At next week’s Tuesday Board Meeting, the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education will vote to approve a plan (see Action Item B) to sell its kitchen cooking oil to Clean Energy Biofuel for 25 cents a gallon. A quick look at the company’s website shows that Leon’s Full Service and many other well known Atlanta businesses and restaurants are already Clean Energy clients.  Decatur High looks to be the first school on the list of clients.

As the summary below notes, this new agreement not only saves CSD money, it also supports a growing sector of the alternative energy industry.

Considering our economic climate it pays to be forward thinking. Currently, the used kitchen oil that our school produces is being taken away and disposed of by Griffin Oil at a charge. Clean Energy Biofuel, LLC is offering to pay CSD for our oil and recycle it. In addition, we would be supporting an environmentally and economically friendly fuel industry.

CEB (Clean Energy Biofuel) is all about biofuel. They collect, produce and distribute biodiesel. CEB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, which is a regional non-profit organization focused on environment and energy policy. CEB has operations in Atlanta and Knoxville, TN. They are eager to expand their operations by incorporating DHS.

CEB is offering to provide DHS with an oil storage container and make pickups on request. They also pay for the oil they collect by the gallon. CEB already collects from many businesses across Decatur and Atlanta. The used kitchen oil, once collected, is transported to their plant in Knoxville, TN where it is converted to biodiesel to ASTM specifications. The biodiesel is sold to fleets via wholesale distribution and to passenger cars via retail kiosks.

Diane sends along this note from Emory’s Sustainability Initiative about a recycling event in the Decatur First Baptist Church parking lot this Saturday where you can recycle darn near everything!  Hence, “Your Life”.

On Saturday, February 13, 2010 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Decatur parking lot, you can recycle your unwanted junk.  Drop off your electronics, paper documents, batteries, clothing, furniture, toys and much more, and feel good about going GREEN!  For the church address and a full list of accepted items please see below.

To download the flyer and share click here http://www.southeastgreen.com/pdf/recycle_your_life.pdf.

A complete list of accepted items after the jump.

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Renewal Design Build announced yesterday that it had received a regional Whole House award from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry for its “green” renovation of 601 Third Avenue in Oakhurst.

During its construction in 2007-2008, the Third Avenue renovation was a media darling, from its feature on Discovery’s Planet Green, which helped fund some of the renovation, to its inevitable AJC spread.  The only other Decatur residence with such extensive media exposure in recent years is another eco-friendly home, Wilton Avenue’s RainShine House.

Though at the time of 601’s completion I wondered how REALLY eco-friendly a house twice the size of the old could be, Renewal states that the remodel “doubl[ed] the home’s existing square footage while cutting its energy bills in half.”

Not too shabby.

Disclosure: Renewal is a Decatur Metro sponsor

From Agnes Scott’s Communication Office…

Trucks and service vehicles won’t be able to keep their engines humming while at Agnes Scott College—the college is the first educational institution in Georgia to prohibit idling on campus, according to The Clean Air Campaign, a not-for-profit organization that works with partners, Georgia employers, commuters and schools to encourage actions that result in reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality.

Trucks and service vehicles on campus will now be required to turn off their engines while making deliveries. “No Idle Zone” signs will be placed in the three areas where service and delivery vehicles frequently operate while on campus.Drivers will be expected to cut off their engine upon arrival and restart engines only after loading or unloading is complete and the vehicle is ready to depart. The new policy excludes safety and emergency vehicles, electric vehicles and trailer engines used solely to control freight temperatures.

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Emily sends along this email from Agnes Scott College’s Michelle Hall announcing the return of “a pioneer of the campus sustainability movement”, David Orr.

According to a press release sent along with the email, Orr’s visit “is the inaugural event for Agnes Scott’s Environmental and Sustainability Studies program created in 2009. In addition to his lecture to the wider community on January 26th, Orr “will teach an introductory environment and sustainability studies class and have a roundtable discussion with faculty.”

After the jump, read Michelle’s full message, which includes the date and time of Orr’s lecture along with a brief bio.

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Trees Atlanta is helping the Lenox Place neighborhood plant 30 trees in a “neglected green space” near the intersection of Hibernia and Adair on Saturday, January 16th, but they need a few more thumbs (green or otherwise) to help get those babies in the ground.

Diane writes in…

What greater satisfaction can a nature-loving person have than planting a tree? For decades to come, you will be able to watch the tree grow and spread its limbs, a living testament to our connection with nature.

Our neighborhood, Lenox Place, has been developing a neglected green space, and we have a rare opportunity to plant a number of trees on January 16, which is the Saturday of the weekend of MLK Day. On that Saturday, Trees Atlanta is going to help us plant 30 trees in and around the neighborhood, especially in the area we call Corley Commons. This is a green space near the intersection of Hibernia and Adair. Not only are we getting the trees at a deep discount, but the city is paying for half of the cost of the trees.

But WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS. This is an opportunity to get some exercise, contribute to the neighborhood and have a lifelong testament to a day’s work. This is a great family project — children will be able to help us dig and spread compost.

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Margaret’s pics of grackles on the Recreation Center lawn were just too good not to give their own post.

Just beyond the left side of this image, I bet Dan Magee is running into the building, covered in grackles.

One more pic after the jump. Click the pics to enlarge and take in the full scope of the grack-attack. Read the rest of this entry »

(aka what I’m terming a “Grack Attack”)

Gike writes in…

There are 100’s of birds going crazy around our house on Garden Lane. What’s the deal? Anyone know what these birds are and what they are up to? Maybe they are just trying to stay warm.

Aren’t they generally grackles?

But hey, I’m not one to identify or explain the behavioral patterns of our feathered friends, however maybe Bruce at “Birding Decatur, Ga” could enlighten us!

Andisheh sends us a photo of this year’s post-Christmas Agnes Scott pine tree gathering.

But where he sees a place where “Christmas trees in Decatur go to die”, I see a lively Christmas tree pig pile. (Someone must have left a bottle of water in the parking lot.)

And speaking of dispensing of your tree, Cate writes in…

Please Decaturites, don’t leave your be-tinseled tree on the curb for the trash guys to pick up. All sorts of small animals love to chew on tinsel and can get seriously ill.

Looking back on it, few should be surprised that preservation efforts, both historic and environmental, were so aggressive prior to 2008.  The construction industry, which single-handedly does more to alter the natural and urban landscape than any other entity, was building at an artificially fast pace, boosted by demand that really wasn’t there.

So it should also be no surprise that in a post-boom era, conservation groups are making up for lost time, buying up land for a fraction of the price it once demanded.

From the New York Times…

The victories [for conservation groups] reveal a green lining of sorts in a credit crisis that has depressed real estate prices, spawned foreclosures and derailed development projects across the nation.

The purchases by conservationists and state and local governments assure that thousands of acres will be put aside in perpetuity for parks, watershed protection or simply preservation of open space.

“We are getting a second bite at properties that never should have been developed in the first place,” said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit group that buys land for preservation. “We are working on dozens of these deals across the country, and I know other land trusts are as well.”