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.

Peach Bites

GDOT almost ends Beltline dispute (Creative Loafing) - David Doss, GDOT boardmember, asked the GDOT to consider withdrawing its stay of abandonment. Stating that, “The idea of commuter rail or high-speed rail going through Piedmont Park makes little sense to me,”. Great quote considering that Doss is from Rome. It makes little sense to most of residents of the city of Atlanta either. Unfortunately, the stay of abandonment was not withdrawn. Looks like we'll be waiting another couple of weeks for more on this one.

GDOT almost ends Beltline dispute (WDSU - New Orleans,LA) In Atlanta, officials are considering eliminating weekend train service. Yikes. Sporting events will never be the same.

GDOT almost ends Beltline dispute (AJC) More than $60 million in federal stimulus money could soon flow to the depleted coffers of the MARTA.

Perdue announces transportation system overhaul (Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC) Gov. Sonny Perdue’s solution to the lack of progress in reducing metro Atlanta’s traffic congestion is to blow up Georgia’s transportation bureaucracy and start over.

Google Transit Ushers In Another Update (WebProNews - Lexington,KY) New cities include: Adelaide, Atlanta, Bonn, Calgary, Davis, California, Hamilton, Canada, Pilsen, Sacramento, Torino, Toronto York region, ... Now Google can tell us how to get around Atlanta via two train tracks. One going north/south and one going east/west.

Another Viewe: Working together, we can find smart solutions to ... (Atlanta Journal Constitution) The Atlanta Regional Commission recently reported explosive growth for the city of Atlanta, which has seen its population increase 15 percent in just eight ... Already in Stockholm, congestion has been reduced by 25 percent, pollution has been reduced by anywhere from 8 to 40 percent depending on what kind of emission is being measured, and public transportation usage has increased by 40,000 riders per day. I guess that wouldn't work too well if MARTA has to cut their weekend train service??

Getting to Know Amicalola Falls State Park

Amicalola Falls State Park is one of the most visited parks in the Georgia State Park network. The beauty of the park is inescapable. Getting there will take a while. The park is located about 15 miles northwest of Dawsonville and about 20 miles west of Dahlonega. It's about an hour and a half drive from the city.

The park is 829 acres and has a number of hiking trails, camping sites, cabins, fishing areas and other outdoor activities. The visitor center near the entrance is very nice and you can purchase hiking necessities as well as souveniers.

The park's centerpiece is the waterfall. The falls cascade and are 729 feet tall in total with the largest single drop being 175 feet. The claim is that these are the tallest falls east of the Mississippi but some falls in the northeast may be taller. There is no argument that they are tall, impressive and beautiful though. If you are looking for a good view of the falls, the best time is winter a day or two after a good rain. Most of the hikes center around the falls and there are a total of 12 miles of trails. The park is dog friendly but as always, you should pick up after your pet.

If you are interested in learning more, the park holds interpretive events and hiking tours.  For more info check out the Georgia State Parks site here .

GreenPeaches Eats @ Canoe

Canoe gets enough attention for the phenomenal dining experience but we don't think that the whole story makes it out nearly enough. The menu at Canoe has a significant portion of local and organic food. You will notice the difference. Their menu is diverse enough to satisfy almost anyone but is mainly American with some Asian and French inspired dishes. Seasonal changes are made to the menu to stay in tune with the Georgia and Southeast growing seasons.

The setting is incredible with the restaurant nestled on the Cobb county side of the Chattahoochee River on West Paces Ferry Road. With this address, you're not going to get away from dinner without doing a moderate bit of damage to your wallet but rest assured that it is worth it. The outdoor seating is great with an overlook of a lawn that goes all the way down to the riverbank. It is hard for any restaurant in Atlanta to claim that they have a better atmosphere although there are some fantastic other restaurants. The bar was lively and provided a great spot to chat while waiting on the table. Even with reservations, we waited for about 45 minutes. Enough time for me to put back a couple of my favorite local beers, Sweetwater 420.

We were seated outside and although a little chilly at the time, were not uncomfortable. Our waiter was well versed in the menu and could provide detail on where virtually everything on the menu was grown or raised. Try asking the waiter at Chili's where the beef from that burger came from. To start things off, we had the Cimino Farms African Squash Soup (Reynolds, GA) and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a bit of spice that accentuated the sweetness of the squash. This starter set the tone for the meal. For the main course, I had their Brick Oven Roasted Springer Mountain Chicken and it was tasty (Springer Mountan Farms, Mt. Airy, GA). I can't say it was the best chicken that I have ever had but it was delicious and well worth the price. It had the right amount of taste but I think the chef may have overcooked it a bit. The Mrs. had the Georgia Mountain Trout and thoroughly enjoyed it. To finish it off, we had creme broulet and chocolate cake for dessert and loved it.

All in all, Canoe was a fantastic dining experience. The atmosphere, wait staff, food and attention to detail all come together to make Canoe an example that the Green minded citizens of atlanta should be proud of.

We give it 5 out of 5 GreenPeaches.

Additional Info

Address: 4199 Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA 30339
Executive Chef: Carvel Grant Gould, 770.432.2663
Email: info@canoeatl.com
Web: www.canoeatl.com