Peach Bites

HOV lanes switching to toll lanes on I-85

NorthFulton.com - I guess Money talks. I wonder how much this will actually help congestion. If you don't want to pay the 'tax,' you can still use the lanes if you have 3 or more people in your vehicle.

EPA Gives BeltLine $1M for Cleanup (2009-06-02)

WABE - Wow!! There are over 100 brownfield areas along the Beltline corridor that are still in need of cleanup. Hopefully, this $1 million can stretch a long way.

Proposed Coal Plant Loses Support

GPB News - Good to hear that four energy suppliers have lost interest in the proposed coal power plant in Douglasville. This leaves only six remaining companies backing the proposed plant.

Greenpeace places Publix last for seafood sustainability

Atlanta Business Chronicle - Not a very good score for one of the largest grocers in the metro area. The highest rated company was Whole Foods but they only scored a 4 out of 10.

The Buckhead Blog: Streets of Buckhead Delays Opening to Fall 2010

The Buckhead Blog - Unfortunately, we're going to have to wait a little longer to see how the old Buckhead Village evolves into its next incarnation. The project is seeking LEED certification and should be another great addition to the Atlanta scene.

"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