SUSTAINABILITY OPPORTUNITIES September 2018

The Earth and its Moon, taken from the Space Shuttle Discovery flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

In This IssueCarpool SurveyBicyclists: SH 3 Access Management Study TxDOT2018 FEDS Spotlight WinnerBring Your Bike to Work DayNational Drive Electric WeekJSC Solar Cart Report2017-2018 Annual Sustainability ReportHouston Health Department SurveyFree-Range Bike Tracking at JSCMeet the Sustainability InternEco-events in OutlookNASA Climate Change News

Carpool SurveyPlease take a moment to fill out a quick surveyabout alternative commuting options.

Public Meeting at the GilruthSH 3 Access Management Study - Bicycle/PedestrianCommunity

Due to a significant amount of bicyclist/pedestrian interest on SH 3,The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) representativeswill present the SH 3 Access Management Study, discuss andsolicit feedback from the Bicycle/Pedestrian Community on thestudy's proposed improvements and recommendations.

The purpose of access management is to provide vehicular accessto land development in a manner that preserves the safety andefficiency of the transportation system. The study aims to identifyshort-, medium-, and long range improvements to reduce crashes,improve mobility, and support existing and future development.

Can't make the meeting? Make comments at:http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/houston/sh3-access-management.html

DateThursday, September 06, 2018(6:00 PM - 8:00 PM)

Upcoming Events:

September 6thUH Sustainability Meetup: SoilBiology and Conservation4:00 PM - 5:00 PMUniversity of Houston StudentCenter South,Heights Room #224

Memorial Park ConservancyLawn Party5:30 PM - 7:30 PMCullen Running Trails Center

September 8thYoga in the Woods3:30 PM - 4:30 PMHuntsville State Park

Basic Organic VegetableGardening9:30 AM - 12:00 PMThe Houston Museum ofNatural Science,Moran Conference Hall

September 12thBehind the Scenes at aBotanic Garden12:00 PM - 2:00 PMMercer Botanic Gardens

September 13&14thChildren's EnvironmentalHealth Symposium8:00 AM - 7:00 PMDoubleTree by Hilton Dallas -Love Field

September 15thBird Banding8:00 AM - 12:00 PMGulf Coast Bird Observatory

Texas Adopt-A-Beach 2018

LocationGilruth Recreation Center - Destiny Ballroom(2101 E NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 77058)

Target AudienceBicycle and Pedestrian Community

Want to Ride to the Bicycle Meeting?Slow Twitch Niche owner, Jeffrey Currier, hasformed a group to ride from the shop inSeabrook, 1506 Main St, Seabrook, TX 77586. They'll leave at 5pm and do a 10-12 mile route toend up at the Gilruth. It will be an easy pace for allto join in. Afterwards they will ride straight back tothe shop from the meeting (only 5 miles on return).

2018 FEDS Spotlight Winner, Kevin McCue

JSC's Energy Manager, Kevin McCue, received theFederal Energy Management Program (FEMP)award on August 22, 2018. "Facing numerousobstacles and challenges throughout the project,Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Energy ManagerKevin McCue led a large team of utilities,contractors, and government employees tosuccessfully implement the high-pressure naturalgas procurement contract that now serves JSC'snew 11.9 MW combined heat and power plant."

Congratulations, Kevin!

Coastwide Fall Cleanups9:00 AM - 12:00 PMBeaches along Gulf Coast;Houston-Galveston Region

Beach Explorations10:00 AM - 11:00 AMGalveston Island State Park

September 17th2nd Annual State of TxDOT11:00 AM - 1:00 PMMarriott Marquis Houston

September 19thHouston GREEN Film Series"Dirt Rich"6:30 PM - 9:00 PMRice Media Center

September 24-26th2018 Texas Energy Summit7:00 AM - 4:00 PMHyatt RegencyHouston/Galleria

September 28thHREG Solar Workshop2:00 PM - 4:00 PMTX/RX Labs

Reuse & UtilizationOpportunities

The Reuse and Utilizationwarehouse has a multitude ofitems just waiting to berepurposed! Come check outwhat's available anytimebetween 9:00AM and 3:00PMeach day excluding FlexFriday. Closed-toe shoes arerequired to enter thewarehouse.

To request an excess itemfollow the directions foundhere (Disposal group ->Request for Property Re-utilization).

Bring Your Bike to Work Day

Who: East Route (Seabrook, El Lago, etc.) leads,Robin Elgart and Matt BordelonWhat: Bicycling to WorkWhere: Start at Cook and Main St.When: 9/18/18 @ 7:30amWhy: Because cycling is good for your health andeveryone else's- better air quality (reducedparticulate matter, Nitrogen Oxides) and strength innumbers

National Drive Electric Week is September 8-16!Here are two events to look for:JSC and Rice EV demoDay: Wednesday, September 12, 2018Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pmLocation:

Outside Building 3 cafeteria (at loading docknext to Building 1)

National Drive Electric Week Event - HoustonDay: Saturday, September 15, 2018Time: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Location:IKEA Houston7810 Katy Fwy.Houston, TX 77024

You can also contact HomeroRangel at homero.rangel-1@nasa.gov for assistance.

Ongoing Events:

Sundays –

Jones Park Bicycling8:00 AMJesse H. Jones Park & NatureCenter

Galveston's Farmers Market9:00 AM - 12:00 PMThe Bryan Museum

Natural History Demonstration1:00 PM - 4:00 PMArmand Bayou Nature Center

1st & 3rd Sundays –Free Day in NatureHike the trails (guidesavailable) and view the prairie,forest, marshes, and reptileson display.12:00 PM – 5:00 PMArmand Bayou Nature Center

Mondays –

2nd Mondays –Houston Urban GardenersCome to the meetings to learnhow to grow your own foodand find fresh, local produce.6:30 PMMultiservice Center1475 W. Gray, Houston, TX

Tuesdays –

Sheldon Lake PrairieRestoration9:00 AM - 11:00 AMSheldon Lake State Park &Environmental LearningCenter

Owners of electric model vehicles from Chevrolet,Tesla, Nissan, BMW, Fiat, Mitsubishi, and EVconversions have registered to attend. Registeredattendees report 506,422 electric miles driven.

Solar Cart ReportGolf and GEM carts provide an economical andeasy way for employees to move around JSC. Ahandful of these were converted to be charged onsolar energy by the Sustainability Team. NatalieZimmermann, Center Operations SustainabilityIntern, followed up with the users of these cartsabout durability of the conversions. Her findingscan be found in the Solar Carts Report.

Wednesdays –

Nature Story Time4:00 PM - 4:30 PMNature Discovery Center

Thursdays –

Stormwater Wetland ProgramVolunteer Opportunity9:00 AM - 12:00 PMExporation Green

1st Thursdays –Houston Electric AutoAssociation @ TXRX Want to carpool? E-mail Daveat d.e.hanson@nasa.gov6:30 PM - 8:30 PM205 RobertsHouston, TX

2nd Thursdays –Local Garden LecturesCome join in a series ofmonthly lectures on a varietyof gardening and yard caretopics. These lectures arehosted by Keep PearlandBeautiful and the BrazoriaCounty Master Gardeners.7:00 PM - 9:00 PMMultipurpose Room II atRecreation Center andNatatorium54141 Bailey Road Pearland, TX 77584

Fridays –

Prairie Friday8:30 AM - 12:00 PMArmand Bayou Nature Center

Saturdays –

Natural History Demonstration1:00 PM - 4:00 PMArmand Bayou Nature Center

The 2017-2018 JSC Sustainability Report isavailable to read. Thanks to all of theSustainability Champions around JSC whocontributed stories!

Tell Us How Harvey is Impacting Your Health

Are you feeling lingering health effects fromHurricane Harvey? Please participate in theHurricane Harvey Registry, a brief online surveywith questions about the storm's impact on yourphysical and mental health. The information willhelp the Houston Health Department connect thedots on who is being impacted and how. Yourparticipation can help identify area of need to helpHouston recover and plan for the future. Pleasetake the brief online survey

Free-Range Bike Tracking at JSCJSC's Free-Range Bike Program now has atracking system. Learn about the systemcomponents and see the website for yourconvenience.

Nassau Bay Farmer’s MarketEnjoy organic produce andother products!10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Peach Street Farmers Market10:00 AM – 2:00 PMPeach Street, Angleton TX

1st Saturdays –Nature Nurture Series10:00 AM – 12:00 PMBaytown Nature Center

2nd Saturdays –Guided Canoe TripCome on a guided canoe triparound the bayou.Reservations are required.Please call 713-274-2688.8:00 AM – 11:00 AMArmand Bayou Nature Center

Class Times May Vary –EcoClasses for KidsEcoClasses are designed tobe hands-on environmentaleducation activities forchildren (Ages 18 months to12). Please call 713-274-2668to reserve your spot andcheck for current curriculum.Armand Bayou Nature Center

Almost Every Day –Social Bike RidesLooking for a groupride? BikeHouston iscompiling a list of regularweekly group rides for newand experienced riders.

SubscribeHere

Hello, my name is Kathryn Mays, and I am working as theCenter Operations Sustainability Intern this fall. I studyEnvironmental Engineering at The Ohio State University,and I am a member of the Innovation, Creativity, andEntrepreneurship Scholars program on campus. I amexcited for a semester of new challenges at JSC!

Reuse & Utilization Opportunities

The Reuse and Utilization warehouse has amultitude of items to be repurposed! Come checkout what's available anytime between 9:00AM and3:00PM each day excluding Flex Friday. Closed-toe shoes are required to enter the warehouse.

To request an excess item follow the directionsfound here (Disposal group -> Request forProperty Re-utilization).You can also contact Homero Rangel athomero.rangel-1@nasa.gov for assistance.

Items AvailableTop Row: Aluminum Raw Stock (1413 lbs.), BottomRow: Digilab UMA-600 Microscope, 42 inch NECDisplay Unit)

Get access to eco-events on your Outlookcalendar!

Looking for an easy way to see fun outdoor andscience activities on your outlook calendar? Justgo to your calendar, click "Open Calendar" andsearch for "JSC-Sustainability" in your addressbook. All of the local activities listed in thisnewsletter will appear in an easy-to-read format.Special thanks to Megan Harvey for suggestingthis great idea!

From NASA Climate Change NewsOther Top Stories:

NASA's "Space Botanist" Observes California,Nevada WildfiresECOSTRESS (NASA's Ecosystem SpaceborneThermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station)has captured new imagery of three wildfiresburning in California and Nevada. ECOSTRESS'primary mission is to detect plant health bymonitoring Earth's surface temperature from theISS, however, it can also detect other heat relatedphenomenon like heat waves, volcanoes and fires.

Arctic Carbon Cycle is Speeding UpA new NASA-led study uses data from the ABoVE(Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment) and showsthat Alaska's North Slope tundra ecosystems'carbon cycle is speeding up to a pace morecharacteristic of a North American boreal forestthan of the icy Arctic.

Carbon Monoxide from California Wildfires DriftsEastIn addition to ash and smoke, fires release carbonmonoxide - a pollutant that can persist in theatmosphere for about a month and can betransported to great distances. New images madewith data from the AIRS (Atmospheric InfraredSounder) show carbon monoxide high in theatmosphere drifting east - toward Texas and forkingto the northeast.

NASA Launching Advanced Laser to MeasureEarth's Changing IceIn September, NASA will launch the ICESat-2 (Ice,Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2) into space tomeasure the average annual elevation change ofland ice covering Greenland and Antarctica. Thelaser's ATLAS (Advanced Topographic LaserAltimeter System) measures height by timing howlong it takes individual light photons to travel fromthe spacecraft to Earth and back - capturing 60,000measurements every second.

NASA Invites Media to View Launch of ICESat-2from West CoastThe launch of NASA's ICESat-2 is scheduled forSaturday, September 15. The spacecraft will lift offfrom Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg AirForce Base in California. ICESat-2 will provideprecise measurements of the changing height ofEarth's glaciers, ice sheets and sea ice.

Last Glacier Standing in VenezuelaA cold and snowy climate at high elevations is keyfor glaciers to exist in the tropics. Warming airtemperatures have contributed to their decline,however. Previously spanning an area of at least10 square kilometers in Venezuela, less than onepercent of that glaciated area remains today, andall of it is locked up in Humboldt Glacier.

Sustainability At JSC“My goal as the JSC CenterOperations Director is tocreate a workingenvironment whereJSC employees feel happy,comfortable, and productiveto support our mission.Similarly, my vision forsustainability is that it’ssomething we don’t eventhink about; it’s ingrained inour thinking. We just do it.”

- Joel Walker, JSC Center Sustainability Officer

Copyright © 2017 NASA JSC - Sustainability Program, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:JSC-Sustainability@mail.nasa.gov

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