Atlanta Magazine's Traffic Challenge

image by ryotnlpm

We were flipping through last month's (March 2009) edition of Atlanta Magazine and came across a one page article that was really interesting. I love experiments and this one pitted public transit versus the car. The goal of the experiment was to see which form of transportation could get from the Atlanta Magazine offices downtown to Lenox Square the quickest. Here were the results of the experiment:

- MARTA (from Peachtree Center to Lenox Station) - 27 minutes
- Taxi Cab - 27 minutes
- Surface Streets (2005 Honda CRV) - 35 minutes
- Highway (going with traffic in 2005 Toyota Corolla) - 36 minutes
- Highway (driving posted speed limit in 2003 Honda Accord) - 40 minutes
- MARTA Bus - 68 minutes

The article also rates each mode by Advantages, Disadvantages, Convenience, Speed, Cost, Comfort and Overall. The one thing that I took away from this article was how disproportionately disadvantageous the bus was. I'm sure we could ask thousands of bus riders about the disadvantages of taking the bus and the significant time that it takes to get around and get roughly the same answers. In my opinion, if the powers that be could do one thing in Atlanta to reduce congestion and thus time spent in traffic, they would work to make riding the bus more efficient and just plain sexier. Many other cities struggle with just this problem but others seem to have it down. Cities such as Curitiba, Brazil and London, England have extremely popular bus systems. Each of them for different reasons. Just a thought... Are Sexy Buses the Answer?

And since we're on the subject... Woman is almost kicked off bus for being "too sexy."

iPhone Apps for GreenPeaches

Now, we totally understand if you don’t own an iPhone so we apologize in advance that this post is not dedicated to you. However, if you do, you will already know that it's not the iPhone that sets you apart, it's the apps you have on the iPhone.  We have been looking high and low for apps that can help you be green in Atlanta. Although there aren’t too many out there that are solely dedicated to green topics, there are a lot that really help even if they don’t know it. Here are four that we found that are either great in their current form or could be great with a little bit of work.

Seafood Watch from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium

This app makes eating seafood for the eco-conscious much easier. The app is the online version of their printable wallet card and is much more in-depth. It divides the country up into regions and has an alphabetized list of seafood in that area. It uses the following three classifications; Best Choice, Good Alternative and Avoid. When you view a specific type of fish, it will give you a brief reason for the rating then it will go into a consumer note followed by a summary. An added plus is that you get a picture of the fish so the app almost doubles as a field guide.

ATL Traffic

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to avoid it. So, the best thing you can do is know where it is and how long it’s going to keep you from where you want to go. The app taps you into the traffic cameras for all of the local freeways and streets (that have cams). You also can pipe into the road signs and see all of the local traffic alerts. This one is a must when you are on the road a lot. It will definitely help you avoid sitting helplessly in some traffic jams. We know, some of them are just going to be unavoidable.

Green Guide

We’re not too sure about this one yet but it is a great concept. The green guide takes consumer reviews and ranks thousands of consumer products on their environmental merits. Right now, they focus on Toys, Personal Care and Household Cleaners. They have ratings for over 60,000 products. The idea is great but I don’t know that the rankings are accurate. As an example, when comparing the top 5 Deodorants & Antiperspirants on the Green Guide to their respective rankings on the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.org) we found TK that ranked in the Lower TK percent. The idea is great but the jury is still out on this one. It will keep you away from really bad products though.

Maps

The maps app comes standard with the iPhone and is a lifesaver. It is pretty normal as far as map functions go and it interfaces with Google Maps. What makes maps green is the fact that you can save gas and time by finding the best route before ever getting into your car. It has saved us on many occasions. The app also will pipe into Google’s transit and walking directions databases if you prefer to use those modes instead of driving.

Here are some others that might be worth checking out:

Carbon Footprint

GreenMeterp

pConsumpt

MeterRead

Get Green

ShopGreen

Green You

Growing Up Green

Green Lemur

iLocovore

Gas Buddy

iGreen

Recycler

Peach Bites

State Public Service Commission Approves Two New Nuclear Reactors
GPB - Atlanta,GA,USA
Hooray for Nuclear!! Having lived three miles as the crow flies from a reactor, I can vouch that I was perfectly safe (and scared out of my mind that something would go wrong). Good thing these things won't be ready until 2017 and they will be in the Far East of the state. BTW, what are we going to do with the waste?

The Nature Exchange opens at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in June
Examiner.com - USA
This should be a great addition to the Chattahoochee Nature Center's 10000 sq. ft. LEED certified Discovery Center that is set to open to the public in June. The Nature Exchange is a unique organization that fosters learning about nature by creating a place where kids of all ages can exchange things that they have found or collected.

EPA lauds 25 US cities with most Energy Star Buildings - Atlanta Ranks 9th
Green Right Now - Los Angeles,CA,USA
Maybe we make the list because we're one of the top 10 largest cities in the US. I prefer to think that we make the list because businesses, builders and architects in the metro area are recognizing that designing and building for efficiency is actually a good idea.

Lanier Water Level
GPB - Atlanta,GA,USA
"Three months ago, Lanier was 20 feet below full pool. Now it's more than 11 feet below." I guess all that rain last weekend was good for something.

Dog Owner Recycled

Even the dogs are getting in on the action these days. A Philadelphia woman was missing for several days before her neighbors called authorities. It turns out that her cocker spaniel knocked her off balance and she fell, rear end first, into her recycling bin. She wasn't able to liberate herself from the bin and ended up stuck for several days. Wow, I never thought that recycling could be life threatening. The 76 year old woman is expected to make a full recovery.

via Obscure Store

image courtesy of KB35

"Not-So-Clean" Coal in Georgia

You might have already known this but I figured it was worth pointing out. With the three fly ash spills in the past three months, the issue is starting to get some attention. Much of our energy here in Georgia comes from 'not-so-clean' coal of which fly ash is one of the nasty byproducts. The NRDC has done a little research to determine how the state ranks in coal pollution from existing and proposed plants. Not surprisingly, our state is closer to the top of the list than the bottom (and that's not a good thing).

From the NRDC website:

Georgia ranks 11th in the country for contaminated coal waste, with 3,508,910 tons of waste reported to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2005. The state also ranks 7th in toxic metals contaminating its coal waste, with 4,192 tons of toxic metals, based on NRDC estimates.

Check out their website for more details on GA coal power plants.

Also, if you haven't seen the effects of a fly ash spill check out this video on the GreenPeaches channel at YouTube!.  There are plenty of other videos out there that will show these effects but I liked the aerial shots.

So, we all know that 'not-so-clean' coal is bad for our health.  We recommend keeping the pressure on your elected officials to oppose the development of new projects and ensuring that you are doing everything you can to reduce your energy demand.

image courtesy of Bian Gratwicke

Earth Hour 2009 in Atlanta

Earth Hour is organized by the World Wildlife Fund and its mission is to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions. The ongoing campaign is held on the last Saturday of March.

it begain in Sydney in 2007 and it gained global attention last year with 35 flagship cities and 400 participating cities. To participate, you can sign up on the Earth Hour website. By doing so, you are committing to turning off non-essential lights and electric appliances for one hour. This year there are over 750 cities world wide that have signed up.

By the way, 101 buildings have signed up in metro Atlanta. Look for another reminder soon.

Peach Bites

Outside Atlanta, a Utopia Rises
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
The New York times recently featured Serenbe in its Travel section. The piece was a very thorough piece that focused on the new urban and agrarian characteristics of the neighborhood. If you haven't visited Serenbe, it is a truly beautiful neighborhood that sets a great example for environmentally friendly, local living just outside of Atlanta.

Metro Atlanta Schools Rated in Top 10 for Energy Efficiency
Atlanta Journal Constitution - Atlanta,GA,USA
Atlanta ranks #9 in the nation in Energy Efficient buildings in a list produced by Energy Star. The metro area has 97 green buildings and a quarter of those are schools.

Atlanta-Area Cyclists Hit The Road For Bike Trails
GPB - Atlanta,GA,USA
Last week over 1000 cyclists took part in the fourth annual "Georgia Rides to the Capitol" event to bring awareness to need for a better and safer bike network for the state.

Peach Bites

Piedmont Park residents not cool with tunnels under Atlanta
Creative Loafing Atlanta - Atlanta,GA,USA
Holy Big Dig Batman!! Seriously, have our politicians lost their collective minds? The sheer stupidity of this project is mind boggling. This project would be in the billions.  Let's just conservatively say $10B. That would be $2k for 5 million Atlantans.. I bet there are more creative ways to use $2k/person to solve the area's congestion woes.

Get Georgia Moving message hits streets
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA
The Get Georgia Moving coalition is putting up billboards around the metro area to bring awareness to the campaign to come up with a more sensible transportation bill that can be brought up for vote in 2010. This quote from Terry Chastain, executive director of Get Georgia Moving caught my eye... “Atlanta has the second-worst traffic congestion in the country, and the state is next to last in funding levels for transportation. If we don't take action, we could lose over half a trillion dollars in economic benefit.” $500 Billion in economic benefit. Now, we're congested and all but congestion relief in one city/state can't amount to an economic benefit of $500 BILLION.

Committee passes Perdue’s transportation plan
Atlanta Journal Constitution - Atlanta,GA,USA
Goodbye state Department of Transportation. Hello State Transportation Authority. With the way the GDOT handled the whole Beltline controversy, Atlantans should welcome a little change although I'm still skeptical.

Ga. Power lobbyists push hard on rate hike
Access North Georgia - Gainesville,GA,USA
Hiking Georgia Power rates in 2011 to help a private company pay for a taxpayer subsidized nuclear power plant seven years before any power will be generated amounts to a fleecing. Supporters say it will slash some $300 million off the project's estimated $14 billion total price tag, saving consumers money in the long run. Doesn't seem worth it to me. That $300 million of your money, my money and our friends' money going to GA Power for something we're not receiving. Why don't they ask us if we'll accept a $300M price tag in exchange for a solar or wind power generation facility?

Andres Duany Has Plans for Atlanta

image courtesy of Atlanta Regional Commission/Duany Plater-Zyberk

I saw this one in Creative Loafing today. I got pretty excited because Andres Duany is truly one of my green heroes. He co-authored one of the most influential books on New Urbanisim ever written, Suburban Nation . His firm designed the master plan for Vickery Village in Forsyth County which is one of the Area's best examples of New Urbanism. They also designed the most famous New Urbanism development ever, Seaside. Needless to say, to have someone this influential focusing on areas in Atlanta is quite a big deal.

Duany and his firm Duany, Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ) worked for 9 days in Feb. with a team of urban planners conducting a series of site planning sessions focused on six metro area sites. This is all part of the Atlanta Regional Commission's Lifelong Communities Initiative. The commission brought together experts in the areas of design, architecture, planning, aging and health to craft master plans for sites in Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties as well as the cities of Atlanta, Conyers and Fayetteville.

The focus was on how to build better environments for Atlanta's aging population. It is estimated that one in five Atlanta residents will be over the age of 60 in the year 2030. Even with the focus on the aging population, many of the designs ended up as livable communities that can support the elderly as well as others from all generations. Any follower of New Urbanism will know that the segregation of one group or demographic is almost always a failure of design. Unfortunately, detals of all the site proposals are not available but below are the six projects that were discussed.

• Atlanta/Beltline
• Conyers
• Fayetteville
• Gwinnett Place
• Mableton
• Toco Hills/DeKalb County

You can see Duany's opening remarks here. It's an hour and fifteen minutes so don't watch it at work. The ARC has also archived many of the presentations from the sessions here along with a synopsis of each day's progress.

Although these are just plans and likely won't be realized in their current form, it is good to know that Atlanta is getting smart about planning andis looking toward a more sustainable future.

Peach Bites

The past couple of weeks have been ripe with developments in Atlanta.  We've taken a few of the ones we liked the most and we put our favorite at the top.

Beltline, GDOT, Amtrak reach agreement over tracks near Piedmont Park
Creative Loafing Atlanta - Atlanta,GA,USA
I had no doubt that this would happen and I'm sure that it won't be the last bend in the tracks for the Beltline but it is good to know that the project is once again alive.

Lawrenceville glad for mixed-use site
Atlanta Journal Constitution - Atlanta,GA,USA
“It’s the biggest thing going right now,” says Lawrenceville City Councilwoman Marie Beiser. Is that because it's the only thing going on right now? We definitely need more mixed use developments especially in Gwinnett. I hope this one works out with the market the way it is.

New house in Candler Park going geothermal
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
Notable Quote: "Another big plus of geothermal is the tax savings. The U.S. government offers a 30 percent credit with no cap; Georgia’s credit is $2,000." The homebuilders plan to apply for LEED certification. The company doing the install is Norcross based GeoThermal Energy Solutions . Stay tuned for more on the benefits of geothermal in future GreenPeaches posts.

Sovereign Brings Home the Gold
PR Web (press release) - Ferndale,WA,USA
Now, Sovereign may not be the greenest development in Atlanta but man it is a beautiful addition to the Atlanta/Buckhead skyline. At 635 feet, the tower is gigantic. What we love about it is not its height and attractiveness but rather, the attention it brings to mixed use living. The Atlanta Regional Commission loves them as well handing out the Livable Center Initiative Achievement Award to the developers.