Tracking sustainability news and events in Savannah, Georgia (and beyond)
Category
Business
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08.30.08Put your money where your home is this weekendIf you're out running errands this weekend, think about where you're spending money and how it impacts your community. A group of Savannah College of Art and Design historic preservation students have been contemplating that very idea and it's led them to launch Savannah's Shop Local Challenge this weekend. The challenge's goal is "to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance" of local businesses to the "health and vitality" of the local community. The Shop Local Challenge has received coverage from the Savannah Morning News and WSAV-TV. How exactly does supporting local businesses help the community? The challenge Web site ...
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08.19.08Sustainability IndexMy new favorite sustainability blog -SusHI (Sustainability in Hawai'i) recently posted on 7th Generation's Sustainability Index. I've posted a partial index below and you can read the whole thing here. The index narrows in on a few major areas -energy, pollution, recycling- and is far from a complete picture, but it does highlight some trends while making a pretty good case for greater investment in clean tech and associated green industries. When I see stats like these, I am reminded (again) that beyond idealistic notions of doing the right thing, there is real social benefit and economic sense behind moving ...
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08.09.08Savannah Morning News launches “Green Living” Web pageThe Savannah Morning News Web site now has a green corner. Called, "Green Living," the new area of the newspaper's site corrals stories with environmental angles, provides links to local Web sites (Sustainable Savannah is oddly absent from these) and features a blog by Mary Landers, the paper's environment reporter. As far as I can tell, Green Living went live within the last 24 hours.
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07.17.08MegaSite RevisitedThere's lots in the paper today (really, I'm not joking -recycling, dead marsh grass on Wilmington, $200 million Effingham industrial site dead . . . and that's just the front page!). My colleague, Tommy Linstroth, has an editorial that suggests a new vision for the Pooler mega site. The plan for the mega site (1,500 acres) has been to find a silver bullet type of job creating large manufacturer, such as a car company. Well, that hasn't happened and Linstroth argues that maybe it's time we rethink the plan and proposes a model "New American City." Read the article HERE. Highlights 600 ...
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07.09.08ImaginationLast night, creative city making champion Charles Landry spoke to a packed house. I had the pleasure of being in the audience along with most of the usual suspects (govt., real estate development, business, downtownies, a few artists & SCAD folk) . . . you were probably there too. He was worth standing up for, even if my feet are paying the price today. For those of you who couldn't make it, I'll briefly summarize. Landry defines creative cities as those in which ordinary people (along with their local bureaucracies) solve problems (or rather, create opportunities) in imaginative ...
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07.07.08Wal-Mart: Your Friendly Neighborhood Local Food PurveyorAfter a week of local food love in Savannah (Wed: Trustees, Sat: Starland, Sun: Grn. Tomato), I was interested to read an article this morning about Wal-Mart sourcing more produce from local farms across the US. From the GreenBiz article . . . During the last two years, partnerships between local farms and the world's largest retailer have jumped 50 percent, and the company anticipates it will source about $400 million in local produce this year, making it the country's largest buyer of produce that is grown and sold within a state's borders. Who cares if it's all about saving ...
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06.16.08It Doesn’t Always Have to be the WestIt's summer and I've had air conditioning on the brain -price to run it, high; emissions from it, high; temp in the grocery stores these days, way too low; etc. I was working on minimizing my home usage without melting away when I came across this announcement from my alma mater. The University of California, Davis' Western Cooling Efficiency Center and its partners (including Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Sempra Energy, Southern California Edison, Target Corporation, Wal-Mart, the California Energy Commission, and the U.S. Department of Energy, among others) announced the Western Cooling Challenge for the ...
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06.09.08Erik Writes, I Get SchooledErik Blachford, CEO of TerraPass, saw my post on carbon offsets and wrote to ask if he could help us better understand the wonderful world of carbon offsets –Of Course!, I replied. Talking to him helped me realize how complex the carbon finance world is AND got me motivated to learn more. The following is my list of highlights . . . A carbon offset is a financial instrument that represents a reduction or removal of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases (methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs, PFCs). Countries, companies or individuals can purchase offsets ...
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05.29.08Local brew pub offers a better way to-goGene Beeco of Moon River Brewing Company reports the restaurant and brewery is now pouring into "corn plastic" to-go cups he describes as 100 percent compostable. He said, "We hope that other area restaurants will join us in our efforts, and I believe that in the future recyclable materials may become the law." Beeco said Moon River runs through more than 52,000 cups each year. A Plenty magazine story from earlier this month suggests that the "greening" of the restaurant industry is a growing trend that extends to national chains. In turn, the movement toward more environmentally-friendly cups, napkins, utensils and ...
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05.20.08Restaurants Latest to “Go Green”The slogan of Ted Turner's chain of 50+ casual dining restaurants, Ted's Montana Grill, is "Eat Great. Do Good." Ted’s Montana Grill is now a 99% plastic-free establishment (what about that remaining 1%?) that recycles and features water and energy efficient fixtures. I know, I know, this is nothing new. Many restaurants across the country have long been green -promoters of local foodways and farmers, organics, slow food, etc. What makes this newsworthy is that Ted is a celebrity empire-maker and his inexpensive, All-American restaurants have mass appeal. Plus, Turner’s foundation has deep pockets. Pockets that are helping to fund the ...
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About
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.
