Peach Bites

Georgia watering restrictions lifted - Atlanta Business Chronicle

We'll go with the good news first. The drought is over and the state is beginning to lift restrictions on watering. Now the bad news. Most people are going to go right back to their old habits and continue dumping valuable drinking water on their chemical saturated lawns. There are better ways.

Hardiness Zone Changes at arborday.org - ArborDay.org

If you're on the fence about global warming, here's a little bit of info that will stick in the back of your head. The changes from 1990 to 2006 are pretty impressive. I guess things are looking good for Georgia agriculture.

Video Tour of the Alpharetta Community Garden - Sustainable Alpharetta

We love to see these little signs of sustainability pop up. The 30 plots sold out quickly.

Taxing the Rain: Speaker Richardson Needs to Pay Attention to This - Peach Pundit

Hmmm... Municipalities need money.. Property tax revenues are falling.. So, what to tax... How about the Rain?

Tesla Motors to Open 7 New Stores in Major Cities - TreeHugger

This comes as no surprise but Atlanta isn't one of the lucky 7 cities to get the first Tesla Motors stores. The US Cities are New York, Seattle and Chicago.

Green Peaches - Weekend Edition

Things To Do

Check Out a Local Farmers' Market - We're winding down the season and most of the local farmers' markets will be open through the end of Oct.  Then, it's slim pickings until next spring.  We're heading over to the Alpharetta Farmers' Market this weekend but there are many others to check out.  Try: The Green Market @ Piedmont Park, Riverside Farmers' Market in Roswell, Morningside Farmers' Market @ Highlands Ave, Peachtree Road Farmers' Market in Atlanta.  You can find other farmers' markets all over the US at LocalHarvest.org

Conserve Your Gas - With news that the gas shortage may last another week, you may want to just stay at home.  Even if you can find gas, you'll probably be sitting in a long, frustrating line.  Instead, why not hang out at the house and enjoy your weekend reading, relaxing or spending time with your family? Oh yeah, there's some good football on too.

The Fall Atlanta Home Show - The Cobb Galleria plays host to the 25th annual Atlanta Home Show.  You can expect a number of exhibitors and demonstrations.  I always enjoy seeing the increasing number of green products and ideas at these shows.  The area of the show that I'm most interested in is "Atlanta's Secret Places" presented by the Home Depot.  This section is dedicated to educating attendees on the benefits of in-town living.  Here's what their website says about the section:

"During the show, 11 neighborhoods will engage Home Show participants in conversations about the assets in their communities including parks, non-profit work, recreational activities, museums, local businesses, healthcare, local arts, schools and available housing stock. With gas prices soaring, families looking for more time to spend together and the availability of home inventory in the city, this is an opportunity for families to get to know the benefits of in-town living first hand."

The show is open all weekend.  Check out their site for hours.


Weekend Reading

Atlantic Station Need Not Worry About Owner AIG's Financial Woes - Don't fret about the future of one of Atlanta's models of New Urbanisim.  It appears as though progress will continue unimpeded regardless of whether AIG sells the development.  We sure do hope so.  from AJC.com

Energy-Star Sales Tax Holiday in GA Now Includes WaterSense Label - The Energy-Star sales tax holiday from 10/02 through 10/05 now includes products with the WaterSense label.  I think I'll go get those CFLs for the new place.

Suburban Nation - If you are interested in picking up a book and are even remotely interested in the issues surrounding suburban sprawl, I would highly recommend this book.  I have read it several times over the past 5 years and it never seems to get dull.