Green Tech Media----
All Politics are local. So is the Progress in Greentech.
Federal and state Renewable Portfolio Standards, federal loans and stimulus packages are vitally important programs.
But progress in greening our cities is going to come from local efforts as much as from on high. We take a quick look at some City-based Green Initiatives.
San Jose, CA
San Jose, Calif. considers itself the capital of Silicon Valley, and wants to be the global center of greentech innovation. The city and its Mayor, Chuck Reed, have initiated one of the nation's most aggressive green initiatives – the Green Vision program with a 15-year goal that includes:
1. Creating 25,000 cleantech jobs
2. Reducing per capita energy use by 50 percent
3. Receiving 100 percent of its electrical power from clean renewable sources
4. Building or retrofitting 50 million square feet of green buildings
5. Diverting 100 percent of waste from landfills
6. Recycling or reusing 100 percent of its wastewater (100 million gallons per day)
7. Ensuring that 100 percent of its public fleet vehicles run on alternative fuels
8. Planting 100,000 new trees
9. Replacing 100 percent of its streetlights with smart, zero emission lighting.
Palo Alto, CA
Palo Alto can also lay claim to be one of the nation's greenest cities.
In June 2008, Palo Alto adopted mandatory green-building requirements for residential and commercial development -- one of the most stringent green building ordinances in the nation.
New buildings and remodels in Palo Alto must meet standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council or the Build It Green organization. Expect some public pushback since the green requirements can add from $2,000 to $10,000 to the cost of a home and 2 percent to 5 percent to the cost of a commercial project, according to a city report.
Palo Alto also has
* A climate protection plan addressing CO2 emissions and water
* A program for less-toxic pest control
* Proposed stringent ordinances on construction and demolition debris, a major source of landfill material, waste, and toxics.
* The "greenest" congressional office. Anna Eshoo, a high-powered Congressperson, recently unveiled the very first congressional office in the nation to go maximum green. Eshoo's office has installed a 1.6 kilowatts photovoltaic system and 100 percent of the electricity used by the office is obtained from renewable sources. The office has made profound green modifications to its' lighting, water, heating, cooling, materials, waste stream and the transit habits of its' employees.
Berkeley, CA
Late last year, Berkeley's city council approved a plan to offer city-backed loans to building owners who install PV systems. The loans, up to $20,000 each, would be paid off as part of the owners' property-tax bills. This type of program could eliminate the biggest obstacle to solar deployments – the large upfront cost.
If this program succeeds, it could be expanded to finance other energy-efficiency efforts such as installing double-glazed windows or thermal insulation.
Greensburg, Kan.
How about tiny Greensburg, Kan.? After being decimated by an F-5 tornado that leveled the city and left few homes standing, the survivors launched a plan to resurrect their town as the greenest city in America. All public buildings are to conform to LEED platinum standards.
Now, two years after the disaster, Greensburg's new homes are almost 50 percent more energy-efficient due to energy-saving windows, improved insulation, efficient heating, etc.
The people of Greensburg are pioneering the greening of a municipality, in one of the reddest states, no less.
Gainesville, Fla. is the first U.S. city with Feed-in-Tariffs.
In the first such program in the country, The Gainesville City Commission has approved a solar feed-in tariff for residential and business customers served by the Gainesville Regional Utilities in Florida. Wrote Ucilia Wang:
Under the program, owners of solar energy systems would sell the electricity to the utilities at $0.32 per kilowatt-hour under a 20-year contract. The rate, which is higher than the price for conventional power, will remain for the first two years of the program. ... The program is modeled after the successful one in Germany, which has become the largest solar market in the world."
Other cities with claims on "the greenest" include:
Gainesville, Fla
Austin, Texas: Austin Energy, the city's municipally owned utility, plans to grow the renewables' portion of Austin's energy portfolio to 30 percent by 2020 and to build solar power's share to 100MW by 2020.
Boulder, Colo.: The city has resolved to become a zero-waste community.
Burlington, Vt.: More than one-third of energy used in the city comes from renewable resources, an impressive figure for the frosty Northeast.
Madison, Wis.: A bike-friendly city with an extensive recycling program that claims more than 90 percent participation.
New York City: High-density populations like NYC use fewer resources per capita. New Yorkers use of public transport dwarfs that of any other city.
Portland, Ore.: Portland is bike friendly, has set an urban growth limit to protect 25 million acres of open space, and recycles more than half of the city's trash.
San Francisco, CA: More than half the city's residents use public or alternative transportation to get to work.
The Charlotte Observer
Queen City: a green city?
Charlotte will become a national leader in environmental initiatives to preserve our natural resources while balancing growth with sound fiscal policy.
– Mission statement of Charlotte's Environment Focus Area Plan
When we think of a “green city,” Charlotte's not on many folks' radar screen. However, I believe that's quickly changing. I've experienced a grounds well of interest in our community that gives me hope that our city will fulfill its mission statement above.
I've recently returned from Portland, Ore., and the Green Cities Conference. I evaluated the best practices of Portland, a city similar in population to Charlotte, and came away with new perspectives and ideas about our area.
We planned, it worked:
Portland boasts a simple motto: “We planned, it worked!” Its long-range strategy to deal with growth began with a belief that it should “grow up, not out.”
This included a multi-modal transportation system of cars, buses, light rail, streetcars, commuter rail, bicycles, even an aerial tram. Seeing all this gave me confidence in our planning and the direction we're going. Are we done? No. Are we making progress? Yes. Proof is found in the successful launch of our light rail line, the massive increase in that corridor's tax base and a good dilemma we now face: increased citizen demand for mass transit projects in other corridors that need facelifts (examples: Eastland Mall area, North Tryon Street, Beatties Ford Road).
Those who critique Charlotte's efforts need to realize Portland's planning began almost 40 years ago. The struggle we face today is how to maintain our services, balance the need for better roads and expand our transportation network in a struggling economy. We need to exercise patience moving forward.
The original green job: Markets
Having trouble figuring out exactly what a “green job” is? I've yet to hear a definitive definition. However, I witnessed what I feel is the original “green job”: a farmer's market.
With a $17.1 million regional economic impact, Portland Farmer's Market got my attention. This nonprofit gets no funding from the city or county. More than 250 vendors, including farms, nurseries, bakeries, specialty foods, flowers, seafood, cheese and meat producers adorn a park near Portland State University in the heart of the city. Most of the dollars spent in these markets are recycled into the local economy. The success of their center city market spun off other markets, one serving a minority neighborhood. Previously known as a “food desert,” this depressed area lacked grocery stores because large grocers would not locate in such a high crime area.
Charlotte has a potpourri of good farmer's markets, but we need a collective strategy. City Council's environmental committee is studying the subject. County government has taken it on, too. Perhaps we'll someday see an iconic market at Johnson C. Smith University, Johnson & Wales or in the new First Ward park overlooking UNC Charlotte's new uptown building.
Energy Alley:
Charlotte is blessed with three deeply rooted industries that could hold the keys to its next great economic chapter: energy, NASCAR and banking. For some, our region is known as “NASCAR valley.” I'd like us also to be known as “energy alley.” Duke Energy has the resources to lead in solar, wind and nuclear technologies. Imagine if the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis and all the NASCAR engineers worked to develop alternative fuel innovations. Charlotte's got all the right ingredients and the financial infrastructure to support unlimited economic possibilities.
Greenpreneurs:
As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman predicts, the next economic revolution will be when internet technology (IT) meets energy technology (ET). I was pleased to see innovation and enthusiasm in abundance recently at the Charlotte Business Journal's Green Awards. As never before, I see a meaningful convergence of Birkenstocks meeting wingtips to innovate, improve and establish a foundation for an economic resurgence in our region.
Our city, county, the Charlotte Chamber and Charlotte Regional Partnership must continue their good efforts in attracting “greenpreneurs” to keep diversifying our economy.
Special thanks to Observer columnist Mary Newsom for her recent challenges to Charlotte to go green. It's the perfect lead-in for me to publicize a public town hall meeting on the environment on Thursday night. Our city is applying for $6.7 million in a federal energy efficiency block grant. The first part in the grant process is for Charlotte to write a community plan. We need the public's feedback on this subject.
Who knows, maybe you'll play a part in making the Queen City into the Green City.
Edwin Peacock III is a Republican at-large member of the Charlotte City Council who chairs its Environmental Committee. Reach him at edwin@edwinpeacock.com
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Sources: Green Tech Media, The Charlotte Observer, Charmeck.org, Wikipedia, Google Maps
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