The Green Web

The World Wide Web has turned out to be one of my most important journalistic sources. At least once a day, I get on the hypermedia system to search for information of one kind or another. Here are a few of the websites that I use, and that I think are useful for anyone interested in environmental issues.

Austin360 Sure it's owned by Cox Enterprises, owners of the local daily, but it's a worthwhile stop. The site lists a host of local environmental groups, including the Travis Audubon Society, Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association, and the Hill Country Foundation, among others. Most of these sites include hot links to other sites. For instance, the Travis Audubon site has links to pages on bird feeders and hummingbirds. (http://www.austin360.com)

Environmental Working Group (EWG) Want to know how much money a candidate has received from political action committees? This is the place to go. An interesting fact from this site regarding the Doggett vs. Doggett race for the 10th Congressional District in Texas: Republican Theresa Doggett has received nine times more money from out-of-state individuals than has Democratic incumbent Lloyd Doggett. According to EWG's figures through Sept. 4, Doggett the Challenger has taken in $87,094 from out-of-state contributors. Doggett the Incumbent has taken in just $9,800 from non-Texans.

EWG's web page will also alarm you with the fact that PACs opposing wetlands protection have given $25.4 million to political candidates of both major parties since 1990. The page includes a list of the companies that are members of the National Wetlands Coalition(NWC), a PAC with a lovely but misleading name which gives big contributions to politicians that agree with its anti-environmental agenda. Among the members of the NWC is the Chevron Employees PAC, which gave $179,764 between 1994 and 1996 to House members who voted against protection for wetlands. The EWG page also includes other information, including a breakdown by Zipcode of farm subsidies and toxic releases.(http://www.ewg.org)

Society of Environmental Journalists This home page may have more hot links on it than any I've seen. It includes links to pages with info on everything from global warming and government agencies, to forests and bio-diversity. It has links to dozens of environmental groups, and it includes several links to documents that review the best in environmental websites. (http://www.sej.org)

Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center This site, run by the limnologists and biologists at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, offers one-stop shopping for people interested in the southern (non-Barton Springs) section of the Edwards Aquifer. At this site, you can get water consumption totals by county, water-usage stats, estimated recharge levels for the aquifer, and the current level of the aquifer's main monitor well, the one in central San Antonio known as J17. The site contains a comprehensive look at the endangered species that depend on the aquifer, as well as an overview of the San Marcos River ecosystem. A new feature includes the latest information about spring flows at Comal and San Marcos Springs. It also has the latest drought statistics and links to other sites like the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, that have drought-related info. (http://eardc.swt.edu)

AltaVista If you're looking for information on the Web, you need a capable search engine and AltaVista is simply the best there is. But to make it work efficiently, you need to utilize the site's advanced features. When you get to the site, click on the "advanced" box. Once there, enter several words or phrases, using Boolean connectors like and, or and not. These limiters allow you to dramatically reduce the number of hits you get. (http://altavista.digital.com)

League of Conservation Voters(LCV) Want to know why U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Friendswood) is included in the LCV's list of the "Dirty Dozen?" This site includes information about the bills that Stockman sponsored during the last session, including one that would have allowed the refineries and petrochemical plants in his district to release more toxins into the air. The site has an analysis of the presidential race from an environmental perspective, and it clearly favors President Bill Clinton over Bob Dole. "Dole's lifetime average voting record on LCV's National Environmental Scorecard is only 19%, and it was 0% in 1994 and 1995," says the LCV. "In no instance has Sen. Dole taken a stronger pro-environmental position than President Clinton."

The site has voting records on every member of the House and Senate on environmental issues. For instance, Texas' two Republican U.S. Senators, Phil Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchison, each scored a paltry 7% on the LCV's tally sheet. Five senators, all Democrats -- Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, John Kerry of Massachusetts, John Glenn of Ohio, and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin -- scored a perfect 100. Lloyd Doggett slipped from 100% last year to 96% this year. (http://www.lcv.org)

Politics Now Want to know U.S. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez's birthday (it's May 3, 1916), or Gov. George W. Bush's birthplace (New Haven, Connecticut), or the number of registered voters in Texas (8.92 million)? You can get those factoids and lots more at this website, which used to be known as PoliticsUSA. The site includes an almanac of American politicians as well as state profiles (population, ethnicity, median age, etc.) The day after the debate between vice-presidential candidates Jack Kemp and Al Gore, Politics Now had a searchable, full-text transcript of the debate, including reactions from various spin doctors. The site also has a comparative analysis of the latest polling data, and a comprehensive guide to the financial contributions of every member of Congress. It even contains a directory called "The Capital Source" that can help locate Washington phone numbers and addresses for PACs, lobbyists and special interest groups. (http://www.politicsnow.com)

General Accounting Office No one would call this an environmental page, but the GAO offers some of the best no-bullshit summaries of environmental programs. For instance, this page includes the full text of a July 22 GAO report regarding the failures of the NAFTA-created entities, BECC and NADBank, to deal with many of the environmental problems on the border. (http://www.gao.gov)

Securities and Exchange Commission Another page that doesn't have anything to do with the environment, but if you want to know what a publicly traded company is doing with regard to the environment, there's no better place to go. From here, you can download the full text of a company's annual report, their quarterly reports, and their proxy statements. From those, you can get a myriad of information, including the annual salaries of the CEOs, as well as any pending legal actions against the company. (http://www.sec.gov)

Knowledge is power. Happy surfing!

Colorado Rocks

The Friends of the Colorado River Foundation are sponsoring a family-oriented event on Sunday, Oct. 20, which will include exhibits, food, and live music by Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Toni Price. The event -- designed to encourage people to hike, paddle, and recreate along the Colorado River -- is free and will run from noon-6pm.