Welcome to Green Houston! The Official Website of the City of Houston’s Environmental Council’s Office of Environmental Programming

The Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) Green Team is made up of community volunteers who participate in park or bayou de-littering and beautification efforts. Perfect for corporate team building and community or family volunteer events, Green Team projects utilize "sweat equity" as the primary tool for accomplishing a one-day park clean up goal. For more information, please contact Kathy Cochran at 713.845.1117.

Individuals, sports leagues, organizations and corporate volunteers can increase their commitment to our city by contributing to the ongoing maintenance of Houston's green spaces, esplanades and park facilities through HPARD Adoption Programs. Support can range from continued park clean-ups, ball field maintenance and/or improvements, park amenity enhancement, beautifying and maintaining the city's esplanades, and planting and maintaining trees. For information on park or ball field adoptions, please contact Kathy Cochran at 713.845.1117. For information on esplanade adoption, please contact Marilu De La Fuente at 713.845.1223.

On high air pollution days, people should stay inside as much as possible and reduce personal activities, like exercise, which increases the rate and volume of the air that you breathe.

I you see a smoking vehicle in Houston; call the TCEQ smoking vehicle hotline at 1.800.453.7664.

If you observe a significant air pollution release or if I think a company is violating air pollution regulations, call the Bureau of Pollution Control and Prevention (BPCP) at 832.393.5730.

As a consumer, you can shop for products that create less air pollution like fuel-efficient automobiles, energy-saving household appliances, and low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints.

You can change your daily actions to reduce air pollution by refueling your automobile and mowing your lawn when air pollution levels are low.

You can contact local, state, and federal elected officials and tell them you support air pollution control laws.

Buy only what you need; overbuying usually ends up in the trash.

Avoid buying disposable; for example, use dinnerware and silverware instead of disposable ones.

Buy items without extra packaging; extra packaging is more paper and cardboard to dispose.

Create a place for recycling at home.

Make recycling a family activity.

Recycle your Christmas tree.

Check out the Houston-Galveston Regional Recycling and Conservation Guide

Install weather stripping on windows and doors - hot or cool air can escape through doors and/or windows that do not have weather stripping, causing an increase in energy usage by heating or cooling a home more often.

Caulk windows - for similar reasons as mentioned above.

Replace incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps - you can dramatically cut your lighting costs and energy consumption by replacing just 2 bulbs in high-traffic areas with compact-florescent bulbs. Appliances and lighting accounts for 10 to 30% of the energy used in residential homes.

Install insulation in your attic - making sure there is enough insulation in the attic, or anywhere there is a barrier between the home and the outside, is one of the most important ways to make a home energy efficient. Heat can easily escape non-insulated attics requiring more heat, or air conditioning in the home. Un-insulated spaces account for 50 to 70% of the energy used in residential homes.

Install insulation on exposed hot water piping - water cools faster on exposed pipes and is therefore re-heated more often, which requires the use of more energy.

Insulate your water heater with water heater blankets - water-heating accounts for up to 14% of home energy use - the largest single energy expense in your home. Covering water heaters with water heater blankets cuts down the amount of times your heater must re-heat the water.

Use a programmable thermostat that automatically turns off the air conditioner or heater when you don't need them.

Select plants that have low requirements for water, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Preserve existing trees, and plant trees and shrubs to help prevent erosion and promote infiltration of water into the soil.

Use landscaping techniques such as grass swales (low areas in the lawn) or porous walkways to increase infiltration and decrease runoff.

Restore bare patches in your lawn as soon as possible to avoid erosion.

Leave lawn clippings on your lawn so that nutrients in the clippings are recycled and less yard waste goes to landfills.

Compost your yard trimmings. Compost is a valuable soil conditioner, which gradually releases nutrients to your lawn and garden. (Using compost will also decrease the amount of fertilizer you need to apply.) In addition, compost retains moisture in the soil and thus helps you conserve water.

Use low-flow faucets, showerheads, reduced-flow toilet flushing equipment, and water saving appliances such as dish and clothes washers.

Repair leaking faucets, toilets, and pumps.

Use dishwashers and clothes washers only when fully loaded.

Take short showers instead of baths and avoid letting faucets run unnecessarily.

Wash your car only when necessary; use a bucket to save water. Alternatively, go to a commercial carwash that uses water efficiently and disposes of runoff properly.

Do not over-water your lawn or garden. Over-watering may increase leaching of fertilizers to ground water.

When your lawn or garden needs watering, use slow-watering techniques such as trickle irrigation or soaker hoses. (Such devices reduce runoff and are 20-percent more effective than sprinklers.)

Be aware that many chemicals commonly used around the home are toxic. Select less toxic alternatives. Use non-toxic substitutes wherever possible.

Buy chemicals only in the amount you expect to use, and apply them only as directed. More is not better.

Take unwanted household chemicals to hazardous waste collection centers; do not pour them down the drain. Pouring chemicals down the drain may disrupt your septic system or else contaminate treatment plant sludge.

Never pour unwanted chemicals on the ground. Soil cannot purify most chemicals, and they may eventually contaminate runoff.

Use low-phosphate or phosphate-free detergents.

Use water-based products whenever possible.

Accelerate gradually.

Use cruise control on the highway.

Obey the speed limit.

Combine your errands into one trip.

Keep your car tuned and support the smog check program.

Don't top off at the gas pumps.

Replace your car's air filter.

Keep your tires properly inflated.

For additional information on what you can do to help the environment, visit the EPA earth day page, go to http://www.epa.gov/earthday.