Long live summer science!

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Naima

It is about that time in the summer when everyone starts complaining about the extreme heat, and parents are running out of ideas to entertain their kids. Here is a little reminder that summer is the best time of the year! Longer days give us extra time in the day to accomplish projects and enjoy the outdoors. If you are feeling a little stagnant in your summer plans, here are five ways to reignite you or your children’s summer science creativity.

1. No money to send your kids to camp this year? No problem. This summer, enroll in FREE online summer camps! Google Camp (camp.withgoogle.com) is a free month-long science camp aimed at encouraging kids to learn through fun, interactive science activities and adventures. Google Camp is led by experts in collaboration with National Park Service, NASA and Khan Academy. Log on to explore space, find out why music makes you move, dive deep under the sea and more. Makers Camp (makercamp.com) is another free online camp, in which you make creative projects, go on virtual field trips and meet some makers from around the world.

Here is a short video of some bottle rocket fun we did at camp last week. Three ingredients and the kids loved it!

If you can’t see the video above, click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk_-1PxjoEc&feature=youtu.be 

2. Jupiter and Venus have been in the news lately for good reason. They are incredibly easy to find in the west sky just after sunset. But, did you know you can also easily spot Saturn in the night sky, and NASA released a spacecraft in 2006 that this past week flew past Pluto capturing never before seen pictures of the small planet? There is so much going on in the night sky, and the warm weather is perfect for staying out late. The Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas has great links to free star maps on their website (texasastro.org/star_charts.php), or download one of the many star map apps for your phone. If you need someone to show you the way or want to escape some of the city lights, join a night hike at Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area to get a guided tour of the stars.

3. Join a citizen science project. Scientists need the general public’s help, so get involved. No matter what your interests are there is a project out there that you can help on. With all of our recent water, frogs are calling closer to homes. Step outside your door to count and identify frog species by listening around your house for frogwatch.com. Are frogs not your fancy? How about a project on sunflowers, ladybugs, clouds, birds, bees and one of the most popular involving helping to classify galaxies called galaxyzoo.org? Join the 900,000 citizen science members on zooniverse.org to find your perfect summer project.

4. Summer science fun is not just for kids, there are specialty programs for adults too. Stop by the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) for Late Nights at the museum. On the third Friday of each month, the DMA hosts a night time event including performances, concerts, readings, tours, family programs and more. This Friday (July 17), arrive by 7:30 p.m. to learn how the DMA increases energy efficiency in its building design and watch the DMA be awarded with a plaque from the U.S. Green Building Council for achieving LEED Silver Certification. Can’t make it Friday, plan on attending the next Social Science night at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Explore science after hours with a signature cocktail in hand! The next Social Science is Aug. 7.

5. Make sure your tires are properly inflated to maximize fuel efficiency and get in your car! There are so many unique spots to visit in our great state of Texas. Escape work on a Friday and head south to dive into cool spring water or go west to hike among tall pines. Plan a longer trip and explore a National Park that tops many bucket lists at Big Bend National Park. Spending time in nature impacts your physical well-being, reducing blood pressure, heart rate and muscle tension. Take some time this summer to rejuvenate your body in nature. Need some inspiration? Follow TexasWild.me as they capture breathtaking photos and videos of wildlife and wild spaces across our vast state.

Remind yourself why summer is a treasured season. Get out and explore before it’s over. Long live summer!

As seen in the Katy Trail Weekly.

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No matter the size, litter has impact on the environment

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Naima

Imagine yourself driving and the car next to you rolls down their window and tosses a cigarette butt out. It’s a common occurrence that I’ve witnessed many times so I expect you have too, or maybe you’re one of the 75 percent of people that have admitted to littering. The tiny cigarette butt takes years to decompose and has earned a nickname as a “toxic tea bag” due to its extreme toxicity to the environment. In a study, scientists found chemicals from one filtered cigarette butt had the ability to kill half the fish living in a one-liter container of water.

More than 30 percent of litter is cigarette butts but there are also fast food wrappers, straws, caps, bags, tires and the unexpected. Keep America Beautiful (KAB) conducted a large study on litter published in 2010. KAB estimated there are 51.2 billion pieces of litter on roadways nationwide and the majority (91 percent) measures less than four inches. Cleaning up this litter costs the U.S. more than an estimated $11.5 billion each year.

Litter can decrease home values, impact tourism, and have an effect on wildlife and the environment. Wildlife can ingest litter mistaking it for food, can become entangled in debris and can be affected by the toxicity of the chemicals in their habitat. Litter comes in all sizes from refrigerators to the tiny. New research has exposed the harmful effects of small microbeads found in facial scrubs and soaps. Microbeads, made of plastic, rinse down the drain unable to be filtered and enter our creeks and rivers. There, the toxic microbeads resemble food and enter the aquatic life food chain. The larger litter causes similar wildlife ecology damage and can also block small creeks and rivers increasing the chances of floods.

Litter ends up in our waterways, making its way to the Trinity River and then downstream to the Gulf of Mexico. A study in 2014 estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic trash ended up in the ocean from the land every year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) equates that large number to the equivalent of five plastic bags filled with trash for every foot of coastline around the world. Marine litter is a long lived threat to our oceans. Our litter here in Dallas ends up on the coast far more than we can make it to Aransas for our annual summer vacation.

Littering and dumping is illegal, but it still happens often. Dumping is disposing of your trash, tires, yard waste, appliances, and other waste materials without the permission of the property owner. In Dallas, dumping of more than 1,000 pounds is a state felony resulting in a fine of up to $10,000 and up to two years in jail.

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One easy way to reduce litter is to make sure all of your own trash goes into a proper receptacle. The next step is to do your part to pick up trash around your community. Brandon Giannasi, a musician who always noticed the unbelievable amount of litter around Dallas, decided to make an event around trash pick up. Giannasi says, “Being a musician, I know there is power in music. Why don’t we do something about all this litter and put together an event that gathers a bunch of people to help pick it up and then somehow we can reward them as well.”

Giannasi’s Trash Bash Music Stash (trashbashmusicstash.com) is looking forward to its second year of success this July 18 at 10 a.m. People can gather at the Truck Yard off lower Greenville Avenue, where they will be dropped by bus to walk a short route to pick up litter and then enjoy a six-band live music event and raffles. The first 100 participants signed up to help pick up trash will receive a $10 gift card to the Truck Yard.

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If you can’t make it to the event, that shouldn’t deter you from picking up trash around your community. The City of Dallas has a “Ten on Tuesday” initiative to encourage businesses, schools, community groups and individuals to reverse litter by picking up 10 pieces of trash and recyclable materials each Tuesday. On the Dallas site reverselitter.com they estimate if 5,000 people pick up 10 pieces of litter a week for one year, the Metroplex would reduce litter by 2.6 million pieces!

Every little bit counts. I’ll see you at the Trash Bash Music Stash or out on Tuesdays!

As seen in the Katy Trail Weekly.

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The future is clean

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Naima

The sun is back. Although we had a number of rain days here in Dallas, we receive, on average, over 230 days of sunlight per year. That’s not as high as our neighbors to the west, El Paso, with over 300 days of sunlight, but it’s plenty to start investing in solar energy. Countries such as Denmark, Germany and parts of the United Kingdom have far fewer sunny days than Dallas, but are some of the world’s leading producers of solar energy.

Solar photovaltaics (PVs) (solar panels) have come a long way since the early 1990s when they were extremely expensive and inefficient. New technology, storage systems, regulations, laws and incentive programs have made solar panels a viable option to invest in. Solar panels can be installed in just about any location to relieve our reliance on “dirty” energy from fossil fuels. With solar panels, you can reduce your electricity bill or eliminate it all together. Wether you live in your own house or not, solar is an option for you.

Homeowners who install solar panels, enjoy money savings, property value increase, and energy savings that equate approximately to planting about 120 trees per year. Each home is unique in energy consumption and also the solar irradiance on site. Solar irradiance is how much sunlight hits the site throughout the day but varies throughout the seasons, depending on the position of the sun in the sky. Some solar module systems are programmed to rotate or track the sun, and adjust year round to accommodate the most efficient angle to maximize the amount of sunlight/energy captured.

Homeowners can choose to own or lease solar panels. To decide the best option for your home and finances, visit the informative Homeowners Guide to Solar Financing produced by Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA.org). Make sure you understand your local laws as well because new laws are helping home owners get out of previous solar panel restrictions. This month, Governor Abbot signed into law new legislation which states, residential developments with more than 50 homes cannot ban or restrict homeowners from installing solar panels, even while new homes are still being built. Before this law, developers were stretching out building, in some cases over 10 years, leaving homeowners who wanted to install solar panels, with their hands tied. Homeowners may still have to fend with HOA approval, but the argument that solar panels are unsightly is lacking in power.

If you live in an apartment, duplex, rent your home, or want to outfit your business with solar panels, you still have options. A new movement in solar is catching on, even here in Texas, called, community solar. Community solar provides customers who cannot install solar panels, an affordable off-site option to utilize solar. Basically, you buy a solar panel that is part of a large array and the energy your panel generates is used to offset your electricity bill. The solar panel energy goes to the grid and you help make it happen. Community solar programs are a collaboration of many entities and have sprouted up in Austin, Colorado and California, to name a few. Grumblings of community solar rooftop programs here in Dallas have been heard for the last few months, so keep your eyes out to support the next community solar opportunity.

Even more cutting edge is a solar plugin. Sunport is a small hand held plug that will plug into any outlet, and using solar credits make that outlet solar power. Sunport.co is “empowering people to demand solar” and are launching their business in July with a kickstarter.com campaign.

This is only the beginning of our solar technology. Right now, the solar powered airplane, Solar Impulse, led by Swiss founders, is making it’s way around the world without a drop of fuel. The team is demonstrating that clean technologies, like solar, can achieve the impossible. No matter what way you choose, investing in the sun’s endless energy, leads us to a cleaner brighter future.

As seen in the Katy Trail Weekly. 

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of GMOs

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Naima

If you recently bought any boxed item from the grocery store, you more than likely ate something with GMOs in it. More than 90 percent of U.S. corn, cotton and soybeans are GMOs, and an estimated 75 percent of processed foods contain GMOs. In Dallas, many of our local restaurants are jumping on the non-GMO bandwagon and marketing their use of non-GMO products. Next time your waiter or waitress boasts of their restaurant’s GMO standards, jump in the conversation with your new GMO understanding.

GMOs are genetically modified organisms, meaning that the genetic makeup is added to or altered. DNA lies in nearly every cell in our body and codes for proteins for everything from our hair and its color to how tall we are and everything in between. Altering the genetic makeup or DNA, programs the plant or animal to make a new protein. Recently, scientists have made many advancements in genetic engineering to improve our medical health and agriculture systems. Genetic engineering is complex yet somehow simple technology, carried out in a variety of methods, which can be classified into the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The GOOD

Genetic engineering itself has amazing capabilities and can save lives in simple ways. Advancements in human health such as edible vaccines ­— the potential to immunize people around the world against many infectious diseases. The most common positive example of GMOs used is rice genetically altered to contain Vitamin A, to combat the millions of lives lost to a Vitamin A deficiency. Or watch the short, inspiring TED talk from biotech scientist Pamela Ronald, whose husband is an organic farmer, who worked for 15 years to develop a flood-tolerant rice through genetic engineering, to save the livelihood of thousands amidst a changing climate.

Genetically engineering crops can yield foods with better texture, flavor and nutritional value. Crops can be altered to create more efficient use of land such as be drought tolerant to withstand lower water requirements. Agricultural use is the largest consumer of fresh water, using an approximate 70 percent of the world’s supply. Lessening the amount of water used on crops will become more important in the future, especially in drought ridden California where most of our fruits and vegetables are grown.

The unfortunate aspect is that genetic engineering technology is abused.

The BAD

Genetic engineering is usually used in the agricultural industry to make crops resistant to pesticides and herbicides. This allows the crop to withstand being sprayed with insecticide or weed killer while the surrounding plants die. The large problem isn’t so much the genetic engineering of the crop, it’s the pesticides placed on the fields. Many crops are modified to be Roundup ready, a strong chemical used to kill weeds, grass, poison ivy and basically, all plants. Roundup ready crops can withstand the exposure to harsh chemical and toxins while the competitor weeds and grasses die. Insecticides are washed, by rain, off the landscape into our water supply damaging wildlife, the environment and our drinking water while also remaining on crops we then ingest.

The UGLY

GMOs do not have to be labeled, making it hard to tell if the product in your hand has GMOs. Even an organic label does not mean non-GMO. If the product contains cottonseed oil, soybeans, corn or corn syrup, it more than likely has GMOs that are exacerbating environmental degradation. GMOs are not managed or regulated responsibly, and no laws have been passed, yet, intended to do so.

The water is murky — genetic engineering has the capacity to do great things but with that technology comes great responsibility to our Earth. Next time you are out to dinner, inquire what the restaurant means by being non-GMO. Do they not have any product with corn, corn syrup or soy in any of their products? All the buzz out about Chipotle going non-GMO, they even admit on their website the challenges of going completely non-GMO. Chipotle has committed to sourcing non-GMO corn and soy and source their meat and dairy from non-GMO animals, yet the grain (corn) fed to the animals most likely is GMO, and their beverages contain GMO corn syrup.

It’s important to have a basic understanding of GMOs as science research continues to investigate the effects of genetic engineering and large companies monopolize the newest technology for their own financial growth.

As seen in the Katy Trail Weekly. 

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Find your own environmentally friendly home

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Naima

Finding a place to live in Dallas is not easy. Your choices are endless: luxury apartments, numerous townhouses, old brick homes, modern style homes and a variety more. Finding a home that also has environmentally friendly features while maintaining your must-haves can be even harder. Many apartment complexes and builders advertise their green efforts in hopes of attracting eco-conscious tenants or buyers. The problem is, they aren’t always honest in their claims.

Here is some general information and questions to ask to determine and investigate just how environmentally friendly your new home may be.

Ask if the building or home is energy certified and if it has a HERS rating.

This is always my first question about any building that claims to be eco-friendly. It’s an easy way to judge the company’s knowledge base right from the start. The three major certifications to be aware of are:

1. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified is a green building certification program that offers four levels focused on reducing the environmental impact using unique building strategies and practices. From lowest to highest, Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum certifications are given to individual projects based on categories including materials and resources, innovation and design, water efficiency and more.

2. Energy Star (energystar.gov) certified homes must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and third party verification. A home is required to meet energy efficient standards in insulation, heating and cooling, water management, and lighting and appliances.

3. HERS (Home Energy Rating System) Index is a measurement of a home’s energy efficiency based on variables including exterior walls, attics, ceilings and roofs, air leakage of the home and more. The lower the number, the more energy efficient the home is. The typical home scores about a 130 on the HERS index while a home built to the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code is awarded a rating of 100 (U.S. Department of Energy). Learn more at hersindex.com.

What are the ways they aim to reduce their environmental impact onsite? Although the certification question may give you a general idea of energy efficiency, dig for more specifics. If you have something you value high, make sure to ask. What kind of lighting do they use? Do they use low flow water fixtures? What type of insulation was used in construction? Ask politely to see a utility bill. Knowing the utility history of the home can give you a general portrayal of the energy use.

Look for yourself. Determine the environmental impacts based on what you see. If you are in an apartment complex, are there are a lot of recycle bins around? If you are in a home, look at the front door and windows. Is there a tight seal between the door and the outside? Are there many sliding glass doors? Sliding glass doors are notoriously leaky and lead to higher energy costs. What direction is the home facing? North or south is more energy efficient than east or west.

Enlist a professional. Find an EcoBroker or a realtor that is Green certified. Pam Daniel (PamDaniel.Ebby.com), an EcoBroker in the Dallas area, is passionate about water conservation and incredibly knowledgeable on the many aspects of finding an environmentally friendly home. Daniel said, “On the multiple listings today we’ve added all the different energy efficient features such as insulation, radiant barrier, attic ventilation, but many agents don’t even know what those things are, so it’s not mandatory to fill them out.” Daniel emphasizes the importance of investigating all aspects of the house from water fixtures, sprinkler systems, landscaping, window and door integrity, attic circulation and more. An EcoBroker can save you time searching through listings and help you narrow your search.

Be a curious informed customer and ask questions to base your decisions on solid information. Take the time to read through sustainability packages and look for specifics and not generalities. The more research you do now, the happier you’ll be in your new environmentally friendly home.

As seen in the Katy Trail Weekly. 

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Here comes the “green” bride

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Naima

It’s pretty safe to say that you’re gearing up to attend, plan your own or help a friend organize their dream wedding this year. Weddings are a big part of what we do in the spring and summer, evidenced by the more than 45,000 weddings that took place in the DFW area in 2013. Weddings cost a lot of money (the average cost of a 2013 wedding in the DFW area was $27,665), take large amounts of time and effort to plan and can create a ton of unnecessary waste (each wedding creates an estimated 400-600 pounds of waste).

Make this fresh start for your loved ones a fresh start for the environment as well. Miranda Moore is the founder of earthlingevents.com that specializes in eco-friendly weddings and events located in the DFW area. One of the first questions Moore asks her clients is, “What is the most important aspect to them?” It’s extremely difficult to create a wedding with zero impact on the environment, so it’s important to decide what aspects you can trim or change to decrease the resources used on your big day. With more than 2.5 million weddings per year in the U.S., doing any little bit will help.

Whether you are the bride, attendee or somewhere in between, here are some tips to make this wedding season environmentally friendly.

• Before the wedding even starts you can make some simple decisions to lessen your impact on the environment such as choosing responsible rings. Vintage is all the rage; make it a real vintage ring by upcycling. Mining for metals, such as gold, causes environmental devastation and is associated with human welfare issues. Take a look at the breathtaking rings available on brilliantearth.com to find some classy ethical rings that go beyond conflict free.

• Break out of the traditional mode by losing the paper invitations and sending your guests a high quality, full color, engaging video or online flyer to invite them to your day. Online can be more of a conversation as well, giving guests an opportunity to interact with you and everyone else attending. If you were sent a paper version, most weddings now also have a website you can RSVP on — save the stamp and transportation, and RSVP online.

• When you’re setting up your registry or choosing what to buy on someone else’s, choose items that are energy efficient, useful, made from recycled materials and if you can, from a local source. It’s impossible to meet every standard but making a few decisions on specific items adds up. Check out the shop at greenbrideguide.com to put together your own eco-friendly registry.

• Your reception can be beautiful and green at the same time. Choose a location wisely. Find out about the efforts they already have in place to decrease energy use. Is the building LEED energy certified? Do they have recycling and compost containers on site ready to go?

• Decorate with creativity. Pinterest has provided us with a vast collection of do-it-yourself ideas to create crafty, stylish and recycled decor for your wedding. Start browsing the pictures and collecting the supplies you need from your friends and family.

• Online photography is faster and more environmentally efficient than the days of print. You can even create a shared album on an iPhone that everyone at your wedding can access and add pictures to. It’s an instantaneous way to get the best personal candid picture memories to treasure from the day. If you’re bride hasn’t done this by wedding day, it’s a great surprise to start getting everyone at the party involved!

• Getting to the wedding is the easiest way to conserve resources. Carpool and group together to book a stay at a vacation rental. Sites like vrbo.com offer vacation rentals that are apartments or houses many with eco-friendly building materials and options. Vacation rentals give you the opportunity to cook your own food, adjust the thermostat or open windows, recycle in house, and some offer compost facilities, bikes and sustainably sourced linens.

Whatever your colors are for the big day, make sure to include a little green.

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I want to spend all my days outside this summer, don’t you?!

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Naima

Summer is upon us! Barbecues, hot summer nights, lightning bugs and… higher levels of air pollution here in Dallas. As the temperatures start rising for the summer, we will face more ground ozone moderate to high level air pollution days. What does this mean, why is it worse in the summer, and what can we do?

There is good and bad ozone gas, based on where it is found. Good ozone lies high up in our atmosphere, creating the ozone layer that filters out some of the sun’s ultraviolet waves. The ozone layer reduces the amount of radiation reaching Earth, protecting life. Bad ozone is at ground level, present in the air we breathe. Bad ozone is formed in the presence of sunlight during chemical reactions of air pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, heating and cooling, refineries, chemical plants and other sources. Simply: We release particle pollution into the air that “cooks” in the presence of sunlight and turns into ozone.

Ground level ozone is an air pollutant and a known trigger for asthma attacks, as well as breathing troubles for adults with chronic lung diseases. Ozone can affect previously non-asthmatic people as well. Inhaling high levels of ozone can make it more difficult to breathe deeply, cause shortness of breath and coughing, and damage lungs. Children are at the most risk due to their rapidly developing lungs.

About one in 12 people (about 25 million) have asthma, and the numbers are increasing every year. In 2013, 3,630 deaths were due to asthma complications in the U.S. (according to the CDC). Studies have shown cities, such as Dallas, pose the biggest threat for asthmatics because the urban heat island effect can exacerbate air pollution.

A city characterized as an urban heat island is warmer than its surrounding area due to being densely urbanized with high traffic. Concrete and buildings absorb heat from the sun and without wind or rain to cool surfaces, the temperature within the city rises. Car and air conditioner exhaust contributes to the warming. The city heats up, creating a breeding ground for air pollution. Ground level ozone can also have harmful effects on plants, visibly damaging the leaves and reducing the plant’s ability to make and store food, a significant problem for some of our agricultural crops.

Next time you see the “yellow” level air pollution status on one of the highway signs, take a second to think about what you are breathing into your lungs. Do you want cleaner air?

There are several ways to reduce the amount of ground level ozone, by reducing the air pollutants we are releasing. Carpooling, taking public transportation, walking or riding your bike are some easy ways to decrease air pollution. Turn your thermostat up in your home and office. Acclimate yourself to a higher indoor temperature, and you won’t be as hot the next time you step outside.

Make sure your car tires are filled properly, and keep your car well maintained to maximize gas mileage. Fill your gas tank during cool morning hours. Repair leaky air conditioners and make sure they are working properly. Support more green spaces that can aid in cooling the urban heat island effect.

Anytime you have a choice to support renewable resources rather than burning more fossil fuels, think about the air we breathe and make informed decisions. In a study published in the Journal of Thoracic Disease in 2015, the Children’s Health Study found, “Even under current regulatory levels of air pollutants, adverse effects of air pollution occur for many respiratory illnesses including asthma, low lung function growth and airway inflammation. These results suggest stricter regulatory standards are needed to prevent adverse health outcomes in the U.S., Europe and other developed nations.” This suggests the regulations we have now are not enough to keep our public healthy.

The temperatures are heating up in Dallas, and we’re all excited about summer fun. Let’s preserve the air we have to make sure it’s safe to enjoy all of our summer days outside.

As seen in the Katy Trail Weekly.

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Personal video montages

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Naima

It’s been a rough few days of website work. Troubleshooting backup errors has tossed me down a rabbit hole into web management stuff I had zero knowledge of like UNIX, myphp, SQLs and more. I am more knowledgeable now, but the fixes are not completed yet. At least I can post again!

So, for my first post back, it’s a personal one with something to offer you.

Since receiving my first GoPro late last year, and then winning my second just a few months ago I’ve been teaching myself how to use it. I still have a ways to go but I am liking the genuine home made quality to the videos I’ve created. As I get better, I don’t want to lose that aspect.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I made a trip to Lubbock, Texas to be present at my best friend Lena’s graduation. I took some video and photos of the trip and made her and her family a video to remember the occasion forever.

After sending it to her, I realized more people may like their own video. If you have an event coming up, own a business or just want a home made memory video, invite me to join you! I’ll take some shots and put together a video for you, all for a lot less than a high priced event photographer. It would be a great way to have a genuine video to promote your event or business or a fun way to remember a special occasion.

Take a peek at Lena’s Graduation video to get an idea of what you could have!

If you can’t view the video click the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4asSyFpkVko 

Let me know what your summer plans are and maybe we can work this out!

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From one extreme to another: Drought to flood

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Naima

This article was published last Thursday in the Katy Trail Weekly. Since then, it has continued to rain and floods are causing damage all over Texas. The forecast for the next few days has more chances of rain.

It’s hard to remember to back a few months, when we were all begging to see more rain. Now, it seems, we are happy when the sun pokes through the clouds. Living in Texas, we know there are periods of drought and if we are lucky, more wet periods like the past few weeks. This year the recorded rainfall at the Dallas Love Field Airport, recorded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 16.91 inches, (5.70 above normal). The plentiful rainfall in the area has provided some benefits to us and wildlife but we need to remember that there will be more fluctuation and increased rainfall also has a negative effect.

The increased rainfall has brought our lake levels up to full and many have opened their dams to release excess water. The NOAA website reminds us, “Just 3 months ago, the water supply lakes for Dallas and Fort Worth were collectively less than two thirds full but are now over 90% capacity.” Going into Memorial Day weekend, people will be able to enjoy fishing, boating and swimming in many of our local lakes but be sure to check out the status of the local parks as many facilities are closed due to flooding.

The increased rainfall has caused some major and minor flooding in the area, and with the expectation of more rain in the next few weeks, more flooding will follow. Flooding is a natural occurrence that can have positive effects to the environment such as redistributing nutrient rich soil over vast areas creating productive lands and increasing access to water for wildlife. When floods are located within areas of human development the excess water effects city’s drainage systems, water supply, electricity and can destroy houses, commercial buildings, farms, livestock and soften the soil leading to unsteady foundations.

Looking at the flooded Trinity River, the increase of trash and pollution from the increased rain is obvious. Rain falls on surfaces picking up debris, chemicals, sediment, oil and other pollutants, washing them directly into our Trinity River. This polluted stormwater runoff can cause adverse effects on plants, fish, animals and people. Build up of sediment can cause water to be murky making it difficult for aquatic plants to grow, chemicals can poison aquatic life and excess nutrients (think fertilizer) can cause algae blooms which ultimately lead to depleted oxygen levels in the water and large aquatic life die offs.

Trinity River on Monday May 18, 2015 - Since then more rain has caused higher floods.

Trinity River on Monday May 18, 2015 – Since then more rain has caused higher floods.

Floods also destroys nests, cause mortality, and increase the spread of parasites and disease. In the panhandle of Texas, scientists are monitoring the rodent and prairie dog populations. The increase in rain causes a dramatic increase in rodent populations but also increases the spread of disease that can cause large die-offs in the species. The more water in areas can also cause an increase in the spread of disease to humans. The World Health Organization states, “Increased precipitation may increase the presence of disease vectors by expanding the size of existent larval habitat and creating new breeding.”

Scientists expect the rain to keep coming this year. NOAA expects El Nino conditions to strengthen this year and above normal rainfall to continue in the Fall of 2015 into 2016. In times of increased rain it’s hard to remember water is a valuable resource. Thinking back a few months to when we were still amidst a drought, reminds us that at some point in our future the rain will be less plentiful. Wise use of our water resource, such as planting native plants and conserving water in your home, is just as important now as it is in a drought. The increase in rain is also a good reminder that whatever we put on our yards, agricultural crops (insecticides and fertilizers) and on our streets, is washed into our own watershed and effects our environment.

This time of plenty water is exciting as we can all celebrate turning off our sprinklers, but we can’t forget the complexity of issues more rain brings to our area.

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Bike to work without the sweat

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Naima

If money talks, it’s easy to see electric bikes are the next big trend. A quick search revealed two high grossing electric bike crowdfunding projects: Sondors Electric Bike raised over $5 million in Spring 2015, and the more recent Wave Electric Bike has raised over $560,000 in just one month and still has 20 days left. The good news is, Dallas has the opportunity to be a leader in this sustainable trend.

With our flat topography and close proximity to work, Dallas is perfectly suited to embrace this sustainable way of travel. Bike to Work Day hit the nation on Friday, May 15, 2015 making it a great time to think about changing up your daily commute with a fun alternative.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to test ride an electric bike. I must admit, I wasn’t excited because I enjoy a traditional bike ride, but I completely underestimated the fun aspect of the electric bike. One pedal and the electric engages, boosting your speed, bringing you back to your childhood with your parents racing behind pushing your bike forward. I whizzed around the parking lot joyfully smiling the entire time. I was hooked.

Test riding an electric bike from Small Planet E Bikes in Oak Cliff, Dallas.

Test riding an electric bike from Small Planet E Bikes in Oak Cliff, Dallas.

In Texas, the heat can be the most challenging aspect of biking to work. Most Dallas area residents work in an environment, where it may be looked down upon, to show up drenched in sweat. If your worry about biking to work is that you will work up a stinky sweat on the way, an electric assisted bike can be the answer to your problems. The electric bikes allow you to dial up or down the electric assisted push so you can take it easy on the way to work and get more exercise on the way home, if you so choose.

Luckily, we have a local shop, where you can test out and purchase your own electric bike. Small Planet Electric Bikes is a shop established in Colorado with a new location opened about a year ago, in Oak Cliff. Zach Arnt, Small Planet Electric Bikes Manager, is excited about bringing the nationwide energy for electric bikes to Dallas. Arnt wrote in an email to me, “We ALL share one, increasingly small planet, and E-bikes are a responsible, fun, and economical solution to traffic and pollution. Every E-bike we sell takes a motor vehicle off the road.”

If you weren’t interested in the bike for physical reasons the cash reasons may be worth it. The average car on the market gets about 24 miles per gallon, while an electric bike can get about 2,000 miles per gallon. If you live 10 miles from your job, biking to work could save you about $9.20 per day based on the kiplinger.com calculator.

There are numerous options for purchasing an electric bike. You can buy a do-it-yourself kit to convert the bike you own to an electric bike, or buy a specially designed electric bike. The electric bikes range from $500 to high end over $6,000. A bit expensive, but a lot less than a new or used car, the weekly gas, and vehicle maintenance fees. Besides the financial reasons, standard and electric bikes create less vehicle traffic on the roads, combat noise pollution and can greatly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.

Electric bikes can significantly lower your environmental impact on the planet but they do still take a power outlet to charge and manufacturing of their batteries should be taken into account. It does take resources to make the bike but the more people that choose a bike over a car, the better for our planet. In the 2011 study “Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Options for Commuters”, Shreya Dave of MIT found an electric bike to be about equal energy efficient to create as a conventional bike, and an electric bike to be 18 times more energy efficient than a SUV.

Electric bikes are catching on around the country, don’t let Dallas fall behind. This Friday, or any day, get your bike out, or try an electric bike, do something good for you and the environment and pedal to work.

As seen in the Katy Trail Weekly. 

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