"Heading for Extinction--and what to do about it" is the classic Extinction Rebellion presentation known as "the talk", given with a Houston twist. Please join us to learn the scope and scale of our current predicament, why current approaches are flawed, and how you can make a difference.
Approximately two thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans with an average depth of about 2.65 miles. Below 0.62 miles, the water is completely dark, temperatures plummet to 39 °F, and the pressure is about 40 times the pressure of earth’s atmosphere. Nonetheless, many creatures can live in this extreme place having no light. Deep sea explorations have found shrimp, fish, coral, tube worms, mussels, starfish, and many other creatures even below 2 miles. About 95% of the ocean remains unexplored, and marine scientists continuously find new species in this unusual place. In addition to creatures, huge quantities of methane gas hydrates and billions of tons of manganese nodules are found in deep ocean floors (2-4 miles deep). Manganese nodules grow only 10-100 millimeters per million years. Gas hydrates may contain roughly twice the carbon contained in all reserves of coal, oil, and conventional natural gas combined. Join Professor Hyun-Min Hwang of Texas Southern University to be awestruck by these, and other, wonders of the deep sea.
The Center for Hearing and Speech (CHS) will launch its newest expansion plan at the annual Sound & Soul Gala on Saturday, April 4, 2020. Held at The Ballroom at Bayou Place, this year’s gala is nautical themed in honor of The Center for Hearing and Speech “Launching into the Future.”
A lecture event with Robert Reich on his upcoming book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It.
Never Again Action-Houston will hold a second COVID-safe, car-only demonstration to demand the closure of the Southwest Key detention center at 419 Emancipation Avenue on Sunday, April 19, at 1:30 pm. We will assemble in the parking lot diagonally across from the detention center and place signs on our cars--at a safe distance from each other. Please bring your own signs and tape! Then we will form a caravan and drive around the detention center, honking and chanting as we go, for about one hour.
Historically, wetlands were considered useless land, and we filled them in to make farmland and housing. Today, we realize that wetlands provide numerous valuable services to humanity, and we seek to protect and restore them. Coastal wetlands are threatened by a number of factors, but can be remarkably resilient to moderate rates of sea level rise. This talk will review some of the benefits we derive from coastal wetlands, discuss the threats facing them, and explain why we have reason to expect that wetlands will survive despite ongoing global change. Join this conversation with Professor Steven Pennings of the University of Houston as we wonder at coastal wetlands!
Happy EarthDay Week from the Houston Peace & Justice Center! There are lots of virtual activities going on this week. Please visit xrhouston.com for more information!
Bring your lunch to the Center for the Healing of Racism on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, 11:45 AM to 1:15 PM, for a presentation by Stephen Cherry, PhD, a sociology professor at UH Clear Lake, about Racism in Higher Education. The talk will be followed by a dialogue.
Calling people of all faiths, or no faith at all, to engage in hands-on care for our shared environment at the Willow Waterhole Conservation Reserve in Houston.
From May 15th to June 15th we encourage you to head outdoors to one of the many beautiful trails throughout Houston for your climb. Same mission, just a different place to climb.
Now more than ever the American Lung Association needs your support! The Lung Association just launched the COVID-19 Action Initiative, a comprehensive $25M initiative to end COVID-19 and defend against future respiratory virus pandemics.
Please join the Houston Peace & Justice Center via Zoom for our Quarterly Board Meeting. Organizational members are asked to send a representative to each Quarterly Board Meeting. Individual members are always welcome to attend.
Bring your Lunch and join us for a conversation on Racism in the Arts with Harrison Guy, founder and artistic director of Urban Souls Dance Company.
Come share an article you found in a magazine, journal, or online resource relating to discrimination, oppression, or any forms of racism. Then join us in a lively discussion where we engage in the complexities of racism and how we can all heal from it.
Lady beetles, or ladybugs, have long been recognized as one of the best biological controls for many insect pests in both home gardens and agri-business. The diversity in this family of insects has been well-characterized yet they have largely been represented by only a few select species which have been introduced in the U.S. via different methods. So, who are our native lady beetles? What are their dietary preferences and habitat needs? This presentation is an introduction to some of the native lady beetles in the greater Houston area and an overview of their biology and habitat needs.
the black SIT
gather. grieve. rest. restore.
w/ Zen teacher Rev. angel Kyodo williams
In support of Trae The Truth to uplift George Floyd we continue to demand accountability for Black lives in Houston and across the country.
I Can't Breathe! I Can't Breathe!
Is there a difference between the death of George Floyd and choking by lynching?
Zoom workshop
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Calling people of all faiths to learn to more effectively raise your voice for the voiceless! Experts from Texas Impact, an Austin-based interfaith justice advocacy organization, will educate on how to do it right, and will provide information on their top justice advocacy priorities for 2020: Climate Justice, Health Justice, and Migration Justice, so that you can knowledgeably engage your legislators on these critical justice issues as a person of faith. You’ll also learn about Texas Impact’s Legislative Engagement Groups, where you can advocate with others, so you don’t have to “go it alone”.
Calling people of all faiths to learn to more effectively raise your voice for the voiceless! Experts from Texas Impact, an Austin-based interfaith justice advocacy organization, will educate on how to do it right, and will provide information on their top justice advocacy priorities for 2020: Climate Justice, Health Justice, and Migration Justice, so that […]
Bring your lunch to a presentation on Racism in Criminal Justice by representatives of the Houston-based non-profit organization Pure Justice. The presentation will be followed by a dialogue. Representatives from Pure Justice will be available to discuss resources for formerly incarcerated people as well as how individuals can join their movement.
Come share an article you found in a magazine, journal, or online resource relating to discrimination, oppression, or any forms of racism. Then join us in a lively discussion where we engage in the complexities of racism and how we can all heal from it.
At least 78 migrants detained at the Core Civic/ICE facility in north Houston have tested positive for COVID-19. Medical care for them and testing for other detainees is limited. As the number of new cases increases in Texas, the virus could become a death sentence for many people held here and in other detention centers. ICE needs to be shut down! All the camps need to be closed! All the migrants should be freed!
Never Again Action-Houston is organizing another car-only protest at the Core Civic/ICE Houston Processing Center
Plants, like humans, interact with a diversity of microscopic organisms, and scientists are just becoming aware of the role that microbiomes play in influencing host health. Current evidence suggests that despite their small size, microbes can have big impacts on natural ecosystems – from influencing whether plants are edible to determining how diverse a prairie is.
Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue. The Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston invites Houstonians of all faiths to join their team for the Plastic Free EcoChallenge and make an impact on plastic pollution with personal lifestyle changes.
Chronicling Georgia’s U.S. Representative John Lewis’s 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights,
gun control, health-care reform, and immigration, this new documentary explores his Alabama childhood with his family and his fateful meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and also includes interviews with political leaders and Congressional colleagues.
In arid grasslands and deserts throughout North and South America, the most abundant insects are harvester ants. These large and conspicuous ant species feed on seeds, which they harvest directly from plants and store in their nests. Unlike most species of ants, members of a single colony are not closely related to each other; each colony is genetically diverse. Join Professor Diane Wiernasz of the University of Houston as she discusses how the harvester ant life cycle is an adaptation to the harsh conditions of the desert, how these ants affect the abundance and distribution of plant communities, and the sometimes surprising consequences of colony genetic variation.
Celebrate the centennial of women’s suffrage with this compelling documentary chronicling the 1972 presidential campaign of Brooklyn-based Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005)—the first Black woman elected to Congress—who received support from many groups during her ambitious campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
lzer, Program Director for Houston’s Green Building Resource Center. Steve is an architect with 30 years’ experience who is focused on making Houston a greener place to live and work. He will discuss the center’s work to educate the public on healthy and energy, water, and material-conserving design & construction.
Come share an article you found in a magazine, journal, or online resource relating to discrimination, oppression, or any forms of racism. Then join us in a lively discussion where we engage in the complexities of racism and how we can all heal from it.
