Movie Review: Hurricane on the Bayou

This was a pretty good, short IMAX film that focused on wetland loss around the New Orleans and southern Louisiana area.  I love IMAX films because they are usually short, in the 45 minute range and often have an environmental theme.  Hurricane Katrina was used as the center of the storyline and the movie followed the life of a young girl who was doing a science experiment about wetland loss.  You see not only the devastation that the hurricane wreaked on the environment but also the personal impact of that damage. 

I would suggest checking this one out to learn a little more about the serious problem of coastal wetland destruction.  Louisiana lost over 100 square miles of wetlands due to katrina.  It has lost far more over the past 70 years due to mismanagement of the Mississippii River.  Had the state and the army corps of engineers utilized smarter river management tactics, much of the environmental and economic damage could have been avoided.  There are many lessons to be learned from this film.

Check out the website here or check out the GreenPeachesAtlanta channel over at YouTube for the trailer.

GreenPeaches - Quiz #1

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

SUV's Bad for Environment & Hearing

image courtesy of Tony the Misfit

Story via ObscureStore.com

Thankfully, this didn't happen here in Atlanta but having cycled around from time to time, I wouldn't put it past some of our drivers.  Anyway, the SUV driver hit the bicyclist in the face, then "took him to the ground, where he struck him some more with his hands, then bit off his ear," says the police report. "[The victim] stated the man then got up and spit his ear out at him," and drove away in his SUV.

Sustainable Atlanta Releases its First Sustainability Report

Last month, Sustainable Atlanta released its first report on the state of sustainability in the city of Atlanta. The mission of Sustainable Atlanta is the following; "Sustainable Atlanta leads Atlanta's quest toward sustainability by developing strategies and policy recommendations with partners from Atlanta's business, non-profit, academic, community and government leadership. I would highly suggest downloading and reading the .pdf. It is very insightful and will give you hope that the city is moving in the right direction. The report is broken up into 5 categories and each is broken down by statistics with briefs on partnerships and what is planned for the future. Below are the areas that Sustainable Atlanta is focusing on along witha notable quote from each:

• Water -"Atlanta - Which depends on the Chattahoochee River as its water source - is the buggest U.S. city not built on a large body of water."
• Energy & Climate Change - "For nearly 10 percent of all the days in 2008, our air reached unhealthy levels."
• Parks & Green Space - "Among the nation's 25 largest cities, Atlanta has the least amount of land dedicated to parks."
• Recycling & Materials Management - "Together, paper and pastic account for over half the materials that go into our waste stream. But organic material makes up almost a quarter."
• Leadership - "It's about changing the way we behave. It's about choosing to preserve more and throw away less. It's about finding healthier ways to commute. It's about designing and building better so that we live and work in more efficient and healthier buildings. it's about changing what you do - and convincing your colleagues and neighbors to do the same"

The city is ranked 19 out of the top 50 most populous metro areas in the U.S. We currently lead the southeast and are number three nationally in the number of environmentally friendly buildings. You can find more rankings broken out by category at SustainLane.

The Drought is Over

image courtesy of Brian Hursey
 
It was announced yesterday that the three year-old drought is finally over. This is fantastic news for the city of Atlanta. However, Lake Lanier is still about 9 feet below full pool.  Additionall rain this week should help that out.

The one thing we should all take away from the severity of this drought is how quickly we can get into trouble. I am hoping that the water conservation efforts don't fall by the wayside given this news. In the past 18 months, the city of Atlanta has dropped it's water use by more than 20% according to the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Management District.  I think we can do better and it is important that we try since we are a growing city and the largest major city with the smallest water supply.

So, even though this is great news, everyone needs to stay vigilant with their conservation efforts. See the WaterSense website for ways to conserve in your household.

Peach Bites

Urban areas see revival in housing construction
USA Today - USA
This article details the renaissance of sorts that has been occurring in the hearts of many urban areas. It's not rocket surgery and most people have noted the trend but I tought it was about time that an official in the metro area made a statement like this: "Demographics have really changed," says Dan Reuter, land use chief at the Atlanta Regional Commission. "People are waiting longer to get married, longer to have children, and once children are grown up, we're living longer." Now, that is newsworthy.

MARTA in tough straits as revenue, ridership dip
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
Another story about the spike in ridership on MARTA last year during the gas crunch. It obviously serves the city when the people need it but what is the region doing to make the residents of the metro area realize that need when gas isn't expensive. Shortening the time of a bus ride down from double that of a car trip would be a goood start.

Atlanta's Environmental Efforts Profiled at Montreal Trade Show
Global Atlanta
City officials explained the city's sustainability initiatives and the beltline. Lynette Young, executive director of the private group, Sustainable Atlanta, discussed Atlanta's progress on asthma initiatives and work being done to reduce the city's carbon footprint. Joe Basista, commissioner of Atlanta's Public Works Department, also discussed an exciting new project that will issue recycling rebates to city residents for recycling.

More Billboards & Fewer Trees

Just what we all wanted right?

Tomorrow, the house will be voting on SB 164 which would as summarized by the Georgia Environmental Action Network, do the following:

• Eliminate a 5 year waiting period between the time a billboard is erected and when a billboard company can receive a permit to trim or remove trees. The waiting period has been part of law for more than a decade to help ensure no permits are issued for the purpose of creating new billboards.
• Erase the current system where DOT permit fees are based upon the value of the vegetation being removed in front of a billboard in favor of a fee of $4500 minus the cost to the billboard company of purchasing, installing and maintaining replacement landscaping. This could result in less revenue for the Roadside Enhancement and Beautification Fund.
• Put trees planted as part of beautification projects at risk of being cut down to maximize billboard visibility if they were planted after January 1, 2009.
• Allow the removal of hardwood trees more than 8 inches in diameter and nonhardwood trees having a diameter of more than 12 inches.
• Phase in the expanded tree cutting provisions over three years rather than setting up a pilot program with a sunset date to allow for an analysis of its effectiveness.

If you would like to send your representative a message, click here.

Go Green at Sage on Earth Day

Sage boutique will be holding an Earth Day drive to dontate to The Salvation Army.  They are asking that you bring gently worn items to any of their three locations for donations.  All donors will receive 22 percent off each new clothing item.  They have locations in Midtown, Buckhead and Cumming.  www.sageclothing.com

A Sign of the Times

Fox 5 ran a story today that shows us how the struggling economy is impacting the local environment. There has been a recent rise in dumping and it is oftentimes occuring on abandoned residential developments where the builder moved out after the real estate market went bust. Check out the video.

Earth Hour Wrap Up

So, Earth Hour is over.  We hope you participated and enjoyed yourselves while making a statement for the environment.  The city of Atlanta had over 540 buildings particpate and thousands of individuals and businesses across the metro Area.  I don't have any pictures of Atlanta specifically but Boston.com had a fantastic montage of cities worldwide.  Check it out:

Earth Hour 2009 from Boston.com