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

April in Atlanta

April is setting up to be a really busy month in Atlanta for environmental and green events. With Earth Day on the 22nd and several festivals around town, there should be plenty to do. Here's a preview of what is coming up.

April 2 (Thursday)

6pm - 8pm - Beltline: Citywide Conversation on Transit and Trails, 634 West Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA

April 3 (Friday)

730am - 9am - Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable - The State of Georgia's Action on Water, 634 West Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA

April 4 (Saturday)

9am - 12pm - Trees Atlanta Planting, Location Varies Weekly
11am - 4pm - 4th Annual Urban Forestry Festival

April 11 (Saturday)

9am - 12pm - Trees Atlanta Planting, Location Varies Weekly

April 16 (Thursday)

530pm - 7pm - Andres Duany, Free Talk on Smart Growth Principles in Decatur

April 17 (Friday)

730am - 9am - Central Atlanta Progress/ADID Town Hall Meeting - The Ritz Carlton Atlanta
All Day - Georgia Tech Earth Day Celebration

April 17 - 19 (Fri-Sat)

Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park

April 18 (Saturday)

City of Alpharetta Bulky Trash & Electronics Recycling Day - 1810 Hembree Rd, Alpharetta, GA
9am - 12pm - Trees Atlanta Planting, Location Varies
10am - 3pm - 7th Annual Earth Day Kids Fest - Chattahoochee Nature Center
8am - 5pm - Earth Day at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center

April 18 - 19 (Sat-Sun)

Sweetwater 420 Fest, Historic Candler Park. 1500 McLendon Ave., NE Atlanta, GA 30307

April 22 - Earth Day (Wednesday)
Planet Earth by DisneyNature is released in theaters.
7pm - 10pm, RSVP Required - EarthShare Georgia Party in the Sky, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. Atlantic Station 201 17th Street NW, Suite 1700, Atlanta, GA 30363

April 24 - National Arbor Day

8am - 10am, RSVP Required - Earth Share Georgia Leadership Breakfast, Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30313
April 24 (Friday, 7pm - 10pm) - 15th Annual Hoochie on the Coochie, Tophat Soccer Fields in Buckhead

April 25 (Saturday)

9am - 12pm - Trees Atlanta Planting, Location Varies
10am - 2pm - Glenwood Park Farmers' Market, Glenwood Park

April 25 - 26 (Sat-Sun)

38th Annual Inman Park Festival and Tour of Homes

Environmental History in April

April 3, 1934 - Jane Goodall was born in London, England

April 21, 1838 - John Muir was born in Dunbar, Ireland. John Muir founded the Sierra Club.

April 22, 1970 - First Earth Day is celebrated

If anyone has anything to add, shoot me a line and I'll post it on our happenings calendar and add it to this post.

Saving the Earch?

We ran across this over at Engrish tonight and thought it fitting after participating in Earth Hour tonight...

Photo courtesy of Leo Van Echelpoel.
Found in China hotel.

via Engrish

Peach Bites

Citywide Conversation on Transit & Trails
Atlanta Beltline Inc.

This Citywide Conversation on April 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 634 West Peachtree St., will focus on how ABI and MARTA are working together to complete an Environmental Impact Statement as required to compete for federal transportation funding and preserve the BeltLine right-of-way. The conversation will cover feedback from the first round of public scoping meetings including updated goals and objectives and new evaluation criteria and a review of the EIS process and milestones for public input. It will also include an open house on the inventory of existing environmental, cultural, and socio-economic features along the BeltLine that may be impacted by construction of the transit and trails.

Georgia House Nixes New Transportation Agency
Atlanta Business Chronicle

After the senate narrowly passed the bill three weeks ago, the house has voted it down. Much of the concern is over the fact that the govenor, lieutenant govenor and speaker would be responsible for appointing the members of the agency. We should see a new version of the bill sometime next week though.

Georgia Legislature is Pushing to Ease Restrictions on Stream Barriers
Georgia Public Broadcasting

The Georgia Legislature is seeking to soften mandatory buffers aimed at protecting Georgia's waterways from pollution and development. The House voted 106-58 Thursday to remove the buffers around an untold number of unnamed tributaries - or ephemeral streams - that crisscross the state. State law provides for a 25 foot buffer along all streams and as much as 150 feet for watersheds providing drinking water. Supporters say many of the streams are little more than ditches and that the buffers restrict growth and hamper property rights. Critics say loosening rules could threaten the state's clean water.