Helpful Resources for Friends and Family
Because knowledge really ~is~ power.
Don’t know where or how to start learning about the environment?
We got your back.
Click around and explore some of the resources we have compiled below!
ProPublica ToxicMap
A nonprofit newsroom called ProPublica used data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2014-2018 to create a user-friendly map of air quality across the US. They identify more than 1,000 toxic hot spots and found that an estimated 250,000 people living in them are likely exposed to levels of toxic chemicals that increase their cancer risk. You can use this map to search for your own address!
(Spoiler alert: Jefferson County is a hot spot. Womp womp.)
NASA Study: Plants that Clean Your Air
In 1989, NASA was doing really useful things. One of those useful things was seeing which indoor plants help to clean the air inside your home — many things (furniture, paint, carpets) in your house can release toxic chemicals. These plants will absorb them, and make your air healthier!
(We recommend starting with a snake plant.)
Texas Legacy Project: Big Thicket
A while back, the Conservation History Association of Texas created the Texas Legacy Project to collect in-person history interviews (they’re part of our own inspiration for our East Texas Environmental Legacy Project!). This video showcases interviews with Geraldine Watson, Maxine Johnston, and Richard Harrel — some of the original saviors of the Big Thicket and the Neches River.
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
A haunting history of the “Lord God Bird” - the largest of the woodpecker species, and a native of the East Texas Big Thicket habitat. It was sadly deforested and hunted to extinction… Tales of sightings of the bird have long endured although it was last captured on video-photography in 1935.
Texas Wetlands
An easy-to-understand resource from “Texas Aquatic Science” on all of the free ecosystem benefits of wetlands / swamplands: This highlights their importance to plants & animals, their ability to improve of water quality, act as natural flood control, and even replenish aquifers!