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May 4, 2011
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Climate Change Fellows
In Texas, where everything is big, it goes without saying that the landfill is big. So it was great to see that a large landfill can be managed very well and be a model to landfills everywhere. Here are some ideas to include in your current or next landfill. This is an image rich post - continue... .
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May 4, 2011
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Climate Change Fellows
M Martinez - The Happy Snapper Sampling the Local Organic Produce Most of us do our ‘hunting and gathering’ at the local supermarket thus the choices we make at the supermarket have a significant impact on how our lives affect the sustainability of our community. Whole Foods Market are a successful global supermarket chain originating in Austin that are set apart by a purpose to make choices that are more local, more socially conscious and that reduce our footprint on this planet. There has been a lot of thought and time in developing a product that
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April 28, 2011
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Climate Change Fellows
Everything is green these days, even green tea. So how do you know you have a real green building, not just ‘green wash’? Austin tackled the problem in the mid 80’s with the development of the Austin Energy Star Program. By the mid 90’s Austin h ad a mandate for all municipal buildings to be green and the Green Building Prog ram developed a commercial building sustainability checklist. By the late 90’s the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program had emerged nationally with input from Austin’s green building program. Nowdays, all City building
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April 27, 2011
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N n n n n n n r bat man, or as the case was in Austin, Bat woman went in to bat for the rescue of a large colony of urban bats. In the 70's the City was debating how to rid the new bridge in Downtown Austin of a colony of bats that had decided the gaps between the concrete beams were the perfect size for bat sweet bat home and had moved in. The city elders were debating how to get rid of this threat to public health that was going to spread disease through the city.
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April 25, 2011
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Climate Change Fellows
There are various examples of car sharing programs around the world and Austin has had its own community scheme in the past but are we now at a cross roads where rising fuel costs combined with new technology including smartphones and GPS are making a new business model possible. Will this model be more successful than previous schemes? Daimler Benz thinks so and have entered the market place with CAR2GO . CAR2GO uses Smart for 2 cars. They have 15,000 members in Austin and 300 vehicles. Each car has an online GPS
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April 24, 2011
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Climate Change Fellows
Who would dispute that the energy that comes from the sun and falls freely on the earth every day, energy without pollution is energy from Heaven. But what of Australia and America’s major energy source that we dig from the ground? Coal fired power stations are responsible for the mercury in fish that makes some fish in 49 States and all freshwater fish in 19 States unsafe to eat. It is responsible for 1 in 11 women in the United States having mercury levels that will cause birth defects. It is responsible for
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April 19, 2011
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Climate Change Fellows
Car Art? Adding vibrancy, humour and life to the austerity of government, Austin’s art permeated every corner of the building. From artworks hanging in the foyer, iron sheep grazing the courtyard roof, bats growing like barnacles from a corner of a corridor to vultures devouring a typewriter, artwork makes this City different. How is this related to Climate Change? It makes the place cooler of course. Wayne Prangnell ganhaar@me.com 2011 Grazing Sheep on the Green Roof
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April 16, 2011
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Wayne at the National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington DC Showcasing the bright future of the United States being imagined and created by university students from across the country, the National Sustainable Design Expo gave an insight into the ideas that will help our society become more sustainable into the future. Themes that students were investigating with research projects included energy production, recycling and reusing materials, energy efficiency and water treatment. Some of the most popular ideas included designing water filtration devices and methods for developing countries and the use of algae for energy. Several projects
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April 16, 2011
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The valiant efforts of the Anacostia Watershed Society are seeking to turn around centuries of neglect of this river that flows through the centre of the nation’s capitol. Raw sewerage overflows from an antiquated system, untreated stormwater still flow into the river today, compounding the filling of wetlands with waste landfills and industrial development. Trash along the Anacostia returns after cleaning with every rain event Wayne Prangnell Rowing team training in the Anacostia The Anacostia Watershed Society are re-establishing wetlands along the edge of the river,
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April 14, 2011
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Link to Wayne's personal Blog Site with additional photo's How to make a great idea go further - Collaborate and multiply the benefits by repeating in other communities. Police Sergeant Jim Flynn from Bladensburg didn’t stop where most communities do when they implement a great new community project. Jim packaged up a 20kW solar panel installation project and with his passion to make a better world for his grand daughter, sold the idea to a neighbouring 9 towns to achieve ten fold benefit from the project. It took a bit more work on
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April 14, 2011
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We can’t work out a common name for integrating at source landscaping treatments to better manage stormwater in the urban environment - Low Impact Development in the US, Water Sensitive Urban Design in Australia and I can’t even remember what the Long Islander’s called it, but the example that the Annapolis Visitors Centre have produced for their carpark has some exquisite details. Granite cobbles providing a wheel stop for cars with spaces between the cobbles for infiltration into a garden bed. Plants are kept low here so cars can overhang. The disabled bays are an especially nice touch, paved
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April 14, 2011
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What are the features that make the first Leeds Platinum Building in the United States still a cutting edge efficient building after 10 years? These are some of the features that caught our eye on the recent tour with Robert Agee, past City Manager of Annapolis. Coming from the Margaret River Wine Region where there are plenty of barrels looking for a second life, an innovative use of barrels caught my eye. Barrel Fed Green Roof You cannot miss the green roof as you enter the building, helping treat and slow down rainwater discharge, provide
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April 14, 2011
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Annapolis, the first Historic District in the United States is a wonderful character town with a unique history to learn from. Thanks to Robert Agee, past City Manager for sharing his passion for the local history and significant events in United States history that occurred here. Historic District The establishment of the Historic District by the State of Maryland happened due to the foresight of local community members, despite the opposition of the City Council and commercial groups. The citizens called for a vote on the matter by petition and were successful, thus the Historic District was established
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April 14, 2011
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The day started with a visit to the first Leeds Platinum building in the US. They had to create a new category for it ten years ago when it was built! Rob Agee, past City Manager at Annapolis gave us a tour and an overview of the mission of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation . The primary objective of the Foundation which was established by community volunteers is to improve the water quality and to enhance the environmental and recreational qualities of one of the largest inlets in the United States. While much of the past industrial pollution from the past
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April 14, 2011
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Lauren Oakey, Program Manager at LGMA asks the Climate Change fellows about their expectations for the fellowship program. Lauren: What are your expectations on what you will learn and share with your host city Wayne: Austin, Texas is recognised as a leading US City for their sustainability programs so it we interesting to find out what their big issues are, how they are engaging with the community and developing programs and projects around these issues. They have a great Director leading their sustainability program so I am also keen to meet Lucia Athens and her
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April 11, 2011
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Monday marked the first day of the official program with ICMA with Lauren Clark meeting us at the hotel to assist us make our way to the ICMA Washington office, with a demonstration of emergency response in the Capitol given on the way after an unfortunate incident with a person person hit by the Metro train. We had an opportunity and meet and hear a brief overview of each delegates background, an introduction to the ICMA sustainability programs from Tad McGalliard, Director of Sustainability and an excellent introduction to the US Government from Ron Carlee, Chief Operating Officer.
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April 6, 2011
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The US Climate Change Fellowship Program commenced on the 12th April 2011 in Washington DC with an orientation week. Two weeks will be spent with the City of Austin, Texas - 18th April to 2nd May and we return to Washington DC for the final week and Fellows Congress where around 300 people from around the world participating in a wide range of programs will meet to share their experiences. Lauren Oakey, Program Manager at LGMA has asked me questions about my expectations for the fellowship program. Lauren: What are your expectations
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