Todd Luger :: Blog

http://sustainablesavannah.com/transportation/a-chance-to-take-the-hig

With the City of Savannah leaning green, as evidenced by the Thrive initiative, a test case presents itself. Project DeRenne could provide proof the City is willing to, “walk the talk,” as Mayor Johnson might say. On one side are community advocates, who want to protect neighborhoods and believe that streets should be community assets, not just pipes that move cars. On the other are motorists—many of whom decided to move from Savannah to the suburbs—looking to shave a couple minutes off their commutes.

The outcome will demonstrate which is the priority: community or cars?

http://sustainablesavannah.com/transportation/wsav-drills-deeper-into-

Our local television news operations are good at a number of things. Delivering spot news, weather and interviews with high school football players are among these. Unfortunately, tight deadlines usually prevent them from fully exploring complex issues, which can’t be told with two interviews and some b-roll. Russ Riesigner’s “Drilling for Answers” report, which aired on Aug. 20, is the exception to the rule.

Riesinger starts off in standard mode, interviewing representatives Barrow and Kingston, both of whom express support for offshore oil drilling. Then David Kyler, of the Center for a Sustainable Coast, offers a contrary view, followed by comments from tourists who have been duped into marching with the drill team.

Politicians? Check. Treehugger? Check. Average folks? Check. And that’s where the story normally would have ended.

But WSAV drilled down deeper into the issue, offering the following insights that normally wouldn’t have been included in the standard issue package:

• Despite what the politicians say and most of America believes, offshore drilling won’t provide instant relief.


• Oil is fungible global commodity and this isn’t Las Vegas. There’s no guarantee that what’s drilled in this country will stay in this country.


• While there’s been plenty of talk about safer drilling platforms, there’s other infrastructure involved, including pipelines that bring their own environmental concerns.


• Rigs aren’t likely to appear off the coast of Tybee, anyway, as our coastline has poor prospects for oil production.

WSAV called the segment a “special” report and I would agree with that assessment.

http://sustainablesavannah.com/government/a-collaborative-effort/

By now, you’ve read the reports about the city’s new Thrive Initiative. The public announcement and pledge is an important first step in moving the city toward a more (environmentally) sustainable future.

The even better news is that there are is a lot of opportunity for citizens (that means you!) and local organizations (and you!) to take part in the crucial next steps of:

Developing policies and programming

Implementing policies and programming

Measuring the effects of policies and programming

Reporting on progress or lack therof to ensure transparency

Members of the Savannah Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, Savanah Bicycle Campaign, Savannah State University and A.W.O.L threw their respective hats into the ring last night to welcome responses from the mayor, city manager and council. The promise of collaboration is very encouraging.

Before the Thrive Initiative was introduced, members of the audience were brought up to speed on the ongoing efforts the city and its partners are undertaking in the areas of Crime, Economic Development, The DeRenne Project, Affordable Housing and Youth. Moving forward, I hope that we will start to look for synergies between these other issues and the city’s efforts to improve environmental quality in the Savannah area. Ultimately, all three three legs of the sustainability stool (community, economy, environment) must be addressed and addressing them together should prove more innovative and effective.

http://sustainablesavannah.com/global-warming/city-goes-live-with-thri

Tonight’s City of Savannah town hall meeting served as a launch, of a sort. Introduced was the city’s “Thrive: Environment • Economy • Community” theme. During the meeting, the mayor and city council publicly took the “Thrive Pledge.” It reads:

“I will strive to understand the social and environmental consequences of my actions and pledge to help Savannah Thrive by taking part in activities that promote an eco-friendly and sustainable community.”

A video screened during the meeting cataloged initiatives the city is currently undertaking or considering, including:

• Elimination of desktop printers in City offices


• LEED certified government buildings


• Energy audits


• Fuel efficient vehicles


• Flextime and telecommuting programs for City employees


• City involvement in Coastal Commuters and subsidized CAT passes for City employees


• Low flow fixtures


• Methane recovery in water treatment


• Education programs to promote the reuse of materials, not just recylcing


• Recycling education for the public


• Recycling in municipal buildings


• Composting at city facilities.

While all these ideas hold promise, the most encouraging announcement of the evening had nothing to do with what the City can do better. It was about how bad things are now. The completion of a study of the City’s carbon footprint, using 2006 as the baseline year, revealed the City government produces 75,320 tons of equivalent carbon emissions per year.  Without this baseline, it would be impossible to determine the success of emission reduction initiatives.

 Mayor Otis Johnson talked the role of local governments in the effort to address climate change, describing it as a “grassroots movement” that would eventually change national policies. It sounded as if he’s read a certain book by a certain local author. Savannah’s efforts, he said, corresponded by those being advanced “enlightened” leaders in other communities.

Johnson also encouraged participation in the curbside recycling, once it is initiated next year. “We need all the trash we can get,” he said, referring to the recycling companies payments to the City for materials received. Alderman Larry Stuber made similar remarks. Alderman Van Johnson suggested that container deposit legislation should be explored at the state level.

Mary Landers’ report on the meeting is here and Tristan Tully’s is here.

http://sustainablesavannah.com/transportation/aug-20-town-hall-meeting

An Aug. 20 meeting at the Savannah Civic Center will, “present background information on current environmental initiatives, including our organization’s goals to reduce carbon emissions and the upcoming launch of curbside recycling,” according to the city’s Web site. In addition, “Citizens are encouraged to share their ideas and pledge to make changes in their own lives to support an earth-friendly future in Savannah.” The town hall meeting begins at 7 p.m.

http://sustainablesavannah.com/energy/sustainability-index/

My new favorite sustainability blog -SusHI (Sustainability in Hawai’i) recently posted on 7th Generation’s Sustainability Index.   I’ve posted a partial index below and you can read the whole thing here.  The index narrows in on a few major areas -energy, pollution, recycling- and is far from a complete picture, but it does highlight some trends while making a pretty good case for greater investment in clean tech and associated green industries.  When I see stats like these, I am reminded (again) that beyond idealistic notions of doing the right thing, there is real social benefit and economic sense behind moving toward a more sustainable future.

• Percent increase in production of solar cells last year: 51


• Number of minutes of sunlight hitting Earth needed to meet global energy needs for a year: 1


• Size of the patch of desert needed to meet all U.S. energy using concentrated solar power: 92 x 92 miles


• Percent of global energy needs that could be met by wind power: 3,500


• Cost to build wind power generators to meet 20% of U.S. electricity needs: $1.2 trillion


• Amount of money spent on foreign oil in the U.S. every year: $700 billion


• Percent of U.S. household waste currently being recycled: 33


• Percent of U.S. household waste that could be recycled: 75


• Cost per ton of garbage collection in the U.S.: $70-$200


• Cost per ton of curbside recycling in the U.S.: $50-$150


• Number of jobs created per 10,000 tons of waste incinerated: 1


• Number of jobs created per 10,000 tons of waste landfilled: 6


• Number of jobs created per 10,000 tons of waste recycled: 36

http://sustainablesavannah.com/food/sustainable-seafood/

Some friends of mine went fishing this past weekend near Darrien. Over two solid days on the water they caught nothing but sharks. Having recently heard similar stories from other recreational fisher-folk I know, seemed to be a good time for a post on sustainable seafood.

The worldwide depletion of ocean fisheries is not new news. But it is a fact that doesn’t get much attention in the whole enviro-food discussion. Overfishing, overconsumption, polllution>habitat destruction and fisheries mismanagement are the main culprits. According to the Environmental Defense Fund,

Worldwide, it is estimated that some 90 percent of species of large predatory fish are gone. Domestically, of 230 assessed U.S. fisheries, 54 stocks are classified as overfished, 45 are experiencing overfishing, and the status of just over half of the nation’s stocks are unknown. America’s fishing communities are also suffering. The collapse of New England’s cod fishery in the early 1990s cost an estimated 20,000 jobs. About 72,000 jobs have been lost because of dwindling salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest alone.

To be sure, fisheries management is an extremely complex issue (only further complicated by global climate change) that involves common pool resources, multiple stakeholders, intra-state and international agreements. You can find a wealth of related information from these websites . . .

South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council



Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary

Marine Stewardship Council

but in the meantime, what can we do to address this issue in our everyday lives?

Well, this is just one less thing for vegetarians to worry about I guess. But for the rest of us, I highly reccomend checking out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s guide to sustainable seafood buying in the southeast region. Note that delicious and iconic local fish Grouper, Flounder and Red (& Vermillion) Snapper are all on the list of fish to avoid. However, we are lucky in that there is plenty of yummy local seafood that makes the best choices and good alternatives lists, including: Blue Crab, Wild Shrimp, Mahi-Mahi (troll/pole caught), King Mackeral, Croaker, Mullet, Striped Bass, Lane & Yellowtail Snapper, Yellowfin Tuna (troll/pole caught) and one of my alltime faves, Wahoo.



Savannah area resources that get the green light . . .

Russo’s Seafood 201 E. 40th Street (@ Abercorn)

Mathew’s Seafood 121 Kicklighter Way (just off Louisville Rd in Garden City)

Bowie Seafood 801 1st Street, Tybee Island (especially for live blue crab)

Dubberly Seafood, Savannah, 912-925-6433 (best Wild GA Shrimp around)

Asking questions (at restaurants, fish markets and grocery stores) is another way to make sure you are getting the goods. Asking questions also lets retailers know that you are interested in sustainable seafood options. My favorite French blogger, Clotilde Dusoulier (check out her excellent post on sustainable seafood here) has some good advice about how to ask questions . . . The trick is to adopt just the right tone so as not to sound high-and-mighty, yet make it clear how important it is to you.

Comments, tips and resources from readers would be greatly appreciated!

http://sustainablesavannah.com/transportation/war-of-the-wheels/

Both the Sunday NY Times and the SMN had articles about cycling on the front pages of their lifesytle sections (Sunday Styles and Accent respectively). The premise: there are more bikes on the road these days, many bikes on the road belong to bike commuting novices, people who drive cars are annoyed.

Before I get into the rest of this post I just gotta say, ugh. This is not an issue for the fashion and style pages.

The SMN article offered new cyclists tips on “how to share the road and enjoy a safe ride,” complete with color photo illustrations of hand signals. The NYT article (titled “Moving Targets”) focused on nationwide incidents of auto-agression directed at cyclists as well as the bad driving habits of some cyclists.

While the SMN article didn’t seem to acknowledge that auto drivers also need to beef up on their road sharing and safety skills, I was happy to see our local paper putting it out there (even in the style section!). Ongoing education that reaches all segments of the two and four wheel driving population is so important. There is a lot of bad behavior on both sides . . .

Top 5 Bad 4-Wheel Driving Behavior

1. Hit and Run

2. Running a cyclist off the road

3. Yelling obsenities out the window or honking when passing a cyclist

4. Making a right turn in front of a cyclist & generally not looking out

5. Acting all annoyed and making a big show of speeding up when passing a cyclist

Top 5 Bad 2-Wheel Riding Behavior

1. Driving as if autos are actually looking out for you

2. Not following the rules of the road: running stop signs & traffic lights, not signaling

3. Riding on the wrong side of the street or on the sidewalk

4. Not yielding to pedestrians (same goes for 4 wheelers)

5. Not wearing a helmet (because brain damage just isn’t sexy people)

http://sustainablesavannah.com/business/savannah-morning-news-launches

The Savannah Morning News Web site now has a green corner. Called, “Green Living,” the new area of the newspaper’s site corrals stories with environmental angles, provides links to local Web sites (Sustainable Savannah is oddly absent from these) and features a blog by Mary Landers, the paper’s environment reporter. As far as I can tell, Green Living went live within the last 24 hours.

http://sustainablesavannah.com/food/recycling-remains-the-headlines-th

In the wake the Savannah city council’s approval of a contract with Pratt Recycling, local media have been devoting attention to the issue. The round up includes:

“No sorting required: Council approves ’single-stream’ recycling,” by Linda Sickler in Connect Savannah.

And

“Savannah’s recycling initiative sets example,” by Eric Curl in the Savannah Morning News.

Also of note in the Savannah Morning News is Bill Dawers’ story, “Cha Bella trends toward local agriculture.”

And that’s a good segue to an event happening today, right down the street from Cha Bella. Today from 4-7 p.m. Trustees Market will host a “celebration of a growing community of producers and consumers of local, sustainable products.” The event will be held at 688 Randolph St. For more information, visit the Trustees Garden Web site.