking, swimming and picnic site due to the beauty of nature the preserve contains within itself. Hunt

Photo by Kent Wang (kentwang) at Flickr Diverse and intense vegetation including bald cypress, oak and white ash in Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve makes it very suitable for variety of wildlife to live in.

doesn’t consider Hamilton Pool solely as a significant recreational hotspot, but also as a site providing numerous opportunities for nature studies.

“We approached the pool by way of the paths and thought the rock outcropping was spectacular,” Harrington said. “We also loved the different trees and bushes along the way.”

Austin Parks and Recreation Department says that though Hamilton Pool is the major feature of the preserve, the area surrounding the pool has its own specialties. The ashe juniper upland of the preserve serves as a habitat for a variety of species of animals and plants, including the endangered goldencheeked warblers. Also, the scenery bald cypress trees and lush plant life create always manages to impress the visitors.

Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve is no doubt one of many jewels of Austin, along with Barton Springs Pool and Lady Bird Lake. Take a break from the modern world and rest your mind with the beauty of Austin’s nature. This weekend, why not go kayaking at Lady Bird Lake with your friends, swimming at fresh Barton Springs Pool or hiking at Hamilton Pool Preserve, enjoying the scent of oak?

“When we get out and enjoy nature it makes us feel energized and happy. Our family ‘loosens up’ and enjoys each other more,” Harrington said.

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In 1989, cleaning processes such as chemicals and pressure-washing harmed the plants these salamanders call home

The species declined rapidly from 1970 to 1992 due to these processes, which kill their habitat. From this issue, the species becomes endangered, and the Barton Springs Salamander is now a rare find in their own home pool

Axolotl: A Fight to Survive Story and Art by Jeremy Brinker Information by: Wikipedia, Texas Parks and Wildlife

People finally realize what has been done to the salamander in 1993, and the practices of cleaning the pool that are harming the salamander are ceased and replaced with practices that start repairing the damage in 2005

Accepted recovery criteria for the Barton Springs Salamander include:

• protecting water quality • avoiding and/or completely containing hazardous materials spills • ensuring continuous, natural, spring flows at Barton Springs • sustaining a healthy population throughout the Barton Springs ecosystem • implementing measures to remove local threats • establishing captive breeding populations

The Barton Springs Salamander, a close cousin of the Axolotl, lives solely in the pure spring water of Austin’s own Barton Springs pool.

While these salamanders once were prolific (you could find one by looking through the plants in Eliza Springs), they are now an endangered species, due to the usual urban runoff and increased water use from developments near to the watershed that feeds the pool. Certain cleaning processes for the pool damaged the plants that the salamander uses to make its home, which furthered the already considerable damage.

These problems must be solved if we are to save one of Austin’s most unique creatures.

Fun Facts:

• The species epithet (sosorum) is an acronym for “Save Our Springs Ordinance” (of the City of Austin) • The Barton Springs Salamander has gills outside its body instead of lungs

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Photo By Luis Tamayo at Flickr Barton Springs is a local pool located in Austin Tx that is fed by 4 different natural springs that are part of the Edwards Aquifer. Barton Springs has been open since 1891.

Austin’s Aquifer Issue

By Jake Atlas

As people move to Austin more urban development must be built, but as the city grows the Edwards Aquifer gets threatened.

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omeone may not know it, but there is a vast network of underground tunnels with huge amounts of water rushing beneath all of Austin. These tunnels are the Edwards Aquifer and it stretches all the way from Uvalde in southwest Texas to Georgetown, and it is the sole source of water for not only countless endangered

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species, but also millions of central Texas citizens, and it is in danger of disappearing altogether.

“Originally before humans came the only way for that water to leave the aquifer was through Barton Springs, and with 60,000 people relying on it you can figure... You have 40,000 discharge

points, so you can see just the quantity of water could be reduced by people,” Kevin Thuesen the environmental conservation program manager of Austin said.

The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most important environmental feature in all of the Texas area. It gives life to not only two million people in just the

Blind Salamander, the Widemouth Blindcatfish, also found in San Antonio, and even a species of endangered rice that can only be found in the San Marcos river, a river that is directly fed by the San Antonio Segment of the Edwards Aquifer.

“A really famous biologist called E. O. Wilson described this area as one of these hot spots for ecological things, for organisms, for endangered species, where humans and ecological things are basically competing for the same resources,” Thuesen said. “We have a lot of endangered species and we have a lot of people. So if we can protect the water, we can similarly protect it for the endangered species” These creatures and the aquifer itself all face numerous dangers, which, according to Thuesen, almost always come from human development.

Chemicals and pollutants such as sulfur, asbestos, hydraulic fluids, Photo By Frank Vassen at Flickr The Widemouth Blindcatfish is in five artesian oil and gasoline are all hazardous materials that stem from the use of wells located in the San Antonio Segment of the aquifer. cars over the recharge zone. It is not San Antonio segment of the Edwards reliable source of water for the adjacent just the use of cars over the recharge Aquifer alone, but also countless different towns of Waterloo and Austin,” Bill zone however, but also the roads and kinds of animals that all call the springs Bunch, the Executive Director of Save the housing projects that the roads go to their home, and without the necessary Our Springs said. that have a negative effect on the aquifer. environmental precautions to try and These developments are impervious protect both the quality and quantity of It isn’t just the people of Central Texas cover which block the recharge zones the aquifer, all of this life that needs the who have relied on the Barton Springs ability to put water back into the Aquifer aquifer to survive could simply go away. though; countless different species all which in turn lowers the water levels of This is why conservation organizations rely on the springs as their sole source Austin. were formed such as Save Our Springs, of life. These are all species that cannot which was founded to protect the Barton Springs Segment after the Save Our Springs Ordinance passed in 1992, and Austin’s Water Quality Protection Land, which is a governmental organization that buys land over the Aquifer to protect it from development. It has multiple segments stretching across all of Texas, ranging from the Barton Springs and San Antonio Segment to the Recharge and Contributing zone, making it one of the largest aquifers in Texas.

“Austin wouldn’t be here were it not for Barton Springs. The capital was located here in significant part because the springs provided a

be found anywhere else on Earth. Rare and endangered species such as the Barton Springs Salamander, the Austin

“There are two things that are negative for the aquifer, development in terms of

Photo By Austin L. at Flickr Barton Springs Salamander lives nowhere else on the planet and is only found in only the spring outlets of Barton Springs

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adding new streets and new homes, things that we would classify as development and even impervious cover,” Thuesen said.

It was because of this impervious cover and the pollutants caused by cars that the city of Austin’s Water Quality Protection Land led by Thuesen, had decided to buys land over the recharge zone. This land can come in two forms, fee simple lands and conservation easements; fee simple land is land that is bought up by the city and cannot be built upon. Conservation easements, however, are deals made between the city and landowners to limit the amount of development that can go over the land.

according to the Austin American Statesman, and new developments and roadway projects will be needed to accommodate this growth in population stated Thuesen. It is this growth that organizations like the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT use to justify development over places which are key to the Edwards Aquifer, and it’s these developments that Engineers like Lucas Short Photo by Daniel at Reese Flickr I-35 work on. southwest is a planned road project that would try and relieve congestion in Hays “In southern Austin our and Travis county. roads are built because

“We’ve bought or protected 27,000 acres at this point…,” Thuesen said. “then ideally we can manage what goes on those lands, usually restoration activities to improve the vegetation which will then improve water quality and water quantity as well kind of restoring savanna and prairie which are landscapes being encroached on by brush such as juniper.”

development is already happening. South Austin is growing as rapidly as the Pflugerville/Round Rock area was just a few years ago, so we’re trying to play catch up,” Lucas Short, an Engineer at TxDOT said.

“So... with the things that I’ve seen in my experience... the development is already happening or is proposed to happen or is currently under construction”

Even with local governmental bodies led by people such as Thuesen, saying that urban sprawl leads to environmental damage of the Edwards Aquifer the fact still remains that Austin metro area is growing at a net rate of 4,482 people a month,

When building roads over the Aquifer some precautions are still taken by TxDOT. Low impact devices which are naturally occurring and use things like fills, flat slopes and gentle slopes are used and do help to limit some of the harmful effects of driving over roads.

Photo by Michael Stravato at Flickr This type of wild rice is only found in the San Marcos river and is an endangered species.

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Save Our Springs, however, argues against the entire premise that building roads to the suburbs is necessary, saying that road projects simply create more congestion.

“If you extend roads further... then you encourage people to live farther away from where they work, and to drive farther, and that is why congestion has gotten worse,” Bunch said. “So building and expanding any roadway at the suburban fringe tends to make congestion worse rather than relieve congestion. It’s even a worse choice of limited taxpayer dollars when you’re talking about paving over the states most vulnerable groundwater supply.”

Instead of building more roads over an area of Austin that is in danger, Save Our Spring says the only way to protect the Edwards Aquifer is to limit the amount of driving that humans do saying that more people need to begin telecommuting or living closer to their place of work. They call upon the Texas Transportation Institute’s recent study stating that there has to be a 40 percent reduction of driving by humans to support their claim.

“The Texas Transportation Photo courtesy of Lee Holbuc Institute which is the highway conservation easements protect water quality and water quantity.

lobbies own think tank at Texas A&M just recently did a study on I-35, but it really reflects the whole region, and rather surprisingly they say exactly what we would say which is that it is impossible to keep building highways as a mechanism for reducing congestion and the only answer is for people to drive less.” Bunch said.

These ideas that Save Our Springs is pushing for may however prove difficult to get accepted by lawmakers and government officials. There is over $2 billion allocated to the long-

“Building and expanding any roadway at the suburban fringe tends to make congestion worse rather than relieve congestion” - Bunch term transportation plan, the plan that decides where and when all roads in Texas will be built, and with only $145 million dedicated to Austin’s Water Protection Land, conservationists who wish to protect the Edwards Aquifer are fighting an uphill battle gaining the same monetary support that TxDOT has.

committed to preserving the Edwards Aquifer, and protecting all of the animals that call the Springs their home, even going so far as to saying they support regulations that limit development.

“In any thing that we do it is a delicate balance between building roadway infrastructure and the environment and so I think if sound principles were put in place maybe limiting areas of development like the SOS ordinance for example… that does have positive benefits,” Short said.

Although the exact effect of both roadway and economic development on the Edwards Aquifer remains unclear, if some sustainable practices that help protect the Edwards Aquifer from pollutants and development are not taken then not only would all of the rare

and endangered animals that rely on the Aquifer be lost, but also the millions of people who depend on the Edwards Aquifer as their source of water would be forced to move. This situation may seem unlikely, but springs have disappeared.

A great example of that would be Jacobs Well in Wimberly which used to be a beautiful spring that shot out water and now has been reduced to almost nothing.

“Jacobs Well in Wimberly was reported to really be chugging that water up and coming above the surface of the water, from its history.” Thuesen said. “And it’s a great example of when we first found it, it was the huge beautiful thing and as we’ve developed around it, even developed on a scale that Wimberly’s developed we’ve drawn down the aquifer enough to where sometimes its barely flowing.”

Photo by Tnkntx at Flickr Multiple suburbs like circle C have created controversy due to their affect on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.

“(The Texas Transportation Institute) say in fact point blank we can build 45(interstate), we can build other road projects in our long-term transportation plan, where there is $2 billion, with a “B”, that’s billion with a “B”, and congestion gets worse.” Bunch said.

Even with some accusations made by Save Our Springs involving TxDOT’s lack of environmental responsibility towards Barton Springs, TxDOT still maintains that it is trying and Photo By Kelly Barrett at Flickr Wimberly was formed in the late 1800s and in just a century Jacob’s Well had been reduced to a shell of its former self.

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Housing Electricity Story and Art By Jake Atlas Electricity is something that is rarely thought about and yet it is necessary for any modern life. It feels like an ethereal force that has no real impact or effect, which somehow makes it feel as if it were environmentally friendly and that if someone were to use electricity that person wouldn’t be hurting the environment. This idea, however, is only partially true. 75 percent of Texas and 85 percent of Texas’s population’s electricity is governed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas(ERCOT) according to the Texas Renewable Energy Industry Report and they generates their electricity from hundreds of different power plants all across Texas that each use different sources of fuel. These fuels can range from renewable resources like wind power or hydropower that produce no emissions, all the way to coal and natural gas which are some of the top producers of greenhouse gasses in America. Meaning someones electricity may be using clean or emission heavy fuel sources.

Information By: Texas Comptroller of Public accounts, Texas Renewable Energy Industry Report, and Union of Concerned Citizens

91.3% of electricity comes from these fuels

ERCOT fuel sources

8.7% of

electricity comes from these fuels

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Natural gas, coal and nuclear energy provide over 91.3 percent of the electricity and receive $1,417,434,337 according to the Texas Comptroller of public accounts in state subsidies, making up 99.6 percent of all state subsidies.

These fuels sources produce huge amounts of green houses gasses and are some of the leading causes of climate change.

Natural gas provides the most amount of the electricity, providing 40.4 percent of all ERCOT electricity. Nuclear fuel provides only 11.9 percent of ERCOT energy and receives no state subsidies and yet it is the nonrenewable sources that is cleanest for the environment, producing no greenhouse gas emissions. produce any greenhouse emissions like carbon dioxide and yet receives no subsidies from the state.

Wind energy, geothermal energy, hydroelectricity and solar energy provide only 8.7 percent of the electricity made by ERCOT and receive $6,235,721 in state and local subsidies, $2,074,101 of which comes from solar subsidies created by the city of Austin. This makes up only .4 percent of all state subsidies. Even though these sources are environmentally friendly and are renewable their has been little to no push by the Texas government to begin implementing the use of these resources. Solar power only makes up less than .2 percent of all electricity and yet Texas is ranked 2nd in terms of solar power potential. Wind energy is cheaper than solar and doesn’t take up all the land it is on, allowing land underneath it to still be used, and yet it still only provides 8.5 percent of ERCOT energy. It is not as if these sources are too theoretical or expensive, Texas is just unwilling to provide the needed subsidies to make these sources more financially viable

Natural Gas: 40.4% of all electricity Coal: 39% of all electricity Nuclear Power: 11.9% of all electricity

Wind Energy: 8.5% of all electricity Geothermal Energy: >.2% of all electricity Hydroelectricity: .2% of all electricity Solar Energy: >.2% of all electricity

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Life.

Explore the new frontier.

Coleman

outdoor recreational products

Left: The dense suburban neighborhood of Mueller contrasts the parks placed right on its borders. Right: This fountain is one of many, all of which spray purified water.

Austin’s Going Green The neighborhood built in a brand-new way specifically for Mother Nature Story and Photos By Jeremy Brinker

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wo years ago, Pamela Hefner was sitting at a table, with city code manuals surrounding her on all sides, poring over every page in order to discover the changes she would need to make to the code for the project she was managing, Mueller.

As it turned out, there were over 100 changes that needed to be made to the minimum in order to make this project green. Developments all over Austin are seeking, more and more often, to become more environmentally friendly, and Mueller is exactly what they are looking at to light their path on the way to environmental sustainability. “a lot of people didn’t want to do it, but afterwards they were very proud of it” Pamela Hefner, the state-appointed project manager of Mueller, said.

The redevelopment of the site at the

Robert Mueller Municipal Airport was incited to create a new neighborhood which has much less effect on the land around which it is constructed. The methods in which they succeeded with this, and the issues they solved with this, are quite extraordinary.

Some people were concerned with the project because of flooding issues in the neighborhood in past years, according to Hefner, and they feared that removing the airport originally located at the site in order to add a sprawling neighborhood would only serve to exaggerate the issue. To this end, when the lakes for the project were being put in, the development also put in a system of forebays. Forebays are simply ponds set “upstream” of the main lakes which simply keeps water stagnant for a set period of time before releasing it.

“The ponds, when a big storm event will come, will flood on purpose, so that it will hold the water, and give it time to percolate in, and then very small releases go into the creek,” Hefner said.

The forebay system also serves to purify the water by allowing all the sediment in the water to settle before it enters the ponds in the park surrounding Mueller, which makes the water in the creeks around Mueller even cleaner. “and the forebays have plant material and they are constructed in a way that pulls things like metals and pollutants out of the water first, cleans it, and then sends it into the main pond,” Hefner said.

This feature increases both the quality of the water and the overall environmental friendliness of the whole neighborhood.

This is just one of the many such

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features built into the neighborhood by the developers, Catellus. Some of the residents have also taken matters into their own hands, and installed solar panels to further increase the friendliness of their homes particularly.

“I put in solar panels, I really like all the energy-monitoring systems that just [show] you different types of different ways to look at your energy use,” Kathy Sokolic, a resident of the neighborhood, said. “I think that that’s really important to being able to control your energy use, being able to see it.”

This isn’t the only way Sokolic and others like her are saving energy. Some residents also have toilets that use less water per flush, some have washing machines that use less water for a cycle and so rely mainly on the spinning force of the machine to wash clothes, and some have electric vehicles.

“I also have an electric vehicle, we try really hard just to be green at the house, reduce our energy use, you know, changing out the light bulbs, getting

The solar panels on the furthest building are provided by the Pecan street project, which come with their own energy monitoring system. more efficient,” Sokolic said.

Some of these features lead to more stress than others. A perfect example of this is the pure electric automobile, according to Sokolic. The challenge with this vehicle is that you can only go so far on one charge, and there is no gas tank. In the future, all gas stations will also have a charging station for these vehicles, but for right now, a certain amount of anxiety is expected.

“That can get kinda scary,” Sokolic said, “I tend to get some range anxiety, can I

“We try really hard just to be green at the house, reduce our energy use, changing out the light bulbs, getting more efficient” -Sokolic

make it all the way to work, and back, four times in a week, or should I go ahead and charge?”

Another environmental feature of Mueller is the lack of space between the homes. This was done on purpose, being one of the ways people could think of to make this community green.

“I think Mueller, we’re trying to build density to go...and having that density is a much more environmentally friendly thing to do because you’re consuming less land,” Hefner said.

The Browning Hangar is the hangar from the original airport

21 ecoaustin

This ideal started with the inception of the CARE (Citizens for Airport RElocation) plan, established in 1981, at which point the leaders of this association were making the most environmentally friendly neighborhood they could. However, during this time period, there were not as many ways to save energy and be green, so they tried to conserve land as much as they could,

This river is given water only through forebays, and is the focal point of one of the bigger parks

“Having that density is a much more environmentally friendly thing to do because you’re consuming less land.”

-Hefner

Tower and the Browning Hangar, which was the original airport terminal, preserving these important icons of the history of the place. There was initial opposition to saving both of these structures,” Kinney said.

However, all of these issues have had time to get worked out. This project has been in the making for 23 years since this creation of the coalition of CARE, and to this day, people are changing the project. “started with the 1983 formation of CNA

The Thinkery is a new children’s museum brought into the neighborhood after all of the development standards were created.

This new building proves that these development standards are not completely unattainable, as this large building follows all of the energy requirements set forth in the Planned Unit Development, while also being completely unique and interesting to visit.

thinking the grassland they saved would have some effect on the environmental friendliness of the neighborhood. “the CARE plan for Mueller, which was proposed to be a very dense, even denser than currently planned, urban community,” Girard Kinney, the architect who drafted the original graphic plan for Mueller, said.

There have been conflicts about what to remake as environmentally friendly throughout this project, especially the old landmarks of the neighborhood.

“Saving both the Mueller Observation

The Mueller Observation Tower is the original airport control tower, left standing despite disagreement on the issue.

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Mueller to do this was to use a P.U.D, or planned unit development, in order to plan out all of the changes to the code they would need to make. The changes were widely varied, from needing to make the minimum lot size smaller to wanting smaller streets. All of these changes were made to make the code better, which is specifically the reasons for using a P.U.D. People also needed to write up the master development agreement, which bound Catellus, the master developer, to all the promises of environmental sustainability they made. “it did take two years for the lawyers put together, and it’s 800 pages, it’s a big master development agreement,” Hefner said.

This spider represents one of Texas’ most abundant wild animals

“Even today, the plan evolves, and amendments to the master plan each require City council approval.”

-Kinney and CARE, continued through the 1990 TF chaired by Robert Knight which first looked at reuse considerations officially, then my chairing of the 1995 TF, and continues to this day. The “Approval” happened in stages, first with the decision to relocate the airport, then with the adoption of the Vision for Mueller in 1996, then with the staged approvals of the various versions of the master plan, first with the State of Texas as a development partner, then after that idea fortunately died, a new plan that was able to respond to the fact that the real estate and development community had finally

23 ecoaustin

come around to many of the 1984 and 1996 concepts that had been developed by we citizens. Even today, the plan evolves, and amendments to the master plan each require City council approval,” Kinney said.

Legal backing of the development was also difficult to obtain, simply because there were so many changes to the code that needed to be made to create the project. The way that was chosen for

All in all, this project is making headway for the new form of development that needs to start becoming the norm.

Environmental friendliness is one of the biggest problems of our generation, and this is the beginning of a solution. Of course, there are changes that need to be made, as this is just the first time, but the idea of green building is a great one. “when people were talking about and envisioning what they wanted for Austin,” Hefner said, “they would point and say, ‘Well see what’s happening at Mueller.’”

The pond pictured above is one of a number of forebays

WHOLE

FOODS MARKET here everything’s

greener Visit one of our locations: Slaughter lane N Lamar Lane S Congress Avenue

Dehydro-lake-tion Story and Art by Hyeonseung “Shawn” Lee

Lake Travis serves as one of the most crucial reservoirs in the Austin area. Numerous businesses and local residents depend on the lake as a pivotal recreational point as well as a provider of hydroelectricity. The reservoir supplies the area with drinking water and serves as an indicator for various other lakes and reservoirs in the central Texas area in terms of hydrology and ecology. However, this essential water feature has started to undergo many changes since a drought hit Texas in 2011. This drought was recorded as the worst drought in Texas history because it caused a huge drop in water level in almost all reservoirs and water features in the central Texas area, including Lake Travis. Ultimately, the drought affected the agricultural and recreational industries as well as many residential areas in the Austin area. With unregulated water consumption from local areas, the drought has left a scar on Lake Travis that won’t be healed for a long time.

water level (feet)

Annual Average

Water Level of Lake Travis

680

670 660 650 640 630 620

2005

2006

2007

2008

The lowest annual income water flow of Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan was recorded in 2011 with 127,802 acre-feet, about a

QUARTER

1/4

of the normal annual income water flow.

2007

Lake Travis was last full in

Currently, Lake Travis is

33.7% full, with the water level of 625.13 feet.

Officials believe the Lake will run dry by

2016 Information by: Lower Colorado River Authority KTBC Fox 7 Austin News Water Data for Texas Wikipedia

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013 Year

Make it count

Make it green

Insecticide of Austin Story by Jeremy Brinker

Free-tail bats consume enormous amounts of moths and other insects.

Some roosts are known to contain millions of bats. In those colonies it is estimated that

Bat-watchers flock from all over to see this large group of bats in Austin. The flock of Mexican free-tailed bats make their nightly 45 to 60 minute flight from the Ann W. Richards Congress Bridge, and through the months from March to November. During this 2 mile high flight, these bats can go up to 60 miles an hour, and delight all who view this amazing colony. During this flight, these bats will also eat a large portion of Texas’ pesky mosquitoes, which has earned them a special spot in all Texans’ hearts.

250 tons of insects can be consumed every night.

Snakes, raccoons, house cats, owls, and other predators sometimes manage to gain access to the roosts.

Mexican free-tailed bats prefer to roost in caves, but will also choose

attics, under bridges, or in abandoned buildings.

They choose roosts near water. The water attracts the insects they eat, as well as allowing them the opportunity to drink.

Photo by US Fish and Wildlife Service The Mexican free-tailed bat weighs only between 0.4 and 0.5 ounces, with a wingspan of 1 foot

Mexican free-tailed bats are very important for keeping crop pests in check as they can eat

up to 2/3 their body weight

in insects each night, especially while lactating and feeding.

The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue bridge in downtown Austin is the spring and summer home to anywhere from

750,000 to 1.5 million bats

Mexican free-tailed bats are found in the western United States, south through Mexico, Central America and into northern South America.

Most of these bats migrate south to Central America and Mexico during the winter.

However, while they roost right here in Austin, they provide a valuable tourism factor to the city, bringing in around

6.5 million dollars Information by: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Taylor & Francis Online Austin.About.com Wikipedia

Lady Bird Johnson

Wildflower Center

Open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Open Sunday and holidays 11 a.m. - 5p.m.

Children under 4 enter free of charge!

Come visit us today and make a memory