Strategic Plan To-Do List: Sustainability of All Kinds
Decatur Metro | February 28, 2011 | 4:49 pmDid someone say “electric car charging stations”? Onto goal 12 of the 2010 Decatur Strategic Plan…
Goal 12: Foster environmental, social, and economic sustainability in all aspects of city life and government practice
Task 12A: Develop a citywide sustainability plan with the assistance of the environmental sustainability board to address issues such as the creation of a climate action plan, initiatives such as an ordinance to limit motor vehicle idling, and roof color standards to reduce the heat island effect.
Task 12B: Encourage the construction of sustainable buildings in commercial districts.
Task 12C: Support the expansion of urban gardening opportunities.
Urban gardening benefits the community by promoting physical activity, bringing neighbors together, improving food quality, and keeping dollars local. In addition, it begins to change society’s relationship to food in a positive, sustainable way. Efforts to expand urban gardening could include increased community garden sites, creation of a neighborhood tool bank,
information sharing, removing regulatory barriers, material support, or expanded farmer’s markets.
Task 12D: When building public facilities, design them to achieve LEED or equivalent certification and to assure quality construction that will serve the community for 50 years.
Task 12E: Conduct energy conservation audits of city facilities.
Task 12F: Update and create a unified land development ordinance that requires sustainable practices.
Task 12G: Expand the use of more sustainable lighting options on streets and within city parks and public areas.
Task 12H: Support the installation of pay-to-charge electric car charging stations in public or semi-public places.
Task 12I: Purchase additional alternative fuel vehicles for city use.
Task 12J: Support efforts to convert traffic signals to low-energy LEDs and implement a pilot program for LED street lights.
Photo courtesy of Streetsblog
Maybe rooftop gardens and a solar collective?
Maybe focus on fast-charging for car sharing first?
I doubt we really need a Decatur Climate Action Plan.
We’re all sheep, right? Except you, right? Brilliant.
“Nanny State” BAAAAAH!
Interesting that the ‘Nanny State’ comment comes up in this discussion. Yet, no one has used that phrase on the lengthy HOPE/PreK discussions.
State funded PreK is a state funded program that supervises children for x hours per day, correct? And a nanny is a person who supervises children for x hours per day. Ergo, PreK is literally a form of a Nanny State, as the State is performing the duty of a Nanny (and no, I’m not saying that teachers are babysitters, that’s not the point here).
I wonder why ‘Nanny State’ accusations typically only come up when we see the government potentially interfering in our business life (regulations, etc.) and not when we discuss the government’s interactions with our kids? Just a thought…
Sorry Robbie. I wasn’t saying “nanny state” in relation to the Strategic Plan posted above. I was reiterating it because Left Wing seems to think that just because a movement has an overused catch-phrase (he dislikes the word “sustainable”), it’s laughable. I was simply attempting to demonstrate that all thoughts and creeds have these sorts of catch-phrases, and that no group is immune.
Gotcha DM. Sometimes the jokes on here are too ‘inside baseball’ for even a daily reader.
Understood. It’s even worse when two people know each other offline and exchange inside jokes that I don’t even get.
Your correlation between Nanny State and PreK is way off: PreK, as people have stated before, is not about babysitting–ergo, no nannying–it’s about getting 4 year olds ready for kindergarten. Your saying that that is not the point shows the misdirection, baaaaaahhhh.
Reagan and Jesus–the ultimate shepherds.
Not way off at all. While PreK is a great prep program the posts on DM show it is also clearly being utilized for free childcare. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Several people have posted that the reduced hours of PreK are going to impact their wallets because it will increase their cost of childcare. In addition, several other folks have commented that the reduced hours won’t likely have an impact on the kids education, as a 4 year old can only handle so much in a day. So, if those posts are correct, we’ve been running a state-funded PreK program with roughly a 2-hour surplus. And that surplus time could easily be called babysitting.
(Note: I am pro PreK, so long as it is sustainable and LEED certified.)
Reagan & Jesus – say what??
Is that a picture of a hybrid charging up on coal-fired generator electricity?
Must be that clean coal kind that the sustainability/green-minded coal industry is touting.
I’m so green, I recycle my comments!
“Electric cars produce no emissions, but the electricity they are charged with is made mostly from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas that do. Still, electric cars produce two-thirds fewer greenhouse gas emissions, on average, than a similarly sized car that runs on gasoline, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.”
On average… across the nation? Isn’t our state average less rosy?
http://www.eia.doe.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=GA
Yes but isn’t greenhouse gas but one of the emissions of burning coal?
Isn’t the presence of mercury in surface water directly caused by burning coal?
Indeed. I agree that it’s a lot more complicated an issue than we usually give it credit for. That’s why I try not to hang any of my die-hard beliefs on modern day “environmentalism”.
We, all of us, tend to believe the good news and ignore the rest of the story. That’s why I get squeamish when I read statistics supported by “Defense Councils” and what have you. Another example is ethanol in gasoline. It’s food that we grow and add to fuel for our car. It may actually require more oil to do it this way, but it sure is good for midwest farmers. Ever wonder why gas mileage is down in your car or why the lawn mower doesn’t run as well as it used to? Ethanol.
Another example is fluorescent lamps which contain mercury vapor. What happens to the lamp when it flickers out? Anybody’s guess because we don’t have a plan to deal with the by-product. Same with nuclear energy. Clean! But where does the waste go? Across the river from Augusta. Reid won’t allow that stuff in Nevada.
Waterless urinals. Save water but the core goes in the landfill. On and on. I’m not saying don’t use new “green” products. Just saying consider the entire life cycle before selling it and educate people about the ugly side too.