Learn about seaweed. Click here for a flyer.
This site allows the public to see real time water quality data on the Gulf Coat beaches, including Port Aransas. www.texasbeachwatch.com
Reduce, reuse, recycle and rebuy!
Reduce: Buy products with less packaging.
Reuse: Share magazines and books with friends.
Recycle: Participate in recycling programs offered in your community.
Rebuy: Buy products made from or packaged in recycled materials.
Find out how Texans can recycle everyday! www.texasrecyclesday.org
PLEASE DON'T FEED THE STORM DRAIN!
When grass clippings, pet waste, automotive products, fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals wash down a storm drain, they don’t go away. They flow into rivers and lakes, harming plants and animals and contaminating the water we drink. The technical term is "nonpoint source pollution." Here's how to make sure that you don't help feed the storm drain:
YARD
Two of our biggest sources of nonpoint source pollution are over-watering and excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. Here are some tips for reducing nonpoint source pollution from your yard.
Do not over fertilize. Sweep (do not wash) fertilizer and soil off driveways and walkways. Use native and adapted plants and grasses that require less water and fertilizer.
Leave grass clippings on the lawn to retain moisture and to insulate and nourish the soil.
Use nontoxic pest controls.
AUTO
Each year Texans improperly dump millions of gallons of used motor oil. One quart can pollute 250,000 gallons of drinking water, enough water to supply a family of four for a year! Autos contribute to nonpoint source pollution in other ways, too.
Recycle motor oil, filters, fluids and batteries by taking them to service station that has a recycling program or call 1-800-CLEAN UP for the motor oil recycling center nearest you.
Drive less to reduce auto runoff, carpool, consolidate trips or use mass transit whenever possible.
PETS
Every year thousands of pounds of pet waste wash down storm drains and into rivers, lakes and other sources of drinking water. For your health and the health of others, please pick up after your pet.
Pick up pet waste from your lawn. It is not a fertilizer.
Encourage friends and family to pick up after their pets using a mutt mitt or plastic, disposable bag and never allow pet waste to wash into storm drains.
HOME
Although most cleaners, paints and pesticides used at home go into the trash or down the drain, if they are used outside or improperly discarded, they create nonpoint source pollution.
Use cleaning products that are phosphate free, biodegradable or nontoxic, especially if they are used outdoors. Avoid products with ammonia, chlorine, diethylene glycol, hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid and petroleum solvents.
Discourage insects with good housekeeping. If you must eradicate insects, avoid toxic chemicals or use pest control companies that use less toxic products.
TO LOCATE A HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITY NEAR YOU, CALL 1-800 CLEAN UP. (Taken from the TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) website) www.tceq.state.tx.us/index.html
WINNING THE BATTLE AGAINST LITTER
Litter is an ugly, expensive problem. But every Texan can help banish trash from our roadsides! Here are some simple things you can do to keep Texas litter-free:
Keep a litterbag in your car and use it. When it's full, empty the contents into a trash can and reuse it.
Remember that throwing lightweight items like cans or wrappers in the bed of your pickup truck is like throwing them out the window, and you can risk a $500 fine. Use your litterbag or cover your load.
If you smoke, dispose of your cigarette butts in a pocket ashtray or the ashtray in your vehicle, not on the ground. Each year 140 million cigarette butts are flicked onto Texas highways. Yuck!
If you see a piece of litter, pick it up and throw it away properly.
Teach children not to litter.
Find out more ways to get involved by logging on to www.dontmesswithtexas.org
Learn how you can become a Don't Mess with Texas Partner.
Take care of your very own stretch of road through Adopt-A-Highway.
Report litterbugs online You'll need to note the date, time, location, license plate number (Texas plates only), vehicle model, who littered, and what they tossed out. Don't Mess with Texas will send the litterer a litterbag and a reminder that tossing trash on the road is against the law and an insult to the Lone Star State. Taken from the Don't Mess with Texas website: www.dontmesswithtexas.org
There are several things that you can do to improve the quality of water at the beach. For example, you can learn more about the quality of the water at your local beach, you can become involved as a responsible citizen to reduce pollutants that can wash into the water, and you can find out what state or local agencies or departments are responsible for protecting the quality of the water at your beach. Even if you don't live at or near the beach, you can still protect the water quality by learning how pollution in your local stream or watershed affects water quality at downstream beaches. (Taken from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website) Visit http://epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/goer2.html to see what you can do!
Use this guide to choose a car with low emissions and good fuel economy, which are both important for the environment.
Report people who have vehicles that are letting out discolored smoke for more than 10 seconds. The vehicle is in violation of Texas regulations established to safeguard air quality. The pollution from one poorly-maintained vehicle is equal to that of 28 properly-functioning car!