Springtime brings to mind many things for Texans.

Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo,

the South by Southwest conference & festival in Austin,

azaleas, bluebonnets & Texas Mountain Laurels in bloom,

planting summer gardens,

the MS150 bike tour & warm-up rides,

and much more.

For us, it’s meant spring cleaning — cleaning, recycling, packing & eagerly anticipating our relocation to one of Houston’s greenest ZIP Codes (77098). Yes, our new green building headquarters at 4000 Greenbriar & the Southwest Freeway is almost complete.

It’s been great to see roughly 500 other like-minded Texan businesses thriving in an otherwise uncertain economy by building high performance green building projects, like ours. As of 2007, green is definitely mainstream, just like the internet & email were since the mid-1990’s.

To celebrate & build upon these successes, we’ve chosen to dedicate 2008 to the challenge of air quality & the opportunity for clean air.

And, we’ve found two ways to make it easy for you, our customers, to join us:

1. consider switching to green power at home & work, &
2. stay up-to-date with your city’s current Air Quality Index.

Our Motivation

Even though The City of Houston, The City of Dallas & Green Bank have all acted to improve Texas’ air quality by purchasing 20%, 40% & 100% green power, respectively, we feel compelled to make an even more positive impact on Texas’ air quality for a couple of reasons.

First, it makes business sense. On March 12, 2008, the EPA increased national air quality standards that will impact how businesses operate across Texas.

Read about how the EPA’s newly increased air quality standards will impact Houston businesses (released March 12, 2008).

One of the easiest & most profitable ways that Green Bank proactively addressed this air quality issue was to purchase 3 years of zero emissions, 100% green power for our locations. We discovered that the premium that businesses pay for 100% green power was only about 3% to 4%, which can be less than brokers’ commissions & seems to be doubling every 8-12 months. So, we locked in long-term rates while natural gas & electricity prices were extremely low last year.

Visit green power 4 Texas, the electricity broker that helped us save on green power.

Second, it’s the right thing to do. When we discovered that Greater Houston is currently classified as an Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area & that ozone accumulates close to the ground where kids play and at the time of day when kids are most likely to be outside playing, we had to take action.

Read about a 2007 study conducted by the University of Houston about other pollutants (mercury & formaldehyde) now found in Houston’s air. Here is another research study about how two Hazardous Air Pollutants from Houston’s Ship Channel may be causing significantly higher rates of leukemia in children.

And, it was surprising to learn that more than half of Texas is classified as nonattainment areas with respect to the Clean Air Act, & that this unacceptable status could jeopardize our receiving billions of dollars in federal highway funds if not corrected soon.

Read about how Texas is offering $3,500 to low-income drivers so they can replace old, polluting vehicles.

An Easy First Step to Making a Difference

Would you consider helping us create a better Texas for our customers by improving Texas’ air quality? If so, here is a simple way you can help.

AIR QUALITY: Before you, your family or your colleagues play or work outdoors, be sure to check your city’s current air quality at AIRNow or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

If the Air Quality Index is above 100, it’s best to:

1. Stay indoors
2. Avoid strenuous activity when outdoors
3. Drink plenty of water, &
4. Avoid high traffic and/or industrial areas.

For example, in 2006, Houstonians had 26 days when Houston’s air quality was unhealthy, particularly for children, the elderly & asthma sufferers. The good news, though, is that Houston’s air quality has improved substantially since 1999 & 2000 when Houston’s air quality was ranked as the worst in the nation. In fact, according to the City Mayors website, Houston’s 2007 rank improved to the fifth most polluted air, primarily due to ground level ozone. Dallas ranks as #7. Austin continues to be recognized as one of America’s greenest cities, but may soon receive one of the EPA’s “worst city” labels based on the federal air quality standards updated on March 12, 2008.

So, please take care of your kids, older adults, asthma sufferers & pets by checking each day’s air quality, because kids & pets are closer to the ground & outdoors playing from 11 AM to 8 PM when ozone can be a real problem.

We look forward to working with you in 2008 to improve Texas’ air quality & to serving as your Green Bank.

Thank you for your help.