News-Record.com

I'm on Rep. Pricey Harrison's e-mail list and thought I'd pass along this legislative update regarding environment and energy-related bills:

"The House has passed my bill, House Bill 1287*, which would prohibit disposing of mercury in unlined landfills, would require removal of products containing mercury in buildings prior to demolition, and will require state agencies to recycle light bulbs and thermostats containing mercury....

House Bill 1353*, which I filed to protect an individual’s right to hang a clothesline on their property, has been approved by the House. The bill prohibits cities and counties from enacting ordinances prohibiting clotheslines. Dryers can represent as much as 10-25% of a home’s annual energy bill. If every household used a clothesline for six months of the year, Americans would reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by close to 4 percent. We enacted similar legislation last year to protect solar panels from restrictions."

The Greensboro Community Sustainability Council will hold its monthly meeting on Monday at 3 p.m. On the agenda: the role of the committee in federal stimulus spending and the next steps on finalizing a report of action steps for the city.

Subcommittees have brainstormed numerous action step ideas, including proposing a downtown trolley service (is our downtown large enough to need a trolley service?); setting up an urban demonstration garden downtown; establishing a micro-loan or low-interest revolving loan account for urban sustainability projects; adopting a permit fee rebating program for certified green buildings; and implementing a demonstration water conservation program in at least two neighborhoods.

The city's greenhouse gas inventory also has been updated.

Rep. Lucy Allen filed a bill on Monday requiring the development of best management practices for composting facilities. Background here.

The Business Committee on Energy of the N.C. Institute for Emerging Issues released today its recommendations for how to position the state as a leader in energy efficiency, renewable energy and green technology:

"The work of IEI’s Business Committee on Energy revealed a clear need for North Carolina to reconsider how its institutions are organized to meet the energy challenges and opportunities ahead. Companies consistently cite the lack of clarity about the state’s energy policy priorities as a barrier to doing business here. The state must rework its institutional arrangement to offer a coherent voice and strategy for energy policy, including the appointment of an executive level energy official in the Governor’s office, reform of the existing Energy Policy Council and redesign and relocation of the State Energy Office. Then, the state could more effectively consider how economic development incentives, renewable energy tax credits, small business assistance, and workforce education can meet companies’ needs."

Background here and here.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bock Grant funding amounts for N.C. municipalities and counties. Greensboro will receive about $2.6 million; High Point about $1 million; Winston-Salem about $2.3 million; and Randolph County about $578,000. I'm not sure why Guilford and Forsyth counties are not on the list of recipients.

The funding:

"will support energy audits and energy efficiency retrofits in residential and commercial buildings, the development and implementation of advanced building codes and inspections, and the creation of financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements. Other activities eligible for use of grant funds include transportation programs that conserve energy, projects to reduce and capture methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, renewable energy installations on government buildings, energy efficient traffic signals and street lights, deployment of Combined Heat and Power and district heating and cooling systems, and others."

Refer to a previous post to get an idea of what might happen with the money in Greensboro.

Sen. Charles Albertson filed last week a bill that seeks to establish a state food policy council and set a goal of 10 percent of the food consumed in North Carolina coming from within the state. This is part of the work being done by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (read background here; by the way, the Farm to Fork Summit has been rescheduled for early May).

From the bill:

"The General Assembly finds that the time is right for the State to build its sustainable local food economy. Building a sustainable local food economy will create jobs, stimulate statewide economic development, and circulate money from local food sales within local communities.

Other important benefits of a sustainable local food economy in North Carolina include preserving open space, decreasing the use of fossil fuel and thus reducing carbon emissions, preserving and protecting the natural environment, increasing consumer access to fresh and nutritious foods, and providing greater food security for all North Carolinians."

Just found this out: Three lawmakers, including Guilford County Rep. Pricey Harrison, introduced this week House and Senate bills to ban plastic bags. More here.

March 27 update below

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State environmental regulators face this challenge: How to protect North Carolina's natural resources without getting in the way of state goals to reduce landfill waste.

That is the heart of the tensions between members of the composting industry and the Division of Water Quality, which has taken steps in recent years to better regulate wastewater coming from composting sites.

Susan Massengale of the DWQ explained that the division previously permitted these facilities through its stormwater program, but officials found nutrients and other contaminants in the water running off the compost piles that could pollute nearby waterways. So the division decided that facilities that did not recycle water on site might need a wastewater permit as well.

“It’s not like they’re being picked on,” Massengale said. “There are standards that are true of all discharge facilities across the state…. I think it’s wonderful that what they are doing is keeping waste out of the landfills and they are a great green industry. But they need to complete that cycle of not polluting the water either.”

Read a 2006 draft memo that explains the division's rationale.

From the draft memo:
"DWQ will not issue a stormwater permit for any rainfall that contacts active composting areas, including raw material storage and processing areas, or rainfall that contacts final compost or mulch storage areas. Stormwater that contacts these materials is considered a wastewater and should be permitted through an alternative program. However, DWQ will issue a stormwater discharge permit for rainfall that does not contact these areas or materials. This policy affects all composting operations, as well as some facilities in the Timber Products industry."

But members of the composting industry believe the division has switched course without adequate stakeholder input or evidence that composters are causing water pollution. Some are seeking help from state lawmakers; Rep. Lucy Allen told me last week that she plans to file a bill that would require a study of composting practices and the development of best management practices that are not too onerous and expensive for businesses to adopt. The bill must be drafted by Thursday and filed in the House in early April, she said.

“I do plan to go ahead and file it because I feel like it’s going to guarantee that whoever asks for a permit that they won’t pollute the waters of the state," Allen said.

Clarity on this issue is important because the Triad area does not yet have access to a local commercial composting facility that can process food waste. Thus, any move by citizens to encourage composting at restaurants, cafeterias and other facilities are likely to hit a brick wall. What more, facilities need access to compost facilities to properly dispose of compostable products. (Read this prior story for background.)

Gary Bilbro, director of the Carolina Recycling Association, is working on the issue. He tried to start a composting facility in Winston-Salem but could not get the necessary permits.

“We exist because we care about the environment," Bilbro said at a recent meeting with members of the industry. "We want to divert materials from landfills. We’re trying to do our part to protect the environment and what we’re looking for is a fair shake here.”

And the fact is, North Carolina has not had much success reaching a 17-year-old law that the state reduce landfilled material by 40 percent. Overall, per capita waste disposal has increased since the base year of 1991-92, according to a 2007-08 annual report by the Division of Waste Management. When waste disposal did decrease, it was attributed to a weakening economy.

It seems reasonable that the current recession could further drive down consumption, and thus waste, but that might not bode well for composters who need a sound business model to convince people to have their food scraps hauled away. The DWQ is working with the N.C. Composting Council to study the water regulations issue, though, with a one-year study of current compost facility practices in the works. I suppose Allen's bill could help get the ball rolling and establish a deadline for all this.

“We have great sympathy for the industry on this point,” said Ken Pickle, a permitter with DWQ. “We figure they have not figured this into their game plan or their site plan or their engineering plan and now they are scrambling to do so.”

Update (March 27)
Case in point of what I wrote about: UNCG tried unsuccessfully to start a joint food composting program at N.C. A&T's farm, and failed partly because of difficulty meeting the stricter water regulations, said campus sustainability manager Jenny Paige.

That leaves UNCG with the option of outsourcing the work. Paige said university employees are now working to draw Brooks Contractors to the area by finding other large scale food users in Greensboro who will start composting programs. I talked to Amy Brooks of the Goldston composting facility a while back and she said the company was interested in starting a Greensboro route but needed several clients to make it practical.

“It’s a hard situation because you don’t want to say we’re building a composting base for one business, but we need to compost,” Paige said.

UNCG is doing a lot as part of its sustainability initiative. Paige added that UNCG also plans to compost yard waste on the campus and would like to purchase compostable products for cafeteria use. But...

“It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have a composting program in place," she said.

Update (April 10): CERT has made available the PowerPoint presentations from the conference on its Web site.

I attended a conference at N.C. A&T last Thursday that sought to answer questions about how the national transition away from fossil fuels will impact low-income communities. Two of the questions floating out there were: How will low-income residents in this region benefit from the national push to make buildings more energy efficient? And, What kind of "green jobs" can they take advantage of?

The university's Center for Energy Research and Technology (CERT) hosted the conference in partnership with the American Association for Blacks in Energy. I've been told that copies of the presentations and a video of the event will be posted on the center's Web site.

I attended the first half of the conference so I can speak for now only about what I heard during the keynote presentation and two panel discussions; I invite other attendees to chime in. What I heard was speakers who were more comfortable explaining how the low-income could get their home weatherized than how they will get jobs.

First, weatherization. North Carolina will receive about $208 million in weatherization funds under the federal stimulus plan, with $132 million going to the Weatherization Assistance Program and the rest going to the state energy office. Households with an income within 200 percent of the poverty line will be eligible for the funds. That income limit equates to about $44,000 for a family of four.

You can find here analyses done for the Weatherization Assistance Program on what it will take to weatherize an anticipated one million homes nationally per year. Zack Hamlett of the N.C. Office of Economic Opportunity, which administers the program here, told me on Friday that he has until May 12 to submit a hiring plan to the U.S. Department of Energy. The department also needs to decide how address multi-family housing, which it has not focused on weatherizing in the past, he said.

By the way, residents in Guilford, Forsyth, Rockingham and Randolph counties would contact Regional Consolidated Services Inc. at 629-5141 to apply for weatherization services.

Now, the interesting thing about the weatherization program is that it at least gives you a working definition of the word "low-income." For the government's purposes, it's households with an income at or lower than 200 percent of the federal poverty line. That's a wide net, because it can include, in reality, a middle class family with a working father and stay-at-home mother, as well as a disabled or elderly person receiving Social Security benefits.

That's not the case with the green jobs movement and I did not hear "low-income" defined for the purposes of the CERT conference last week. Are we talking a broke college graduate looking for a job? A underemployed father with only a high school degree? Or a repentant former convict who hasn't had a job in five years?

The distinction is important because many green jobs proponents have pushed for green jobs as a way to provide good-paying and steady employment for people in poor, minority communities who do not have the money, time (because of life circumstances) or aptitude for four-year college degrees.

Now, President Obama didn't advocate for economic stimulus as a means to address solely unemployment/underemployment among the country's poor. However, faculty at CERT and AABE sought to speak to specific stakeholder groups -- namely, the black and low-income populations.

While the presenters provided some good context, few explicitly answered the question of what green jobs might be available in North Carolina and who would likely benefit. Paul Quinlan of the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association said that over the short term, laid off construction workers who can quickly retrain to weatherize homes, can expect work funded through the federal stimulus funds. A long term trend would be the companies hiring people to install solar panels, design high performance buildings, and build components for alternative energy systems, such as wind turbines. Unclear is what work would be available to people without a related degree or experience.

"There's incredibly high expectations for green jobs this year," Quinlan said at the conference. "It's not going to be as visible so people will be disappointed because the expectations were so high."

It's starting to seem like anybody who tries to get in on this work as a fresh start will be competing against an existing workforce. For proof, take a look at this workforce analysis done for the federal Weatherization Assistance Program regarding how many workers are needed to weatherize one million homes nationally over the next two to 10 years. The report maintains that government agencies are likely to hire people with previous experience as it takes an average of eight months, for example, to train an energy auditor.

From the report:

"It takes approximately two to four months to train a crew to perform Weatherization services with a proficiency that guarantees the savings and return on investment. It takes approximately six to eight months to train an energy auditor for assessment accuracy and two to four months to train a quality control inspector to conduct required oversight. It will be critical to utilize the existing energy professionals from other statewide or national projects to supplement the hiring of staff to perform work in the field."

The report doesn't specify who will pay for the training. So should individuals expect they will need to go to school for some type of training or intern with an experienced person before they even get hired for some full time work? Will government agencies be able weatherize a record number of homes within the given timeline while still producing quality work? And what if Congress does not reauthorize funds past the first two years?

How closely are you following the federal stimulus as it relates to the energy measures and job creation? What are you still confused about? Do you you have confidence that the funding will create lasting jobs, particularly as it relates to low-income populations?

City post offices are doing their part to help government agencies meet a federal goal of cutting energy use over the next seven years.

The U.S. Postal Service hired ADMMicro in Roanoke, Va. to install programmable thermostats at 16 offices in Greensboro in 2007. The systems automatically turn down the heat or reduce air conditioning in empty buildings.

“Those buildings – like most commercial and some residential buildings, [ran] their heating and air conditioning pretty much at the same temperatures for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whether someone is in those buildings or not,” said Robert McNiece, the agency’s facilities manager.

The offices have since cut energy use by an average 14 percent, with the 6,000-square-foot Guilford station reducing consumption by 31 percent and saving $3,700 in utility bills. McNiece estimated the systems pay for themselves in two years.

Nationally, the Postal Service has cut its energy use by 17 percent at its roughly 34,000 facilities as of September 2008, McNiece said. A 2007 law requires federal buildings to reduce energy by 30 percent by 2015.

“We’re well on our way toward our objective,” he said. “This pilot does a good job of showing… that you can get a whole lot of savings without a whole lot of investment.”

The Postal Service has been a leader for decades in the area of conserving energy and protecting the environment, he said. The agency’s many initiatives and achievements include:

* Winning numerous environmental awards, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise Partner of the Year;

* Working with agencies in Maine to launch the nation’s first program allowing consumers to dispose of excess pharmaceuticals by mail in an effort to reduce environmental contamination;

* Delivering mail by bicycle in locations throughout Florida and Arizona;

* Piloting a mail-back program for electronic recycling;

*Operating a fleet of 43,000 alternative-fueled vehicles and testing hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicles; and

* Constructing new buildings with features such as straw bale insulation, natural lighting, solar thermal systems, rainwater cisterns and vegetative roofs.

Learn about the agency’s other sustainability iniatives here.

Greensboro, like other cities, is going for every federal dollar it can to pay for projects that help cut the city's fossil fuels use.

For one, Pepco should begin work within the month on its $6.1 million energy performance contract on various city buildings, said Steve Randall, Greensboro's sustainability manager. This work is funded through a loan.

But city applied this year for a Sustainable Skylines grant in partnership with N.C. A&T; I wrote about this previously.

Randall also plans to meet with other city employees next week to determine what projects to include in an application for federal energy efficiency and conservation block grants. These funds help pay for projects that reduce fossil fuel emissions; decrease total energy consumption; improve energy efficiency in the transportation, building, and other energy consuming sectors; spur economic growth; and create and/or retain jobs.

Randall said possible Greensboro projects would be a solar photovoltaic array at City Hall (to complement the solar hot water system it's getting) and training or funding for local groups to perform energy audits and weatherize homes in the city.

Randall said the city is analyzing the costs and payback period for a solar PV system.

"We don't want to spend our money improperly but we also don't want to spend federal money improperly," he said.

Then we got into a conversation about how to structure the energy audit process (I'm wondering who will not be doing these audits by the time the money's rolling in). It makes sense to tighten up antiquated housing stock in the city, but it could get complicated. What if the contractors run into lead-based paint and asbestos? Who pays to abate the lead around the new windows? Randall suggested that the city could screen out homes that don't meet certain characteristics or work with other programs to get those problems addressed.

Then we talked about Randall's development of some green guidelines for new city buildings. It looks like he will model them off what other cities in the state are doing in requiring major city construction to meet LEED certification. Check out Durham's policy and comparisons between different cities.

Check out this overview of the federal stimulus package that state energy Director Larry Shirley gave to lawmakers this week:

"In many instances funds will be distributed through existing formulas to programs with proven track records and accountability measures already in place.... Governors, mayors or others making funding decisions must personally certify that the investment has been fully vetted and is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. "

I got this press release late so I don't know the particular reason it was released today. It basically summarizes the energy performance contract the city of Greensboro has entered into to improve energy efficiency in municipal buildings. It says:

The City of Greensboro has reached a contract agreement with Pepco Energy Services of Arlington, Virginia, on a $6.1 million energy efficiency project. Under terms of the contract energy usage will be reduced by 28 percent with energy conservation measures to be installed in 46 City-owned buildings. Potential energy savings is estimated to be more than $6.5 million over the next 13 years. Money saved on energy costs will actually pay for the new equipment and installation.

The multi-year contract calls for Pepco to install energy efficient lighting, replace old chillers, update building automation systems, commission and rebalance heating and air-conditioning systems, and install water saving fixtures in many City-owned facilities.

“A lot of this equipment has needed to be replaced for years, but we haven’t had the money to do it,” states Mitchell Johnson, City Manager. “Now, through our contract with Pepco Energy Services, the City will have over $6 million in new equipment and infrastructure and will reduce the City’s energy usage by 28 percent.”

The contract provides solar energy for space heating and hot water systems at the Melvin Municipal Office Building and at five City Fire stations. And the project includes an energy awareness program to train building occupants on efficient practices.

The City of Greensboro’s carbon footprint will be reduced each year by eliminating 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of planning more than 1,700 acres of trees.

The project will be managed by Pepco Energy Services, but much of the work will be performed by local companies, including a commitment of 10 percent minority contract representation. Construction is due to begin in February 2009 with an estimated completion date of February 2010.

Taking green building to the next level: lifecycle construction. A Southeast conference is planned for late February and takes place in Atlanta. Early registration ends Jan. 31.

From the Web site:

This is the first conference of its kind focused on the Southeast! We will examine issues that may have substantial impacts on design and construction in the Southeast such as: drought, congestion, diminished air quality, stormwater, energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and construction waste and recycling. The conference will consider the complete construction lifecycle-- site preparation, building materials selection, debris management, air pollution control, stormwater and sediment control, demolition, converting buildings for reuse, design for disassembly and creating buildings that facilitate and anticipate future changes. You will hear from Regional and National experts on the full construction lifecycle; and network with federal, state and local government officials and regulators.

Related:

Turning House Millworks, a subsidiary of Bassett Mirror Co. in Virginia, hopes to position itself as a leader in the Southeast for reclaiming and giving new life to rare and precious hardwoods - Southern Longleaf Pine, wormy chestnut, fiddleback maple - used in industrial buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The company expects to recover roughly one million board feet of lumber out of the mill, enough to floor more than 650 homes and save 19,000 trees.

"We don't believe the economy will change the direction of our society," said Jerry Dodson, president and chief operating officer of Turning House Millworks and sister company, Turning House Furniture. "The green building movement is long term. We are well-positioned to ride that wave."

The Environmental Protection Agency will award grants in 2009 to projects that seek to reduce releases of toxic pollutants and minimize people's exposure to them. Deadline for applications is March 16. Details here.

The program will also conduct three national information sessions for cooperative agreement applicants via Webcasts on the following dates:

* Feb. 3, 12:30 - 2 p.m. eastern time
* Feb. 24, 12:30 - 2 p.m. eastern time
* Feb. 27, 10 - 11:30 a.m. eastern time

Register here.

The U.S. Department of Energy has established a goal of supplying 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030.

Wind currently supplies 0.8 percent, and the DOE says the goal would require the number of turbine installations to increase from approximately 2000 per year in 2006 to almost 7000 per year in 2017. Whew.

Duke University's Climate Change Policy Partnership issued a policy brief last week echoing some of the concerns brought out in the DOE's July report. In summary, the wind power industry, just like other alternative energy sectors, will have a difficult time meeting these ambitious goals.

"While the DOE goal for wind power is inspiring, we must recognize that it will not be easy," said lead author Chi-Jen Yang. "In 2007, the nation's total installed wind power capacity was 16.9 gigawatts. Annual growth rates during the last decade hovered around 20 percent. High natural gas prices contributed to this rapid growth. If natural gas prices drop, wind power's competitiveness might decline significantly. To reach the DOE target of 305 gigawatts by 2030, annual wind power installation must maintain an average growth rate of 14 percent for the next 22 years. Whether or not we can maintain such a high rate over decades depends on the policies we enact in the next few years."

Well looky here, at least one natural gas company is already requesting a rate drop because of the decline in wholesale prices. (And more declines could come if the auto industry goes bankrupt.)

Yang elaborates on the barriers faced by the wind industry:
• Long-term investment uncertainty;
• Transmission Limitations;
• Wind turbine shortage, quality and reliability;
• Workforce education and training;
• Research and development; and
• Siting and landscape issues.

We basically have 21 years to make this happen. Anybody think this goal is achievable?

Update (Dec. 17): The report is now available.
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I posted last month about a vehicle mile tax being floated by the state's 21st Century Transportation Committee, which officially released its final report of recommendations to lawmakers today (I'm trying to locate an online copy). The recommendation's don't seem to impress many people.

From the Wilmington Star-News (commenting on the draft recommendations):

A committee of designated thinkers has been pondering that very question and has a few suggestions, one of which should be quickly discarded: replacing the gas tax with a tax on the number of miles driven in North Carolina. Aside from a the Big Brother aspect, it would seem to pose a number of problems.

An odometer reading at the annual inspection presumably would determine the amount of the tax, but the 21st Century Transportation Committee has yet to explain how to distinguish between in-state and out-of-state miles. And what of the out-of-state vacationers, truckers and business travelers who cruise through North Carolina on the way somewhere else? Many of them currently pay the gas tax as they fill up, but it would be awfully difficult to track them down to pay by the mile.

The North Carolina Justice Center’s Budget & Tax Center says the committee presented a piecemeal approach that endorses pro-traffic congestion policies, glosses over critical issues, such as misallocation of resources, and doesn't flesh out how the vehicle miles tax would replace current revenue sources such as the gas tax.

“The report offers no consistent vision for how to move forward,” said Steve Jackson, a public policy analyst who focuses on transportation issues for the North Carolina Justice Center’s Budget & Tax Center. “Given how fundamental our transportation problems are in North Carolina, this is very disappointing. The policy solutions suggested are more 1955 than 2055.”

I'll post the report once I get a copy.

Supporters of President-elect Barack Obama are coming together on Dec. 13 and 14 to discuss what ideas they have. His transition team will be collecting the feedback and is encouraging people to sign up to host or attend a "Change is Coming" house meeting.

This would be a good opportunity for the public to talk about the challenges the country is facing in the areas of energy and the environment and brainstorm ways to address it on the federal level (although individual and community action might be the most effective in the long run).

Check out Obama's agenda concerning these matters and let me know if you host a meeting next weekend. Three meetings are already listed for Greensboro.

Update: I just learned that the city of Winston-Salem is also applying for the grant. The city has already completed its greenhouse gas inventory and the City Council also approved an action plan earlier this year (Greensboro has yet to complete its municipal and community inventories). A community sustainability program committee, similar to Greensboro's, is in the works.

* * * * * *

The city of Greensboro and N.C. A&T have teamed up to apply for a Sustainable Skylines grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The city's Community Sustainability Council will help put the proposal together and will talk about this on Monday during its regular monthly meeting.

The council plans to incorporate recommendations from a November community gathering of local environmental organizations. Check out the full list of suggestions, but council Co-chairman Robert Powell noted that projects relevant to the grant would be:

* A green bike program;
* A home audit/upgrade program;
* Greening the Greenway;
* Water use reduction/lawn reduction
* Intergenerational collaboration for sustainable Greensboro;
* A bus idling program;
* A commercial building educational program; and
* An educational/community based project

I recently posted on Greensboro's efforts to increase recycling rates, particularly among residential customers, while saving the city money. Here are budget (2007-08 and 2008-09) and contract documents I requested from the city regarding the recycling program. You can see from this table that recycling rates among residences are slightly up, while down in the commercial sector.

FYI: North Carolinians who planned to upgrade to an energy efficient appliance can get a break from the state sales tax by scheduling the purchase on Nov. 7-9. State legislators last year established a sales tax holiday on the first Friday-Sunday of November for certain Energy Star appliances.

What more incentive do Greensboro residents need to recycle other than the satisfaction of knowing they can help the city save money and keep reusable items out of the landfill? Um, could it possibly be more money in the residents' pockets too?

It turns out the city's solid waste division is considering an incentive program with RecycleBank that would provide coupons for discounts at local businesses to residents based on the amount they recycle. Division manager Sheldon Smith said today at a Triad Mobile CARE meeting that he hopes to propose a 10,000 home pilot at the next City Council briefing on Oct. 28.

The division has managed to increase the amount of recyclables it processes since Smith took over in 2006. The division renegotiated its contract to bring the tip fees for recycling below the tips fees for the landfill transfer station (from about $62 per ton to $21 per ton for recycling, in comparison to $41 per ton for the transfer station), Smith said.

The division also reworked the recycling truck routes, from once a week pick up for residences to every other week starting in late January. Smith said the recycling volumes did not justify weekly pick up and the new routes and other initiatives saved almost 4,500 miles between Jan. 28 and June, and $1.4 million in the budget. Still, set out rates increased from 35 percent to 55 percent recycling was up 1 percent for the year.

No specific efforts exist yet to promote composting but Smith said he has spoken with county officials to explore grants for such promotion. Smith said he ultimately hopes to increase the amount of recyclables the city collects from about 17,000 tons per year for residential to 24,000 tons while reducing the amount going to the landfill.

What do you think about the RecycleBank idea? Would you recycle more if you could get coupons to your favorite restaurant? What do you think about the city's recycling services in general?

Mayor Allen Joines announced today a "Go Green Winston-Salem" campaign that will feature events and forums Sept. 15-19.

Another way for government agencies to get in on the action: The N.C. League of Muncipalities' three-year "Green Challenge." The town of Mocksville joined last month.

Residents can now access green living tips through the Guilford County government Web site. The rationale:

"Worldwide, the headlines feature soaring energy costs, the effect of greenhouse gases and the depletion and pollution of our natural resources. These global issues parallel local concerns about water resources, gasoline prices and air quality. Use these weekly "Green Tips" to learn how we in Guilford County can impact these issues, and what we can do to become more sustainable and make a positive difference in our community."

Below, the county's new logo. Residents can also review and comment on the county's new "Green Guilford" draft plan.

Columnist Lorraine Ahearn ponders the politics of offshore drilling.

The city of Greensboro plans to green its buildings.

Columnist Jeri Rowe completes his series on nature and children.

A revised policy approved by the Greensboro City Council on Wednesday will allow residents on smaller lots to keep chickens and bees, a popular practice and growing trend among families trying to consume locally-produced foods.

Opposition to this practice tends to center around concerns about noise from roosters (whose possession is prohibited by this policy) and cleanliness. I glimpsed urban farming for the first time in June when I interviewed a Concord man for my peak oil series. He had about a dozen hens in his backyard; they were pretty quiet and I couldn't imagine them being any more annoying or dangerous than dogs.

I wonder how much pent up demand exists for urban farming in Greensboro. Do you see expect the council's amendment to motivate slow food newbies or aficionados to order a couple bantams and DIY coops?

Unrelated, but interesting: The Economist hosts an online debate on energy issues.

The city of Greensboro had its day in the spotlight last year when former mayor Keith Holliday signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, a first step toward it becoming a "Cool City."

Now, local residents are working to expand sustainability efforts at the county level. The group, called Green Guilford, is working with Rob Bencini, the county's director of economic and community development. They aim to educate the public about environmental issues, support governmental purchases of environmentally-friendly products, create a neighborhood sustainability advisory board (Ahem... homeowners associations), and tap into existing soil and water conservation groups.

Now, the group must win over the public and county commissioners. I anticipate this plan could get a lot of resistance from businesses that stand to lose money if the county switches products and services. But many "green businesses" are willing and eager to take their place.

What do you think about this group?

President Bush and many educators have worked over the past several years to close the academic achievement gap between groups of students. Should his educational legacy also include closing the nature gap as well?

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is gathering support for the No Child Left Inside Act, a federal bill that would offer states incentives to develop Environmental Literacy Plans and integrate environmental education across K-12 curricula. The No Child Left Inside Act aims to ensure that schools have the resources and training necessary to help the next generation understand and address the challenges of protecting the environment.

Connecting children with nature is a goal that is beginning to gain steam here in Greensboro. Last Saturday, about 30 people viewed a documentary at The HIVE in Glenwood about the disconnect between today's generation of children and nature and unstructured play.

Given that No Child Left Behind has been underfunded since its inception and criticized for faulty implementation, I'm not sure another federal law is the best approach toward this issue. However, a healthy dialogue about the children's lack of exposure to the outdoors is needed.

The organization outlines the impacts of a proposed $400,000 cut from the city of Greensboro. You can speak out at a public hearing on June 3.

N.C. Policy Watch: "Seventy-five percent of North Carolina voters favor the state taking action now to reduce global warming pollution, according to a recent statewide survey by Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling.  The poll, commissioned by Environment North Carolina, also shows that voters support the Clean Cars Program—one way of reducing global warming pollution—by a three to one margin."

Guilford County Rep. Pricey Harrison to the rescue: She is pushing for clean car legislation. Harrison is co-chairwoman of the Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change.

Another update (May 26): Joel Landau is featured in the News & Record's 10plus column.

Update: I forgot to mention that Landau told me last week that EPA folks met with local government officials at N.C. A&T State University about the possibility of Greensboro applying for a Sustainable Skylines grant. The application deadline has passed, so I am assuming folks here would apply next year. Sounds interesting. FYI, initiatives in Dallas and Kansas City.

A new environmental advisory group hopes to start meeting by June after the Greensboro City Council appointed it last week. Members are still crafting the mission but preliminarily it would "present City Council with specific proposals for reducing local carbon emissions, reducing energy usage, and conserving resources.  Proposals will include projected costs and funding options."

Following is the most recent message sent out to some in the community by Joel Landau, one of the co-chairs of the group:

"Last Wednesday Mayor Johnson appointed, and City Council approved, the members of a newly formed Advisory Group on the Environment! The Group's mission has not been specified, but it will be in the areas of bringing forth initiatives for reducing pollution, conserving resources, improving energy efficiency, and moving towards a more sustainable local economy.

"The group's co-chairs are Bob Powell and Joel Landau. Its members are primarily people who have been active in local sustainability efforts. Our thanks go to Mayor Johnson for initiating the idea and moving forward with it. Steve McCollum [of Environmental Stewardship of Greensboro] was also instrumental in bringing the idea to fruition. One of the hopes for this group is that it will be a focal point for coordinating and publicizing the various sustainability efforts now underway around the City."

In a previous message, Landau mentioned the following folks would be serving on the committee: Art Davis, Maurice Allen, Dr. Debbie Leiner, Derrick Giles, the Rev. Joe Venable, Carolyn Allen, Eric Hoekstra, Bob Powell, Tom Duckwall, Tom Clary, Valerie Vickers, Kim Yarbray, Joel Landau, Marlene Sanford of TREBIC, plus an unspecified representative from both the Chamber of Commerce and one from the Greensboro Merchant Association. They represent each district and include educators, business people, retired city planners, a medical doctor, a reverend, a former mayor and experience in sustainabililty activities.

This grassroots-initiated group will create its own charge instead of relying on a preoccupied council to set the path. It will be interesting to see if these members will have the necessary focus, camaraderie and singular vision to bring the council some innovative proposals and get them funded and accomplished (rather than be overtaken by infighting or self interest). Committees often have the tendency of simmering on the political backburner but I hope that is not this group's fate.   

This following comes by way of an Environmental Stewardship Group of Greensboro listserv post this week from the N.C. Conservation Network:

"North Carolina is facing a major transportation problem. Since 1989, our state has focused heavily on creating new roads, expanding existing roads, and building sprawl-inducing highways. Now, the combination of increasing construction costs, greater awareness of climate change, and a growing maintenance backlog within the Department of Transportation shows that North Carolina’s over-the-top emphasis on building new roads can’t last.

"The NC Conservation Network has joined with a broad coalition of groups—North Carolinians for Transportation Reform and Modernization (NC TRAM)—to promote a better transportation future for North Carolina. This week the group released a set of five principles to help guide North Carolina in creating a new transportation future. The five principles are: (1) prioritize projects using objective standards, not political patronage; (2) build different kinds of projects, not just roads; (3) dedicate a larger share of spending to maintenance; (4) link transportation and land use planning; and (5) pay for our transportation system fairly, not by raiding education and health programs or by privatizing our public roads. Help protect North Carolina’s future by asking your state legislator to support investment in maintenance and public transit!"

The group also has a blog.

North Carolina's transportation practices are a big ship that is going to be hard to turn around, given the amount of financial and social investment North Carolinians have in seeing highways expand. I remember when I worked for the Gaston Gazette writing articles about the Garden Parkway and how an investment company (with a state legislator on staff) had bought up land around the proposed toll highway back in the 1990s with an anticipation that the land will become highly valuable for residential and commercial development. N.C. DOT can't exactly get religion about more sustainable transportation practices and renege on its road-building promises without creating a firestorm. But at some point the state will have to prioritize maintenance. Is a moratorium on building necessary?

By the way, I have heard a couple times that truckers are starting to drive slower on highways to conserve fuel with the $4 diesel prices they are facing (and apparently some want U.S. taxpayers helping to pick up the tab). I would argue they should be driving slow anyway for safety reasons, but there is an incentive to drive faster to get products to their destination on time. If fuel prices keep going up, truckers may have to do more than drive slow (park, perhaps?).

Find here a meeting summary for the Triad Mobile CARE Partnership, which met in Greensboro on March 4.

At these quarterly meetings, local government, business fleet managers, fuel and technology providers, environmental groups, non-profit organizations and concerned citizens discuss ways to address mobile emission reduction efforts through the use of alternative fuels and advanced transportation technologies.

The N.C. League of Conservation Voters released in late February its annual scorecard for our U.S. Congressmen and women from North Carolina. Question: Why did the Republicans score so poorly?

Did you know that African-Americans faced a higher immediate unemployment rate following the Middle Eastern oil embargos during the 1970s? Or that American families earning $10,000 or less per year spend 29 percent of their income on energy versus 13 percent for families with incomes between $10,000 and $25,000 and 4 percent for those earning more than $50,000?

Energy professionals and students from N.C. A&T State University gathered for a one-day conference on Thursday to discuss ways to overcome the vulnerability of minorities, particularly low income blacks, to climate change and environmental damage. The American Association for Blacks in Energy and the university co-sponsored the conference and the two hope to work together to provide internships and mentoring in the energy sector for engineering students.

Read more about the conference in Saturday's Monday's News & Record.

One of the reoccurring questions at the conference was the balance between innovation/technology and actual downsizing and sacrifice. For example, Carl Wilkins of Advanced Energy brought up the point that many newer model televisions use more energy than the older models and on top of that people just move the old tv to another room, not reducing energy consumption at all. Another issue is the paradox of energy efficiency in the fact that it can actually help increase consumption. So are we just kidding ourselves that Americans can actually have declining per capita energy consumption (let alone declining consumption as a population)?

One of the funnier points made was by Leslie Fields, director of environmental justice with the Sierra Club on how difficult it is to change the mindset of the American consumer:

"It is a huge disconnect," Fields said. "There is a disconnect in my own family. I'm a failed environmentalist. My brother drives an Escalade and he doesn't care what I think."

At lunch, Hilda Phinnix-Ragland of Progress Energy asked who in the room was driving an energy efficient vehicle. Only one person out of about 50 raised his hand (Read my reflection on that issue here). She asked who was conserving water? More hand went up, but there were several untouched glasses of water on the tables. Hello.

"We're so accustomed to heavy flows," Phinnix-Ragland said. "We expect to have water on the table whether we drink it or not."

But many at the conference aren't giving up hope. As Morry Davis of Peabody Energy Corp. cleverly put it: "There's no silver bullet. There's silver buckshot."

On a lighter note, UNCG had a strong turnout of about 175 people at the showing of Power of Community last night. After the showing, Joel Landau, owner of Deep Roots Market and former city council candidate, announced that he and others are working with Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson to try to establish an environmental working group for city council. Let's hope for progress there.

City Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small has expressed an interest in holding a green fair in her district during Earth Day in April. I spoke to her briefly about it this afternoon. Bellamy-Small has only had preliminary conversations with folks, but thought the fair could be held as a pilot before becoming a city-wide event. I don't have details, but Bellamy-Small said she was looking for someone who could coordinate it. So if you are interested, give her a shout-out.

By the way, find out about the city's green initiatives here.

Following is an opportunity to start a dialogue with Mayor Yvonne Johnson about how she plans to lead the city of Greensboro into a more sustainable future. The Greensboro Neighborhood Congress (GNC) will sponsor the first town hall for her on Monday, Feb. 11 from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. The event is open to the public and will take place in the fellowship hall at the corner of Friendly Avenue and Commerce Place in the West Market Street United Methodist Church building.

According to an e-mail I received,

Mayor Johnson wants to hear from the residents of Greensboro and answer as many questions as she can during this meeting. Therefore, she will keep her prepared comments to a minimum and take written questions that are presented prior to the meeting and during the meeting. Marsh Prause, the Chair of the GNC Bylaws and Issues Committee will categorize and present the questions to Mayor Johnson.

Residents can e-mail questions to bdnewt@yahoo.com. Please enter Town Hall Questions in the subject
line.

Some questions I have for the mayor:

1. Are you aware of global peak oil production and if so, how do you propose residents and city leaders prepare for it? 

2. What do you believe are Greensboro's strengths and weaknesses in adjusting to the changing social, economic and physical environments brought on by climate change and peak oil production?

3. What are the appropriate responsibilities of city government in creating a more sustainable city and what are the responsibilities of community groups/individuals?

What would you ask?

I wasn't so sure a year ago. I thought that despite the county seat's name, Greensboro and the surrounding areas lacked progressiveness regarding sustainability in comparison to other cities, such as Portland and Seattle.

Admittedly, when I first moved here in April 2006 to work for the News & Record, I was more concerned about finding a cheap place to live while I sold my house, learned my beat, met friends and found out what kind of entertainment the city had. But months went by and I started making changes in my lifestyle (partly motivated by tight finances), such as resuming a childhood joy of bike-riding, walking to stores for exercise and gardening. I asked myself, where are all the bike lanes? And man, these neighborhoods are so spread out, I don't know if I have the time and energy to walk two hours round trip lugging bags of groceries (I lived in northwest Greensboro for about eight months). I stared at people standing in the cold rain at city bus stops from the comfort of my five-passenger sedan. When I moved to an apartment in Lindley Park, I had to drive to another neighborhood to start a garden (thanks to a resident's beneficence). And you know the saying, out of sight, out of mind. And when I tried to cut back on my carbon emissions by hanging my laundry to dry, I was told no clotheslines outside. So I bought a rack and hung them in an already crowded bedroom.

Then I learned about climate change and peak oil and shortly realized that what were now inconveniences in a car-dominated society could turn out to be liabilities. Were these issues on the radar of city and county governments and community organizations? Fortunately, I now know that some groups in the county and state are trying to address these challenges and help residents prepare for what is to come over the next few decades: skyrocketing oil and natural gas prices, unpredictable weather patterns and possibly a global economy that must reverse itself and become increasingly local. Peak oil is only beginning to hit the mainstream consciousness and I agree with some who say the subject will likely overtake climate change in public debate this year.

So what are the residents of Guilford County going to do about this? Will we continue to look for the same solutions to our economic and social problems? How innovative can we be in transitioning to a lifestyle that is more local, energy efficient and less dependent on fossil-fuels (i.e. gas-powered automobiles, industrial agriculture). Do we have the political will, resources and persistence to make this area an attractive and viable place to live 20 years from now?