Earth Day Breakfast

Mayor Annise Parker vows to make Houston known for being green as much as oiland gas

Representatives from NRG and HEB, Transwestern, CenterPoint Energy, Keep HoustonBeautiful, CompuCycle and many, many more made up the environmentally-focusedcrowd.
Photo by Whitney Radley
Mayor Annise Parker bragged of Houston's green initiatives and Laura Spanjian'sunflagging energy.
Photo by Whitney Radley
Guests enjoyed breakfast treats from Shade and Canopy Catering.
Photo by Whitney Radley
Laura Spanjian and Mayor Annise Parker discuss Bike Share Houston at the Mayor'sEarth Day Breakfast
Photo by Richard Carson

At Hermann Square Park, under a sky threatening rain, Mayor Annise Parker hosted her second annual Earth Day Breakfast on Thursday morning, with delectable treats from Shade and Canopy Catering.

The goal for the morning was twofold: To thank those companies and individuals who have helped the City of Houston evolve into a bastion of sustainability, and to boast of past accomplishments and forthcoming initiatives.

As Parker and Laura Spanjian, the mayor's director for sustainability, made clear, those accomplishments are impressive. Over the past year, the city has implemented one of the largest electric vehicle programs in the country and now has 25 electric vehicles in its fleet.

Parker made clear her determination to make Houston known as much for its green and renewable energy as it is for its oil and gas industry.

It has retrofitted some of its buildings for energy efficiency, and applied adaptive reuse to an old warehouse on Washington Avenue to accommodate the new LEED-certified Permitting Center.

Fast Company named Houston the 2011 City of the Year. The U.S. Conference of Mayors selected Mayor Parker one of two winners of the 2011 Mayors' Climate Protection Awards. And the Environmental Protection Agency ranked Houston No. 7 among cities with the most Energy Star-certified buildings in 2011.

"Having a sustainable attitude is more than about purchasing vehicles or initiating energy savings in city buildings. It's more about rethinking everything that we do," Parker told the environmentally-focused crowd.

All endured the ever-thickening rain droplets, warmly applauding each accolade. Parker made clear her determination to make Houston known as much for its green and renewable energy as it is for its oil and gas industry.

In the next year, citizens should expect more recycling opportunities, with an aggressive roll out of single stream recycling in the coming months, as well as increased electric vehicle readiness, a draft for a climate action plan and initiatives to correct the food deserts that plague the city.

A new bike share pilot program will be introduced at City Hall, Market Square Park and Discovery Green in the next several weeks, and a "re-green" initiative — which includes a managed forestry program at Memorial Park — will return the city to its former verdancy.

Initiatives throughout the month of April include a program on April 21 where participating businesses will donate five percent of purchases to environmental non-profits, LightsOut Houston on April 26 and the National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation, which runs through April 30.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”