In June 2009, The City's Environmental Action Committee (EAC) teamed up with a group of volunteers to create the EAC Watershed Luncheon Series. Once a month for twelve months a speaker talks about a different sector of the watershed and addresses the economic and environmental impacts of each.

Topics have ranged from the basic "What is a Watershed?" to "Geologic Morphology of the Ozarks" to "How to Build a Rain Garden." And now you can see all of them to date online. Scroll down to "Watershed Awareness Luncheons" and click on that link. You can currently choose from six lunches.

This series is such an incredible resource and considering the policy decisions coming before us in 2010 (Streamside Protection Ordinance, Low Impact Development, and Stormwater Utility) these are very timely as well.

And as a nice sidebar the lunches are all organic and zero waste is created during the event.

I2009 City of Fayetteville Sustainability Final Report.pdf

At the beginning of 2009 I worked with a small group of City staff to collect and develop measurable goals for each of the City departments. Throughout the year the City's Sustainability Team would meet and report out on progress being made in the various divisions affected, and at the end of the year we collected the results of each effort.

This report contains information on all of the City department efforts. From Fleet's elimination of aerosol products to Engineering's stormwater protection efforts the City of Fayetteville continues to improve in its conservation of natural resources and become more efficient in its operations with the ultimate goal of reducing its environmental footprint.

Enjoy! It reads like a novel. No really....

Most of us have heard about the energy efficiency of LED lights, but it turns out LEDs also have less of an environmental footprint than competing technologies according to a recent study by Pitt University.

Researchers looked at the overall life cycle assessment by analyzing natural resources consumed by the physical manufacturing and ultimately the use of LEDs versus its competitors. LEDs actually require more energy during the manufacturing process, but they use less natural resources to make. Combine that with their energy efficiency and longer life and LEDs win in the end.

This is good news for Fayetteville as well because we are going to use $150,000 in Energy Block Grant funding over the next year to begin the switch to LEDs.

Already we have contracted with local electric company, King Electric, to install LEDs in the Scull Creek Tunnels. We're currently testing LEDs for the stretch of Scull Creek from Maple to North with a bid opening scheduled for February 25th. And the Block Avenue reconstruction project will feature LED street lamps as well.

Thanks to Leif Olson, City Planner, for passing this article along.

Karen McSpadden (Winrock International) sent me this interesting study on the link between home values and "walkability" of a neighborhood. Essentially, homes located in more walkable neighborhoods--those with a mix of common daily shopping and social destinations within a short distance--command a price premium over otherwise similar homes in less walkable areas.

We have a number of quality examples here in Fayetteville. The Wilson Park and Washington-Willow neighborhoods come to mind. Cost per square foot in those areas are much higher because of their access to green space, restaurants, grocery stores, the trail system, and the University campus.

Now how nice would it be if all neighborhoods were built with this in mind?

When I was in Austin I read The Onion all the time. It's a great satirical newspaper targeting students on relevant issues of the day. Kind of like The Daily Show in print except for it's been around much longer than The Daily Show.

Anywho, Nick Brown, the University's sustainability guy sent this article over the other day and hearkened me back to yesteryear. Enjoy.

Congrats to the Beaver Water District who recently received LEED-Gold on their new headquarters building. Why I have not made the time to visit this place is beyond me. It's now on my "to do" list.

Beaver Water District Receives LEED® Gold

                (Lowell, AR) -- The Beaver Water District announced today that its new Administration Center, located at 301 N. Primrose Road in Lowell, has been awarded LEED® Gold established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.

Beaver Water District achieved LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water, and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. By using less energy and water, LEED certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.     

                "We are extremely pleased with the outcome of our efforts to build in a responsible manner that is sensitive to the environment and our use of natural resources," said David Short of Bentonville, President of the District's Board of Directors. "The team that worked on this project did an outstanding job and the District and our customers in Northwest Arkansas will reap the benefits of this effort for years to come."

The District built the new center to increase office space and provide public access without compromising treatment plant security, according to Alan D. Fortenberry P.E., CEO of the District.

                "Our design focused on maximum energy savings with an eye to the future. The challenge was to build the center using resources to their greatest benefit while keeping waste to a bare minimum," Fortenberry said.

                To tackle this goal, a series of meetings -- referred to as design charrettes -- were held. These meetings involved District staff, members of the architectural design team led by McGoodwin Williams & Yates of Fayetteville, and LEED consultants Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock.

                Functionality is a key component of every aspect of the Administration Center, from the infiltration basins, which help clean and filter stormwater runoff from parking lots, to the reuse of waste process water in the water feature, which resembles a rippling creek that might be found in nature in the Ozarks. The water feature creates an attractive setting for the front entry to the center. 

                The Administration Center is situated on a 10-acre site with only a 14,000-square-foot building footprint, which maximizes open space. The "cool" roof reflects light and controls heat. At night, the site lighting chosen for the facility reduces light pollution.

                Long north/south walls take advantage of daylight, which results in lower lighting costs for the building. Motion sensors also are employed throughout the building in lighting controls. Water efficient landscape design incorporates native plantings that are more likely to thrive in this climate in both wet and dry conditions. Native plants also are good at "uptake" when it comes to pollutants. Geothermal heating and cooling uses 37, 300-foot deep wells on site to provide efficient heating and cooling that also results in low energy use.

                In every instance that was feasible, regional materials manufactured within a 500-mile radius were used in the building's construction, thus reducing fuel consumption for freight. Many of the components of the center -- from toilet partitions, cabinets and countertops, to concrete, carpet, and fabrics -- contain recycled content. Pervious pavement allows rain water and runoff to seep back into the ground. The District anticipates a savings of 150,000 gallons per year for drip irrigation with use of recycle water. In addition, a 50% reduction of potable water use is anticipated with low flush toilets, automatic faucets, and waterless urinals.

                "Buildings are a prime example of how human systems integrate with natural systems," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC. "The Beaver Water District's project efficiently uses our natural resources and makes an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will tremendously benefit future generations to come."

Beaver Water District supplies drinking water to more than 250,000 people and industries in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and surrounding areas. These cities then resell the water to surrounding towns and communities. The District's mission is to serve our customers in the Benton and Washington County area by providing high quality drinking water that meets or exceeds all federal and state regulatory requirements in such quantities as meets their demands and is economically priced consistent with our quality standards. For more information, visit www.bwdh2o.org.

 

The Fayetteville Public Library is set to begin its four-part Green Your Life Series this Saturday from 10 a.m. to Noon in the Walker Room. This first session will focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy in the home or work place.

Mikel Lolley from Treadwell Institute and Gary Kahanak from Home Energy Consultants will talk about the many aspects of energy conservation and energy efficiency. Stitt Energy Systems and the Rocky Grove Sun Company will present on the state of renewable energy.

It's FREE and open to the public. It's also a great way to learn how to save some $$$ and reduce your footprint on the planet.

See you there!

Interesting article from Grist today on how the cities of Boulder and Denver along with the state of Colorado are preparing for and creating great demand for electric vehicles. Martinis and test drives sound like a bad combination though :)

Interesting article in the latest edition of Governing Magazine (Yes, I said interesting...Well, maybe I am a policy geek. I said maybe.). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, an article talking about all of the fighting over emissions targets, cap & trade, etc at the national level while companies and local entities are getting after the business of reducing carbon.

The article cites a University of Delaware professor that says "A majority of states and countless cities and towns have taken steps to confront the problem of global warming." It even references the contrast between the US Chamber of Commerce which is adamantly opposed to Cap & Trade and local chambers who are doing something about it. See my earlier entry on the Fayetteville Chamber's GreeNWAy program.