Published on April 7th, 2009
Who knew you could even recycle Styrofoam? Sure, recycling the stuff is better than tossing it into a landfill. Every bit of this petroleum product that’s recycled is a bit less made from new materials. We shouldn’t see this as a green light to stock up on the packing peanuts, though, like Styrocyclers, the recycling company handling the Styrofoam at the Roswell event seems to advocate.
The Roswell Recycling Center and Styrocyclers will hold a one-day polystyrene, or Styrofoam, recycling event on Saturday, May 2 from 8am to 2pm. They’re only accepting polystyrene packaging. Egg cartons, plates, takeout containers, and cups can’t be recycled.
While researching about the event, I came across this little gem on the Styrocyclers website (emphasis mine):
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Published on April 6th, 2009
Strict restrictions on how MARTA spends its revenue mean the system can’t afford to pay for its operating costs.
[Waiting for the Train. Creative Commons photo by Wesley Fryer]
The General Assembly voted down Senate Bill 120, which would have allowed MARTA to tap into $65 million in capital reserve funds. Since the system receives absolutely no state funding, it relies heavily on sales tax revenue to stay afloat. It’s a state restriction that is tying up the much needed money: MARTA is required to spend 50% of its revenue on operating costs and 50% on capital expenses. The really infuriating part of this vote is that the bill failed for reasons that had nothing to do with Atlanta’s transit system.
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Published on April 1st, 2009
It’s been stormy here in Atlanta. We’ve had a wet winter and rainy early spring. In a drought-stricken region like this, you tend to hear variations on the same joke every time it rains: “Well, I guess that pesky drought is over!”
With all the rain this week, some folks have once again been saying we’re out of the drought. Only this time, it was no joke.
Georgia’s state climatologist, David Stooksbury, declared the drought over this week. All of the good rain we’ve had lately has apparently pulled North Georgia out of its water shortage with the exception of Lake Lanier and Lake Hartwell basins. So as long as you don’t count the two lakes where we get a large part of the region’s water, the drought is over!
Wait, what?
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Published on March 19th, 2009
I have to admit that I’m a little embarrased. Yesterday, I gushed about Atlanta’s great green future, and then today, The Atlanta Jounral Constitution published this:
Without new revenue sources from the state or region…MARTA will be forced to dramatically reduce service levels, eliminating bus routes, cutting rail service (either certain days or times, or entire lines altogether), and potentially seriously impacting the overall economic well-being of this region and state.
This is from a memo that MARTA sent to state lawmakers. Atlanta’s transit system has been dealing with a $60 million budget shortfall since December. That, combined with a dramatic decrease in predicted sales tax revenue for the coming year have put the system into crisis. For a transit system funded entirely by sales tax revenue, it’s not surprising that MARTA is having trouble making ends meet. MARTA is one of the few, if not the only, transit systems in the nation that does not receive a penny of state funding.
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Published on March 18th, 2009
Yesterday, the City of Atlanta announced its municipal carbon footprint and plans to reduce that impact by 7% over the next three years.
[Creative Commons photo by Steve Hardy]
That might not sound like a huge reduction, and I know that 7% (or 37,800 metric tons of greenhouse gases) isn’t going to save the world, but it’s a good first step! It’s the equivalent of 179 rail cars’ worth of coal or protecting 239 acres of from deforestation.
The City of Atlanta released a Sustainability Report outlining where they’re at and where they plan to go in terms of lowering the city’s carbon footprint.
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Published on March 16th, 2009
Atlanta’s Brown Middle School teamed up with Trees Atlanta and Atlanta Audubon to launch a pilot environmental education partnership.
[Creative Commons photo by Jesse Budlong]
Together Green, the folks behind Pennies for the Planet are at it again! They’ve issued a grant that’s allowing Trees Atlanta to work with local schools on plantings and education. The program kicked off on Thursday with a student-only tree planting at Brown Middle that’s focused on giving Atlanta’s West End neighborhood along the BeltLine bird-friendly, native trees and shrubs.
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Published on March 3rd, 2009
Sopo Bicycle Co-op’s annual fund raiser, bicycle scavenger hunt, and dance party is coming up this weekend in Atlanta!
At least year’s event, 150 cyclists raised over $2000 for the local nonprofit.
Located right in the heart of East Atlanta, Sopo Bicycle Co-op is an amazing resource for local cyclists. The shop provides tools, education and free bicycle maintenance to anyone who pops in with a ride. You can even build your own bike there! Frames and various parts are available on a suggested donation basis, and their knowledgeable volunteers are always around to help out during shop hours.
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Published on February 19th, 2009
When you’re looking to green your lifestyle, it helps to learn from the experiences of others rather than trying to reinvent the wheel yourself. That’s why, from time to time, I like to highlight the stories of various “eco-heroes” across the country.
In my last feature — “Going Green? Learn from these Pros” — some of the stars were folks like Mike Turner, who retrofitted an old Honda Civic for a super imrovement in mileage, and Elizabeth Rogers, creator of a new Website (Shift Your Habit) that demonstrates the money-saving power of eco-friendly habits. This time, I’ve got some new green success stories to share:
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Published on February 10th, 2009
[Creative Commons photo by Anne Norman]
The weather in Atlanta felt like Spring this weekend, which got me thinking about our Spring garden and, of course, our compost bin. Composting is a fabulous, cheap source of fertile soil. On top of that, keeping a compost bin prevents your food scraps from heading to the landfill where they break down and produce methane, a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2.
While some communities offer curbside composting, most do not. Luckily, it’s really easy to get your own bin going! Whether you’re living in a house or an apartment, there are great composting solutions out there. Here’s a roundup of some options, so you can have your compost ready in time to get that Spring garden going!
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Published on February 9th, 2009
In the wake of MARTA announcing a 60 million dollar budget shortfall, Atlanta got hit with more bad news for anyone hoping to ditch their cars. AMTRAK and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) are putting the proposed system of light rail, trails, and planned development into jeopardy.
[Creative Commons photo by Brett Weinstein]
What is the BeltLine?
The Atlanta BeltLine is a solution. While Atlanta does have a rail and bus system now, MARTA, the rail portion is pretty limited and the buses are a bit unreliable. The BeltLine was going to change the face of Atlanta’s transit system, connecting neighborhoods and making alternative transportation a viable option for more folks in the Atlanta area. They describe the BeltLine:
Our vision is that the BeltLine will be a continuous, connected corridor of parks, trails, greenspace, quality development and transit - completely unique to anything in any other U.S. city. It will connect in-town neighborhoods and promising business centers throughout the city and will link directly into MARTA rail and other public transit systems. Ultimately, the BeltLine is how Atlanta chooses to develop over the next 50 years.
Why would anyone want to stop a project like this?
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