Paul Robbins’ gift to Austin since 1995
The 10th edition of the Austin Environmental Directory, a sourcebook of green issues, products, services,
and organizations, has now been released. The publication began in 1995.
The 2020/2021 edition, perfect-bound, 148-pages, and in full-color, is free to the public. Places in Austin where it will be distributed include Half-Price Books, Wheatsville Food Coop, and Central Market-North Lamar.
It is also online at environmentaldirectory.info/. New content is under appropriate headings, while content from previous editions is also posted.
There are several feature articles. It includes a resource section of organizations in Central Texas that draw children to nature, train them to live and play there, teach natural systems and history, and instruct and coach them in outdoor activities, skills, and safety. It can be used by school teachers, teens, parents, and grandparents as a beginner’s guide for young people to find ways to experience the natural beauty of our region.
There are also two extensive articles on food and green building materials that relate to environmental health. Tragically, industrial toxins have become a part of our everyday lives. While the toxic dangers are relevant to everyone, children are considerably more susceptible than adults due to their low body weight and high metabolism. These articles evaluate the toxins in conventional products and carefully detail how we can best avoid them.
There is also an extensive article on Electric Vehicles. EVs can reduce carbon and air pollution, mechanically outlive the engines of conventional vehicles, and reduce the national security implications of oil consumption. However, they are still relatively new and misunderstood. This article provides an overview of how individuals can become a part of this new and growing trend.
This edition also includes sections or pages on locally grown food (included in the food section discussed above), clean energy programs, City of Austin Parks programs, watershed protection, the Edwards Aquifer, Travis County Environmental Programs, and the region’s environmental groups
A note from Paul Robbins, Editor of the DIrectory:
I learned decades ago that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, so I try to write comprehensively. I try to follow the issues that I write about to their origins, to anticipate questions readers will have in advance, to calculate answers based on my own observations of statistics as well as reflecting the knowledge and interviews of experts in their fields.
Readers will be hard pressed to find another Austin publication that goes to these levels of detail.
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