Tracking sustainability news and events in Savannah, Georgia (and beyond)
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The Archives
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02.02.09Fred Kent Lecture -Feb. 5thFred Kent, president of Project for Public Spaces, is giving a lecture at the Coastal Georgia Center this week. In November 2008, PPS and the MPC conducted a survey asking the public their opinions regarding our community. Hear survey results and engage in a discussion w/ Mr. Kent & a panel of local community leaders about planning for Savannah's future. Thursday February 5, 2009 Coastal Georgia Center: 305 Fahm Street (651-2005) Reception: 6 p.m. Lecture: 7 p.m.
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01.29.09Another Opportunity to Rethink The Big Box ModelMartin Melaver of local sustainable development company Melaver, Inc., has an interesting post on the Chelsea Green about balancing business, sustainability and placemaking. An excerpt: "My hope is that the specific story of Circuit City will serve as something of a morality tale, one that will teach us to rewire the way we think of our communities, the ways in which we attend more to local businesses that need our support, the ways in which we address growth as something more long-term and more deliberate. Perhaps this specific bankruptcy will teach us to re-wire our own circuitry as communities where lasting ...
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01.12.09Yard Clipping CollectionFrom today's Savannah Morning News . . . Along with the start of curbside recycling, Savannah also initiated its yard clipping collection last week. By state law, yard waste cannot be commingled with household waste in a landfill. Separating it allows the city to compost yard waste. Yard waste is collected on the day after recycling and household garbage collection. It can be placed in a container of up to 32 gallons in volume, stacked in neat bundles of no more than 4 feet in length, 12 inches in diameter, and 40 pounds, or placed in yard bags. A city survey indicated the bags ...
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12.23.08GiveRegardless of your religious affiliation or lack thereof, it is difficult not to get wrapped up (pun intended) in this season of giving. Lousy economy be damned - Giving is Good. Since giving green is even better, I offer a short list of sustainable gift giving ideas . . . Give Dough. Once considered an impersonal gift, cold hard cash is making a big comeback in the year of worthless derivatives, tanking stock value and the latest, greatest ponzi scheme. Money is also relatively more environmentally friendly than the typical gift (no packaging required! fewer trips to the store! reuse potential ...
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12.09.08Energy Assistance or Community Opportunity?An article in today's SMN got my attention. It was about the increasing numbers of local residents seeking assistance with their energy bills. Energy assistance funds trickle down from the federal government to the state's Energy Assistance Program. Funds are then allocated to local agencies based on a formula that includes county poverty levels and weather zones (the poorer and colder a county is, the greater the allocation). The local agency that allocates funds is the Economic Opportunity Authority for Savannah-Chatham County, Inc. (EOA). The EOA has people who need energy assistance go and wait in a room for their number to ...
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12.03.08Business as Usual in GAHo-hum, Saxby. It is ironic that the same people who voted for "Balance in Congress" also voted to keep an imbalanced GA Public Services Commission. Jim Powell would have been the only one of the five-member PSC to 1) have real life energy policy experience, 2) be genuinely interested in developing GA's clean energy sector and 3) be a Democrat. Instead, we get Bubba. There is a bright spot. Once again, Chatham County, our little coastal enclave of relative progressivity, bucked state-wide voting trends.
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11.24.08The Marina They Deserve?Last week, in a case involving a proposed coastal Georgia development, the GA Supreme Court voted (5-2) for a narrow interpretation of Georgia's 38 year old Coastal Marshlands Protection Act. The central legal issue before the Court was whether development on land adjacent to coastal marsh, rather than just in the marsh itself, is covered by the CMPA. You can read more background on the case and the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act HERE. Savannah Morning News coverage is HERE. Summer Teal Simpson's excellent piece of journalism about a related case is HERE. And if all that isn't enough, check out the Court's ...
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11.18.08Can Hardly WaitSo looking forward to the end of overflowing bins and boxes and bags of recycling next to the washing machine. Read all about it . . . Coming soon to your neighborhood . . .
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11.14.08Green Jobs NowJobs numbers came out yesterday. The news, unsurprisingly, is not good. From the Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics blog, Brian Blackstone writes, "According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims were their highest since September 2001. The four-week average - which smoothes out weekly volatility - was its highest since March 1991. And continuing claims lasting more than one week were their highest since January 1983. What do those three dates have in common? All came either during or right after the last three NBER recessions." Things around here aren't lookin' too bright either. According ...
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11.14.08Jim Powell Campaign EventWho: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Action Fund What: Jim Powell Fundraiser from 5:30 - 6:30pm ($50 donation) Jim Powell Campaign Event from 6:30 - 8pm (free and open to the public) When: Tuesday November 18th Where: Cha Bella, 102 E. Broad Street Why: Jim Powell understands how important energy efficiency and renewable energy are for Georgia’s future, and the Public Service Commission plays a vital role in determining the future of Georgia’s energy supply. Though Powell won on November 4, no candidate received 50% of the vote, which triggers a runoff election on December 2, 2008 against Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, a former Georgia Public ...
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Transportation, land use, local farming and green building are all potential topics for Sustainable Savannah. The goal is to aggregate content about local events and projects, so there will be a central place to review everything that’s happening. The site is aimed at encouraging collaboration and information sharing between groups and individuals currently engaged in sustainability efforts. The site can also provide a snapshot of Savannah for green-minded people who are considering visiting or moving to the area.
