EUA-Canadá

Las Historias Detalladas (Basados en visitas de campo y entrevistas extensas)

Las Historias Cápsulas

  • EUA – Alabama (Condado Hale) – El Estudio Rural – Estudiantes de arquitectura combinan sus estudios con el diseño y creación de vivienda ecológica para sus clientes de bajos ingresos.
  • EUA – California – Distrito de Conservación de Agua y Control de Inundaciones del Condado Napa – El condado Napa trabaja con el principio “ríos vivos” en su plan de control de inundaciones.
  • EUA – California (San Francisco) – El Proyecto Hortalizas – La agricultura organica practicada por prisioneros les devuelve su conexión con la tierra y mitiga la reincidencia.
  • EUA – California (Morgan Hill) – Accion Femenil para lograr Seguridad Económica – Cooperativas de mujeres generan salarios justos y empleos ambientalmente sanos.
  • EUA – California (Los Angeles) – Parque Natural Urbano – El Parque Natural Augustus F. Hawkins transformó un páramo urbano en un ecosistema natural que vincula a los residentes locales con la naturaleza y revitaliza a su comunidad.
  • EUA – Colorado (Boulder) – Namaste Solar Electric – Una empresa de celdas fotovoltaicas ofrece energía renovable y un modelo de negocios con conciencia social.
  • EUA – Hawai (Isla Grande) – Gestión Forestal Sustentable – El Servicio Forestal, Nature Conservancy y compañías privadas cooperan en una empresa forestal sustentable.
  • EUA – Hawai (Oahu) – La Iniciativa de Saunders Sustentable – Estudiantes universitarios lideran el esfuerzo para hacer más sustentable la Universidad de Hawai.
  • EUA – Kansas – Land Institute – Restauración de hábitats de llanura en peligro a través de la agricultura sustentable.
  • EUA – Louisiana – Estero Nacional Barataria-Terrebonne – Un programa de gestión cooperativa regional revierte la degradación ambiental en el estero más grande de EUA.
  • EUA – Minnesota – Restauración del Lago Rojo – Indígenas Norteamericanos restauran arroz silvestre y peces nativos (walleye) en su reserva.
  • EUA – New York (New York City) – Melrose Commons – Los residentes evitan ser evacuados con el aburguesamiento de su colonia con una alternativa de desarrollo urbano.
  • EUA – New York (New York City) – Protección de Cuenca – La protección de la cuenca es una alternativa rentable a una costosa planta de tratamiento para mejorar la decreciente calidad del agua en la región.
  • EUA – Oregon (Portland) – El Centro de Reconstrucción – Una empresa que recicla materiales de construcción prospera en un barrio previamente deprimido económicamente.
  • EUA – Texas (Austin) – PODER: El Pueblo Organizado en Defensa de la Tierra y sus Recursos – Un barrio pobre da inicio a un exitoso movimiento ambientalista y de justicia económica.
  • EUA – Texas (Austin) – Programas de Edificación Verde y Opción Verde – Proyectos de vivienda optan por la sustentabilidad en sus materiales de construcción y fuente de energía.
  • EUA – Texas (Austin) – Programa de Conservación del Cañón Balcones – La ciudad de Austin incorpora hábitats naturales in su planificación urbana para protegerse del crecimiento urbano desmedido.
  • EUA – Estado de Washington – Acuicultura Marina de la Nación Lummi – Indígenas Norteamericanos rescatan su reserva con el eco-desarrollo.
  • EUA – Varias localidades – Fitoremediación – Plantas y microbios utilizan procesos naturales para purificar aguas residuales.
  • Canadá – British Columbia – La Nación Tsleil-Waututh – Una tribu indígena ayuda a restaurar una cuenca degradada, con amplios beneficios ecológicos y económicos.
  • Canadá – British Columbia – Cultivo Sustentable de Ostiones – El cultivo de ostiones diversifica la economía y genera incentivos para la protección ambiental.
  • Canadá – Northwest Territories – Invernadero Comunitario Inuvik – Un inovador invernadero aumenta la seguridad y autosuficiencia alimentaria en el Ártico.
  • Canadá – Nova Scotia – Proyecto Compostero Cero Residuos 2005 – Reciclando residuos orgánicos se ahorra espacio en el relleno sanitario y nutre a la tierra.

EUA – Alabama (Condado Hale) – El Estudio Rural

by Amanda Suutari

Founded in 1993 by the late Samuel Mockbee, Auburn University’s Rural Studio is a pioneering experiment which combines practical architectural education and badly-needed social services to low-income residents of Hale County, one of the poorest counties in Alabama. Mockbee’s vision was that architecture could be a strong force in combating the squalor and inhumanity of poverty, pointing to the often institutional facelessness of housing and other facilities for the poor.

In 1993, Mockbee left a lucrative private practice and began the Rural Studio. His later projects with his firm had done some projects for charity, and he realized that good design should not be a privilege for the rich. Founding the Rural Studio, he began inspiring students to create simultaneously radical and functional designs for low-income clients. He promoted the innovative use of cost-effective materials, much of which was salvaged and recycled, for example carpet scraps, car parts, old tires, waste cardboard bales, colored bottles, old license plates, concrete or rubble. His vision was a fusion of modern and traditional Southern elements with a strong sense of rootedness to place. He believed that architecture could be oriented towards the community and motivate architects to transform the social environment. This was contrary to the prevailing trend in architecture towards the flashy, grandiose, big-name projects in urban centers.

The first Rural Studio project was completed in 1994, for the Bryant family, a couple in their seventies raising three grandchildren in a dilapidated shack. Their modest needs were for indoor plumbing, a septic system, and comfortable places to sleep. The “Bryant House” was a compact home constructed of hay bales (which were good for insulation) covered in stucco, with a covered porch running the length of the house used for entertaining. The hay bale construction kept the costs down to $16,500. Since then, Rural Studio students have been designing not only low-income homes but a variety of unique structures including churches, chapels, playgrounds, community centers, playgrounds and outdoor pavilions, all of which followed the same resourceful methods of scavenging and recycling materials. It has won grants and awards, and after Mockbee’s death in 2001 he was awarded a posthumous prize for his accomplishments, and the Rural Studio still continues to thrive.

The Rural Studio has also been credited for influencing the education of architecture in the country; for example, in 1992 there were about 8-10 design-and-build programs, but today there are 30-40. Normally projects take place over one year and involve three sets of usually fifteen students working over each semester, so the project progresses like a relay race. The first group establishes contact with the clients and begins the design with the clients’ needs in mind, which is then passed on to the second set of students who choose materials and work out increasingly finer details as the project then gets passed onto the third group of students. Students are not allowed to remove anything created or designed by the previous groups. This gives students hands-on experience in designing and building something real and functional, exposes them to the realities of poverty and related social and environmental issues, as well as giving them an opportunity to provide a valuable community service. The emphasis on local and salvaged materials promotes environmental sustainability in architecture and encourages students to think beyond the discipline’s definition of what building materials are appropriate.

For more information visit the Architectural Record.

Volver al inicio

EUA – California – Distrito de Conservación de Agua y Control de Inundaciones del Condado Napa

by Amanda Suutari

This plan was designed for the flood-prone Napa River valley which took a new approach to river management. Usually, conventional flood control emphasizes forcibly altering a river’s natural flow and tendencies by combining various types of infrastructure such as dams, channels, dredging, widening, or levees. This approach is often expensive, environmentally insensitive, and may create new problems whose long-term costs (such as silt buildup or drying up of downstream areas) outweigh any initial benefits.

Floods are assumed to have been a part of the Napa River Basin for thousands of years, and many have been recorded there since the area began to be settled. A few attempts at flood control have been made over the years. In 1944, a dam was built on Conn Creek, which created Lake Hennessy, which didn’t solve much. The County went through a period of creating flood control plans following a flood, but never received much support, and so the plans would be shelved until the next flood. In the past 36 years, Napa County residents have suffered $542 million in property damages.

With the imminent expiration of federal funding for the Flood Control Act of 1965, a few actors from different sectors were moved to create a new, restorative approach which broke with the traditional flood control model. With funds from the state and federal government, they raised the local portion by voting to introduce a half-cent sales tax increase, which would be used to contribute to the project. The collaboration included residents, industry, local, state, regional and federal state entities, academics, environmental organizations, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and various non-governmental organizations.

After spending thousands of hours planning in town hall meetings and workshops, a comprehensive plan was created. This plan instead took a “living rivers” principle and worked with the Napa River by reconnecting it to its historic flood plain, buying over 600 acres of reclaimed pastureland and returning it back to a wetland. Among other things, this would hold excess water. Other plans included installing two levels of terracing on the river banks, which would allow the river more room to spread out in times of flooding. Several bridges were targeted to be replaced with larger ones to allow more room for the river to pass under it. At one “oxbow” (a horsehoe-shaped kink in the river which overflows when fast-moving flood waters are less likely to follow sharp natural curves of the river) will be fitted with a bypass channel to shortcut the oxbow in times of flooding. The plan also includes the cleanup of disused contaminated industrial properties. When completed in 2007, the project will protect 2,700 homes, 350 businesses, and over 50 public properties, which means $26 million annual savings a year ($1 billion for the life of the project), while sustaining migrating fish and wildlife.

For more information visit the Napa Flood and Water Conservation District.

Volver al inicio

EUA – California (San Francisco) – El Proyecto Hortalizas

by Amanda Suutari

In the past three decades, the population in US prisons has been growing exponentially, as a direct result in shifts in policy towards mandatory minimum sentencing. While the majority of these prisoners were incarcerated for nonviolent crime, two-thirds of these return to prison after release. The US state and federal prison population recently exceeded two million. This has led to overcrowding in prisons, and an increased burden on the states (which have outsourced many services and aspects of the system onto private industry).

The San Francisco County Jail was built in 1934. Originally it had grown its own food, but prison counselor Cathrine Sneed began to revive the practice in 1982. Trained as a lawyer, Sneed chose to be a counselor in order to find a way to get people out of prison instead of putting them in. While in the hospital with a serious illness, she had a revelation reading Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” which showed what happened when people were disconnected from their land, and realized that this was what was missing from the prisoners’ daily lives. Using abandoned buildings and fields, organic farms were set up where prisoners would work for two hours a day. The produce from these fields were donated to local soup kitchens and family shelters. The program was successful, prisoners looked forward to spending time outside and there was a waiting list for the program. But Sneed noticed that when prisoners were released, they had no skills, no money and no services to facilitate their reentry into society, and so recidivism (reincarceration) rates remained high.

In 1992, the Garden Project was started. This was a post-release program aimed at giving parolees confidence and skills. Participants of the program are paid a living wage of $11.00 per hour, with medical and dental benefits. They work eight-hour days five days a week, growing broccoli, lettuce, chard, collards, squash, leeks and pumpkins. These are sent to voluntary organizations helping poor seniors and families, and some 800 families per week receive food. Some of the food has been sold to local restaurants. The project has also grown to include the Garden Project Tree Corps, which works with the San Franscisco’s Department of Public Works, planting and maintaining newly planted trees throughout the city. It employs twenty people who have planted 3,000 trees in the city. There are also nutrition, literacy, and computer training programs. The Garden Project is made up of partnerships between the private and public sectors: for example, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, the San Francisco Department of Public Works, the California Department of Forestry, as well as private donations and customers.

Ex-prisoners, once leaving the program, have gone on to start their own landscaping businesses, some have entered the construction industry, and another started a licensed day-care center. Called by the US Department of Agriculture “one of the most successful post-release programs and community development programs in the country,” the initiative’s record has shown results. So far, some 4,300 participants have completed the program. Normally the nation’s recidivism rate of prisoners after a year is 55%, but after two years, only 24% of participants of the Garden Project return to prison within two years. This shows one successful way that former prisoners can return to society and out of the costly cycle of crime and incarceration.

For more information visit the San Francisco Gate and The Garden Project.

Volver al inicio

EUA – California (Morgan Hill) – Accion Femenil para lograr Seguridad Económica

by Amanda Suutari

The cleaning industry is notoriously toxic, with products containing ammonia, chlorine, and other dangerous chemicals that cause rashes, nausea, dizziness, and respiratory problems – -or worse, with regular prolonged exposure, putting many cleaners at risk. Many new female immigrants to the US find underpaid jobs in the cleaning industry, with large hotel chains and offices or under-the-table cleaning houses. Before co-forming the cooperative “Eco-Care Professional Housecleaning,” Mexican migrant Mayda Iglesias used to clean houses on her own, earning $40-50 for 6-7 hours of work, where she developed asthma and headaches. She didn’t link this to the products she was using, assuming these were normal reactions to dust and dirt.

While taking English classes at a neighborhood church-sponsored program, she and her partners learned about WAGES (Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security), a project aimed at helping low-income women form cooperative businesses. WAGES had begun in 1995, and some early trainees chose the cleaning industry as this was the field in which they felt most comfortable and experienced. The “eco-friendly” approach was chosen for reasons both economic and social: not only to find a competitive edge in a market niche, but also to promote workplace and community health and safety. Now all the cooperatives WAGES sponsors are eco-friendly cleaning companies. The training program gives skills in communication, business, decision-sharing with co-owners, and technical skills.

In the case of Mayda Iglesias’ cooperative, four are co-owners and employees of “Eco-Care Professional Housecleaning.” Each works 20-25 hours/week and earns $12 per hour, cleaning houses for some 50 customers. All products are natural, home-based solutions such as vinegar for cleaning windows, baking soda for scouring, and liquid vegetable-based soaps for general cleaning. Materials like rags are recycled from old clothing such as T-shirts. The cleaning requires some extra effort and planning (for example baking soda must be sprinkled first on ovens and left to wait while other parts of the house are cleaned), but since she stopped using these products, Iglesias’s asthma and headaches disappeared. The sustainable practices also extend to its promotional literature (printed with soy-based ink on recycled paper) and its office equipment and practices. While 4-5 other cleaning businesses operate in Morgan Hill, none use environment-friendly methods, and cooperative members believe that three-quarters of their customers choose them because of their practices. The enterprise has won local awards for environmental responsibility.

Another WAGES-inspired cleaning cooperative in Redwood City, California, “Emma’s Eco-Clean,” began two years before EcoCare and began initially with five owner-members, but has today grown to fourteen. Each new member receives training not only in environmentally safe cleaning but also air and water pollution as well as energy use, and the cooperative has managed to get full medical and dental insurance for its members. Products are chosen carefully and are biodegradable, scantily packaged, and non-toxic. Initially clients used to leave the house while the house was being cleaned (to avoid the chemicals) but now they stay when the cleaner comes. “Emma’s” has also won several awards, and has gotten a license to sell products which satisfy their eco-safe screening process. They have exhibited at San Francisco’s “Greenfest,” a trade show for sustainable business and organizations, and through this have promoted their practices and offered advice for similar cooperatives in other states.

The high level of trainees’ performance through the WAGES program has challenged assumptions that low-income women can’t grasp financial issues. With estimates by WAGES that its cooperatives have prevented the release of nearly 4,000 pounds of toxic materials into the environment, programs like this one have shown that eco-friendly cleaning businesses have the potential to transform an exploitative and toxic industry.

For more information visit WAGES.

Volver al inicio

EUA – California (Los Angeles) – Parque Natural Urbano

by Amanda Suutari

South Central, a run-down industrial zone of Los Angeles, is best remembered for the riots of 1994 that exploded following the verdict acquitting policemen caught beating up African American Rodney King on videotape. In the early 1990s, some 30% of its mainly African American, Hispanic and Asian residents lived below the poverty line, and 35% had experienced unemployment lasting more than a year.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC), which had been buying land in the Mountains and creating interlinking parkland, through a meeting with a local city council member, acquired a tract of land belonging to the LA Department of Water, which it planned to transform into a park.

The Compton-Slaison intersection, a boundary for four different neighborhood gangs, was an 8.5-acre derelict brownfield, full of pipes and other relics from the Department of Water, closed off by chain link and razor wire fences. The landscape architects who agreed to support the project with the SMMC had plenty of challenges ahead of them (not least of which were skeptics who doubted the merits of bringing nature to the poor when they had so many more urgent needs, and who were moreover assumed to have little interest in nature).

Initial efforts to bring the community into the plans through town meetings and door-to-door surveys brought limited success, until a table was set up at a supermarket across the street from the park, which attracted input and interest from hundreds of residents.

The plan was a collaboration of various agencies, community members, designers, contractors, the SMMC, and community groups such as ArtShare which organizes kids’ workshops on public art.

During initial meetings intended to discuss the park’s design, safety issues continued to dominate, and so designers realized this issue had to be addressed first before going further into the design plans. They finally decided to fence off the park with gates on four sides and employ a full-time park ranger. Resolving these concerns helped to build support for the project and gain needed trust for the design teams. When the community discussed priorities for the park, initial plans to build ball courts were scrapped in favor of facilities for nature education because they were decided to be of higher priority.

The collaboration continued throughout the project, with community members, those involved with nature education and SMMC rangers, for example, present during design meetings, as all of these issues needed to be addressed at the design phase. The plan included a library, visitors exhibit, facilities for nature study, an amphitheater, a stream and fountain powered by a windmill. Hills were created to create a refuge atmosphere from the surrounding neighborhood, and to create microclimates to support native species. The challenge of finding dirt to make these hills (the existing soil couldn’t be used due to pollution) was solved by luck when rainstorms caused landslides near Malibu and left soil removal teams with excess, which was transported to the park. ArtShare LA brought in 140 students and community members to paint tiles and design mosaic benches for the amphitheater, and the two ArtShare artists who built the wrought-iron fence included images of native animals and plants in the fence’s design..

Some materials were recycled, for example, the existing concrete was crushed to make a parking area, and trees and a cactus garden were donated. A grove of pecan and walnut trees and avocado trees was also created.

Some 50 residents were hired for temporary construction of the project, and permanent park maintenance staff were also hired, as well as educators for the wildlife and gardening programs. There are various activities such as a homework club, a Saturday science series, gardening and crafts clubs and events in the amphitheater. There are also programs which take South Central kids to other neighborhood parks and vice versa (bringing kids from Beverly Hills who have been taught to fear South Central). Camping trips, junior ranger and other programs have begun. Once a week, a free bus takes people from the park to other SMMC parks in the mountains. The park acts as a “portal” to the outdoors; Augustus F. Hawkins Park, while small, offers initial exposure to natural spaces which will open doors to learn about and explore bigger, wilder areas in their state and in the world.

The park is widely accepted as a major success and a rarity, which is now inspiring the creation of a similar project called the Vista Hermosa Park. The park has created a new sense of safety and community; while gangs still exist they have a tacit agreement not to fight in the park. Kids’ perceptions of the government has changed as a result of its involvement in the project, and the park has kept them off the streets and in school.

Most importantly, the project challenged stereotypes of poverty, and showed that natural spaces were as much a priority to lower-income people as to anyone, and that bringing natural areas to poor areas will solve much more than just environmental problems.

For more information visit the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Colorado (Boulder) – Namaste Solar Electric

by Regina Gregory

Civil engineer Blake Jones once worked for Brown and Root (a subsidiary of Halliburton) in the Middle East oil and gas industry. But he had a “gradual awakening to wanting passionately to work with renewable energy because I thought there was a better way.” He moved on to Nepal to install solar and hydroelectric systems in remote areas.

In 2004, Amendment 37 was approved by Colorado voters, requiring the state’s biggest utilities to get 10% of their power from renewable resources by 2015 (including 4% from solar power). “It hit me,” said Jones, “the biggest impact I can make is back home in Colorado, where we have fantastic solar resources. The U.S. is the largest consumer of energy and we need to recapture our leadership in the world for setting a positive example.”

In 2005, Jones joined with friends Wes Kennedy and Ray Tuomey to start up Namaste (which means “greeting of great respect, celebrating the interdependence of all living beings”) Solar Electric. It is the very model of a righteous business, both ecologically and socially. The company’s website states “We measure ‘profit’ and ‘success’ in a holistic way that includes not just traditional economic metrics (i.e. earnings and growth) but also the effects on our natural environment, work environment and local/global communities.” Some interesting features include the following:

  • The company is employee-owned, and all major decisions are made by consensus. Every employee has equal pay, and gets six weeks paid time off per year.
  • Whenever possible, business trips (even deliveries of solar equipment) are conducted by bicycle. The company van runs on biodiesel, and the company car is a Prius. What little carbon they generate is offset with the purchase of carbon credits.
  • The new office building is 100% wind and solar powered and has a xeriscaped garden. It is built of recycled building materials. All the office furniture and carpet is secondhand, and they use carpet tiles so that only the worn out pieces need to be replaced. Kitchen waste is composted and nearly everything else is recycled, with a goal of zero waste.
  • The company donates 1% of its annual revenue to non-profit organizations, in the form of grants which are not money, but solar systems. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, they say. Beneficiaries have included schools, homeless shelters, environmental organizations, and a local radio station.
  • Namaste partners with public schools, universities, and non-profits such as Solar Energy International to conduct workshops, classes, and internships.
  • It also is active in promoting more solar-friendly laws at the Colorado legislature and Public Utilities Commission.

Namaste’s unique business model has made it the subject of many case studies by MBA students. The company can show impressive results: Namaste has installed over 350 photovoltaic systems in the Denver-Boulder area, including prominent projects such as the Governor’s mansion. The number of employees has grown from 3 to 45. Triple-digit growth (i.e., at least doubling each year) is the norm.

Business really took off in 2006, when the local utility, Xcel, announced its rebate program. By the end of 2007, the utility had paid out $19.5 million to more than 1,000 customers for more than 4.3 megawatts of power. State sales tax rebates and federal tax credits also help to offset the average $12,000 cost of a photovoltaic system. According to satisfied customer Hal Stuber, “for every $3 of cost, from rebates and tax credits I’m getting $2 back.” A further incentive is net metering (or Grid-Tie), where his electric meter actually runs backward, feeding power into the grid, when his system produces more than is being consumed.

The future of solar energy in Colorado became even brighter in 2007, when Governor Bill Ritter – a strong proponent of a “New Energy Economy” – signed a law that set a goal of 20% renewables by 2020.

For more information see the Namaste Solar Electric website.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Hawai (Isla Grande) – Gestión Forestal Sustentable

by Amanda Suutari

This project was a collaboration between the US Forest Service (USFS) and The Nature Conservancy (NC), a US-based nonprofit organization that targets near-pristine land and buys it for the purposes of conservation and protection.

The Forest Legacy Program, created in 1978, is a partnership between private landowners, participating states and the USFS to identify and protect environmentally important forests from being converted to “non-forest uses.” It is seen as a cost-effective way to give private owners the means to maintain native forests on their lands. In 1999-2003, the Nature Conservancy began buying forested land in South Kona from private owners, with the intention of helping the Forest Service gain control of the land. The Forest Service then bought what is called an “easement,” (or usage rights, which include restrictions on the way the land is used, to protect it from activities local authorities deem inconsistent with sustainable forest management such as industrial logging, ranching or development of subdivisions), from the Nature Conservancy. As Hawaii is the only state without National Forest Lands, this was the strategy of the Forest Service to offer long-term protection of Hawaii’s important forests. While Forest Legacy Easements have been authorized since 1978, this is the first case in Hawaii.

The NC usually only buys undisturbed land to ensure its continued protection. This area had been severely degraded in places by intensive grazing and logging in the 1950s and 1960s. But it was also considered to be important, both to the local watershed and native species. It was intended to be a good opportunity for the NC to experiment with reforestation, and to explore options for economic revenues through controlled logging and possibly some limited ranching. The koa, for example, is a major canopy tree, providing shade and wind protection to a diverse range of species; the NC will through its work rehabilitating the land decide whether it’s viable or sustainable to log some of the koa and remove it without causing extreme damage to the forest.

It should be noted that this project, and the Nature Conservancy, is not free from controversy. Some critics are fear buying the land will open it up to logging under the guise of “sustainable forestry,'” and that logging of the native koa may not be sustainable. While the NC’s aim is to redirect some of American corporate wealth for conservation on a scale otherwise unachievable, critics say the compromises it has made along the way to its donors have undermined some of its successes, have led to some scandals over lack of disclosure on financial transactions, and that vested interests in the governing board members have silenced it on issues in direct conflict with its stated policies, such as opening the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

For more information visit the Nature Conservancy and the Citizen Review.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Hawai (Oahu) – La Iniciativa de Saunders Sustentable

by Regina Gregory

The University of Hawai’i at Manoa (UHM) campus is the second-largest consumer of electricity on the island of Oahu, second only to the military. Since over 75% of the island’s electricity comes from burning oil, and the utility passes oil price increases directly on to the consumer, UHM’s electric bill kept going up – -despite efforts at energy conservation and an actual reduction in kilowatt-hours used. The bills amounted to over $15,000,000 in 2005, and were projected to rise to $21,300,000 million in 2007. In response to the “sticker shock” of rapidly rising electric bills and its impact on the University’s budget, the UHM Chancellor’s Office convened an Energy Summit on October 24, 2006. The Chancellor proposed a Clean Energy Policy with the ambitious goals of:

  • 30% reduction in campus energy use by 2012
  • 50% reduction in campus energy use by 2015
  • 25% of campus energy supplied by renewable sources by 2020
  • Energy and water self-sufficiency for the campus by 2050

The University and the electric company formed a partnership to work toward these goals. Saunders Hall, a seven-story building which houses the social science departments, was chosen as a pilot project to implement projects on a trial basis which could then be “rolled out” across the entire campus. Two electric meters were installed in the building to establish a baseline demand and measure the impact of any energy conservation projects.

The Public Policy Center on the 7th floor of Saunders launched the Sustainable Saunders Initiative in early 2007, and a student group called Help Us Bridge (HUB) was formed. In the spring of 2007 the Public Policy Center surveyed all the occupants of Saunders Hall regarding their energy use. (This also served as a behavior modification tool for encouraging people to turn off their computers at night and to take the stairs more often.) By fortunate coincidence, according to Sustainable Saunders student coordinator Shanah Trevenna, “90% of the building’s energy was used for lighting and air conditioning while the top two complaints by residents were that the lights were too bright and the temperature too cold.” Thus it was logical to begin with lighting and air conditioning projects.

There were many more fluorescent lights than were needed. Over 2,100 bulbs were removed, for an energy savings of 107,434 kilowatt-hours (kwh) per year. An additional 42,330 kwh/year are being saved due to the replacement of incandescent bulbs with fluorescent ones.

Forty-five percent of Saunders offices have individual air conditioners, but the rest are subject to a centralized system which, unfortunately, is permanently set to “CLO 1” – a temperature which may be appropriate for people in business suits, but not for Hawaiian students. Someday that system may be replaced, but in the meantime an air conditioning shutdown project has yielded great savings. Whereas the air conditioning was previously always on, now it is turned off from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., 7 days a week. The resulting savings are estimated at 411,720 kwh per year. Research is being conducted on whether the shutdown hours could be expanded on weekends.

Together these simple no-cost projects have reduced Saunders Hall’s electricity use by over 24%, which in 2008 prices translates into a savings of about $150,000 per year. HUB received a letter from the Chancellor’s office asking if the group could perform similar energy audits and conservation measures on all the UHM buildings; the response was “not for free.” It was proposed that part of the money saved could be devoted to paying the students to perform the audits. That did not happen, but in the 2009 state legislative session a bill was introduced to secure $207,000 per year in state funding for a sustainability internship program which would serve the same purpose, plus prepare students for similar jobs outside the university. With the encouragement of testimony from HUB members, the bill made its way through numerous committees in the state House and Senate. But it was not heard in the Finance Committee before the final deadline, and thus failed.

In addition to the energy conservation measures, five photovoltaic panels with microinverters on each have been installed on the Saunders rooftop, generating an estimated 1,400 kwh per year. Wind tests are currently being conducted, and eventually the Campus Facilities Office will move a donated vertical-axis windmill from the 7th floor lanai to the roof as a testing/education/demonstration project. It is thought the windmill might be able to generate 1 kw of electricity (or 8,760 kwh/year if constantly running).

But the Sustainable Saunders Initiative takes a much more holistic view of sustainability than just energy. At its official Interactive Launch Party on Earth Day (April 20) 2007, Saunders Hall’s seven floors were divided into fifteen theme areas, with exhibits and experts on topics such as recycling, composting, bicycling, climate change, energy and water conservation, renewable energy, architectural design, sustainability education, food security, and organic agriculture. Each area was hung with graffiti paper so that the hundreds of students, faculty, staff, experts, and community members in attendance could jot down their own ideas. Results were presented to the State of Hawai’i Sustainability Task Force.

In February 2007 HUB began “dumpster diving” to retrieve recyclable materials and to analyze the waste stream. Now there are recycling bins on every floor of Saunders Hall for glass, aluminum and plastic. According to recycling coordinator Tamara Armstrong, this has resulted in a 70% reduction of bottles in the dumpsters. On the ground floor there are also 10 bins for paper and one for cardboard.

Sustainable Saunders also obtained donations of low-flow water fixtures and a waterless urinal, which were installed by the Campus Facilities Office on Saunders’ 6th floor. One of the faucets even has a small turbine, so that water flowing down the drain generates enough electricity to power its sensor. Shanah Trevenna calculated that an expansion of the retrofit throughout the building could save enough water per year to fill over four Olympic-sized swimming pools, and would pay for itself in under 5 years.

The group also built picnic tables from recycled plastic lumber for the Saunders courtyard.

Three teams meet weekly: HUB itself, the Energy Team, and the Events team. I attended one meeting of HUB and found the room filled to capacity with very enthusiastic students. Three of them had gone to the “Power Shift” event in Washington, DC, sponsored by the Blue Planet Foundation. They reported on what they learned in the areas of policy, science, and organizing, as well as what other colleges across the country have been doing to promote sustainability. “We’re kind of behind,” said one. Other business included discussion of whether HUB should become an official chartered student organization instead of a registered independent organization.

The Energy Team hosted a workshop series on some very technical topics, with experts discussing various energy systems as well as financing and lease options. The Events Team was mainly busy with Sustainable Saunders’ third annual Earth Day celebration. It was a big success, with 100 booths of eco-friendly products, services, information, and food, as well as a concert in the amphitheater. Events like this create a “big buzz” for motivating as well as educating the broader community, says Tamara Armstrong.

As for the idea of “rolling out” Saunders energy initiatives across the campus, some students from the Sea Grant College Program have taken up energy auditing, and the Facilities Management Office has become quite diligent in negotiating and implementing “energy scheduling initiatives” (i.e., air conditioning shutdowns) in addition to its regularly scheduled upgrades. As of October 2008, eight buildings had evening air conditioning shutdowns for an estimated savings of 1,900,000 kwh and $350,000 per year; five others were pending for 2,900,000 kwh and $536,000. Proposed weekend and holiday shutdowns in 48 buildings across the campus might amount to an additional annual savings of almost $4,000,000. The problem, according to mechanical engineer Blake Araki, is that the occupants who readily agree to air conditioning shutdowns are not in the biggest energy-using buildings. Many are concerned about mold or highly sensitive computers or scientific equipment; and some scientists who bring large research grants to the university feel they are entitled to 24-hour air conditioning.

The Sustainable Saunders idea also caught on at the East-West Center, a research institution across the street from the UHM campus. Sustainable EWC has implemented some of the same measures, as well as an organic garden.

Outside the university, HUB members with experience in energy auditing have been hired by the Coast Guard and an art museum, with several other prospects in sight. A recent newspaper article headlined “Hire a Student for Green Help” touts the Sustainable Saunders interns’ past achievements and mentions that the “cost of a consultation ranges from $200 for a basic home assessment to about $2,000 for a commercial assessment.”

Projects for the future (besides installing the windmill) include various 2009 Summer Session courses, workshops, and lectures on sustainability (including Sustainability 101 by Shanah Trevenna). For the fall, an exciting energy conservation competition is planned by the Public Policy Center among the seven floors of Saunders with the social sciences (anthropology, geography, economics, sociology, political science, etc.) keeping their eyes on newly installed meters on each floor. Also in the works is a program of mentoring K-12 schools to do their own energy audits.

What made Sustainable Saunders so successful is described in every article and interview as the enthusiasm, passion, energy, and commitment of the students. Often mentioned as well are the management and outreach/public relations skills of coordinator Shanah Trevenna. Interested students are immediately accepted and given real projects and opportunities to make a difference. In the words of Jennifer Milholen:

When I decided to move from Kauai to Honolulu I started doing general google searches of organizations in Honolulu that were doing wide-reaching work in sustainability. I knew that I wanted to get involved and have a tangible impact. Sustainable Saunders at UHM was a search result that came up over and over again, so I sent a simple email to Shannah who was the coordinator and was told that I was welcome at all of the meetings for all of the sustainability teams. Shannah immediately made me feel welcome and able. I was given tasks and objectives right off the bat. I started participating in projects for the events and energy teams that I could tell were necessary and timely. I helped “dumpster dive” for the campus eatery waste audit. The data from those dives will be used to justify the sole use of biodegradable containers and cutlery on campus eateries. I also was asked to do extensive research on the potential for industrial size composters and biodegraders on campus. For the first time I participated in the legislative process and testified in front of a Senate panel on the potential benefits of the Sustainable Saunders Internship Program Bill. That was an amazing experience. I was also able to help with the initial installation of solar panels on the roof of Saunders Hall. Currently, I have an active hand as the Volunteer Coordinator and Assistant Logistics Coordinator for UH Manoa’s Sustainability Festival 2009. This has all taken place in a few short months. I went from having no experience in sustainability to having several wonderful ones. Being a part of the Sustainable Saunders group has played an integral part in my journey toward becoming an avid supporter and activist for a sustainable human society and culture. I plan to continue working with this group for as long as possible. Shannah leads an amazing group of motivated and creative students who I know will do incredible things for the UHM campus and Hawaii.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Kansas – Land Institute

by Amanda Suutari

The Land Institute is researching and developing alternative agriculture in the heartland of agribusiness on the US prairies. Because of massive soil erosion, herbicides in waterways, and the overdrawing of the Ogallala aquifer, Land Institute co-founder Wes Jackson says, this region is headed for a collapse on a scale far surpassing that of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. But this imminent but ultimately avoidable catastrophe is not being addressed. The reason is that it is temporarily masked by the subsidized “cheap food policy” which lulls consumers into illusions of food security, and that soil is now eroding not visibly by wind but by water, where it flows into rivers and ends up eventually in the sea, and creates areas like “the dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. As with other groups bucking the industrial model, Jackson and his colleagues are making farms mimic natural systems in this case, suited to the prairie ecosystem made up of polycultures of perennial grasses.

After graduating with a PhD in genetics, Jackson began teaching environmental studies in California State University, but soon became dissatisfied with academia. So he quit his job and went back to his native Kansas with his then-wife, Dana, where they acquired a cow and some chickens and began farming. They decided to form the Land Institute, which would give students an opportunity to learn from direct experience.

The institute continues to evolve, but has kept its commitment to studying the prairie ecosystem and developing methods which reduce the impact on the soil, the need for chemicals, and for fossil-fuel driven machinery like tractors and ploughs. To do this, it developed the concept of “Natural Systems Agriculture.” The ecosystem, as the result of centuries of evolutionary selection for ecosystem function, has the ability to:

  1. maintain or build ecological capital
  2. fix or hold nutrients
  3. is resilient to periodic stress ie. drought or fire, and
  4. can manage its weed/pest/pathogen populations.

Since prairies naturally show a dominance for perennial grasses instead of the annuals like the corn, wheat, barley etc. grown on prairie farms (which together make up 70% of the human diet), the priorities of the Land Institute are to research whether perennials can produce a high yield seed, and if perennial polycultures can match or outyield perennial monocultures. So far, these results seem to be confirmed. A perennial polyculture in the prairies would change farming techniques in several important ways:

  1. permanent root systems would hold and build the soil,
  2. gowing perennials would eliminate the need for annually tilling and planting and reduce the need for fossil fuel-consuming machinery,
  3. diversity would increase resilience and thwart spread of pests, reducing or eliminating the dependence on chemicals.

To further recreate the prairie ecosystem, Jackson has begun keeping bison as they are well-adapted to the prairie landscape.

The Land Institute gives research opportunities to postgraduate students, and its work extends beyond natural to social systems, and links the consolidation and corporatization of farming to the overnight disintegration of community, public health and economies across rural North America.

The concept of “home coming” or reclaiming this rural way of life is part of Natural Systems Agriculture, and events and education in schools are other programs the Land Institute is involved in. The institute is gaining recognition from other researchers who are examining the potential of perennials and testing the approach, and the underlying principles resonate beyond the prairie ecosystem and have attracted interest from other parts of the world. Jackson has written a number of books and has won several awards, including the Right Livelihood Award. His former wife Dana Jackson is now head of the Land Stewardship Project and his daughter, Laura, is a researcher at the University of Iowa.

For more information visit the Land Institute and Audubon Society.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Louisiana – Estero Nacional Barataria-Terrebonne

by Amanda Suutari

This is an example of “regional environmental management” for a degraded and economically important ecosystem. It shows how a complex web of players can coordinate a successful strategy despite multiple interests and agendas.

The Barataria-Terrebonne (BT) estuary in Louisiana is the country’s largest, covering an area of 16,835 square km where the Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Its rich natural resources have been important to the livelihood of the people who live there, but overexploitation, development, agriculture, and industry dramatically impacted the water quality, posed health risks, affected fisheries, and was causing land to sink.

Concerned about the state of the nation’s estuaries, the US government made a decision to create environmental management plans for the major ones in 1990. Hiring a small team of full-time staff and recruiting volunteers who were given the challenge of developing a plan for the BT estuary, the government’s conditions were that the plans should be an inclusive coalition of “government, private and commercial interests” to identify the issues, create strategies, and coordinate the whole process through carrying out the commitments.

The plan was developed in clear stages. Workshops, open to everyone who wanted to participate, attracted some 250 people, and included representatives from all three levels of government, industry, citizens and others.

The first stage was a “visioning” exercise where participants were to brainstorm what they hoped to see for the estuary in 25 years time. This would include the variety of perspectives, which were then written and displayed as keywords, which were organized into loose groups. This helped to clarify some of the basic themes, and to summarize a vision statement.

The following workshops followed the same procedure as the first. The next workshop was to identify obstacles to realizing the vision, and challenges in overcoming them. In the third workshop, participants brainstormed actions to deal with the challenges. Another workshop gave participants a chance to identify “catalytic actions,” those which would not only produce desirable results, but that would trigger other desirable results as well.

Results of this workshop formed the basis of the “action plans” which were part of the final environmental management plan, for each of which alliances were created, and participants then signed up for the ones they wanted to be a part of. Over the next year, details within each alliance were worked out, and the plans began to be implemented in 1996. The management plan is comprehensive and includes four basic elements:

  1. Planning/management/procedures
  2. Ecological management
  3. Citizen involvement/education
  4. Economic development.

Until now, the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program has been successful in attracting public attention on the estuary as an important ecosystem, garnering support and involvement from citizens, and gaining a level of trust and credibility for the program. Some of the concrete actions so far have focused on preventing further land loss, so mulberry, blackberry, oak and other trees have been planted to protect the soil. Old Christmas trees have created brush fences which were lined up on the coast to protect soil from eroding through wave action. Some other projects have worked to redistribute water or silt to build land where it is most needed. Still others are installing small-scale sewage treatment systems for houses and cabins along the waterways, and an education program was launched to help farmers find alternative methods of weed and pest control (to reduce the use of chemicals). Many of these programs have involved the use of community volunteer groups, high school students and local business associations, which has helped to create a high level of public participation in the project.

For more information visit the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program.

Read a more detailed version of this story in Human Ecology by Gerry Marten

Volver al inicio

EUA – Minnesota – Restauración del Lago Rojo

by Regina Gregory

The Red Lake Band of the Chippewa Tribe lives on an 837,000-acre reservation in northern Minnesota, an area about the size of Rhode Island. The band takes its name from the reservation’s Red Lake, one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the U.S.

The traditional staple food of the Chippewa is wild rice, which once grew in abundance in the marshes around Red Lake. It is a 5-foot-tall aquatic plant native only to North America. In late August – the Wild Rice Moon – the Chippewa paddled canoes into the marshes to harvest the rice. The harvesting method included knocking some grains back into the lake to sustain future harvests, and leaving some grains on the plants as food for birds.

In the 1930s, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began impounding two nearby rivers, the tribe’s major rice-producing areas were destroyed or heavily damaged. Most people on the reservation no longer go “ricing” at all. But the band is trying to restore some of the old rice stands, and has purchased 2,500 acres next to the reservation for a commercial wild rice farm.

Besides making money for the band, the wild rice farm provides critical habitat for a large number of species. Eighteen species of ducks and geese eat wild rice and other plants that grow in the rice paddies. The dense vegetation provides ample nesting sites for bitterns and teals, and when the paddies are drained in late summer, the mudflats serve as stopover areas for godwits, yellowlegs, phalaropes and other shorebirds.

Red Lake also once teemed with fish, in particular walleyes. In 1917 tribal members launched a commercial fishery with gillnets on their portion of the lake, in addition to subsistence fishing. In the portion governed by the state of Minnesota, sport fishing by the general public flourished. Eventually people were taking more fish than the lake could provide, and harvests plummeted.

The Red Lake Band realized the walleye needed time to recover. In 1997 the tribe halted commercial fishing, and in 1998 stopped subsistence and sport fishing as well. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources banned walleye fishing in its portion of the lake in 1999. To augment the natural regeneration process a fish hatchery was established, and between 1999 and 2003 more than 100 million walleye fry were released into the lake.

The fish thrived, and the effort is now known as one of the nation’s most successful freshwater fish recoveries. The lake was reopened to walleye fishing, but in a cautious way to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

For more information see Restoring a Lost Legacy in the National Wildlife Federation’s journal.

Volver al inicio

EUA – New York (New York City) – Melrose Commons

by Amanda Suutari

In 1990, the New York Department of City Planning and Housing Preservation and Development (CPHPD) leaked a draft of plans to redevelop a derelict 30-block area in the South Bronx. While the plan seemed innocuous, a closer look revealed that it could not have been less suited to the lower-income, mainly Hispanic and African American people who lived there. Large parts of land were to be bulldozed to make room fore new housing which was well out of financial reach for most of the 6,000 residents. Angered by being left out of the proposal’s 9-year planning process, and feeling betrayed by local elected officials and city agencies, local residents formed “Nos Quedamos” (“We will stay”). This group united homeowners, tenants and businesses who decided the only way the residents would not be displaced was if they become an active part of the project.

When the plan was finally presented, Nos Quedamos members voiced their numerous objections over affordability, opportunities for local business, social and community services, use of open space and streets, and building materials, to name a few. In 1994, the CPHPD finally agreed to withdraw the original plan and to meet once a week with the community to develop a new one. Out of these working sessions, and while members actively sought residents’ feedback through several go-by-block surveys and workshops, several goals were developed:

  1. To respect the existing community by including them as a partner.
  2. To provide services currently unavailable, such as proper health, educational, cultural, recreation and commercial services.
  3. To support economic development which is based on the needs and skills of the community.
  4. To create a space which is livable and desirable, which included, among other things, greening of industrial areas.
  5. To create open spaces, mixed-income housing and a variety of housing options.
  6. Economic opportunities through creation of after-school centers, health clinics and recycling initiatives.

The project attracted assistance by many professionals including urban planners, architects, and lawyers, who were able to address social, environmental, housing, infrastructure and design layouts and other community issues. For example, the original plan to have a large park in the center was rejected as it was thought to attract crime, so it was relocated. Some of the buildings were to be designed as low rise housing with stores on the ground floor, which would provide enough people on the street to make them safer. Plans to extend transportation routes were included, to reduce the amount of private parking space.

Environmental concerns were also designed into the project, with the creation of a one-acre public park, smaller midblock parks and community gardens, with options for rainwater harvesting explored and design for water retention. Another area, now with disused railroad tracks, will be a tree-filled buffer zone to separate the commercial/residential areas from the manufacturing area. Materials for buildings will be chosen for environmental soundness. Construction began in 1999 and is expected to take about a decade to complete.

This case shows a few stages in the process of transformation of an urban wasteland to a viable mixed-income, self-sustaining community within the city that worked with, not against, the neighborhood’s cultural and historical identity. It set a rare example of grassroots organizing successfully resisting urban redevelopment, and has attracted the attention of city planners from LA and Chicago. It was a model of collaboration between all diverse groups who had a stake in the process, local institutes and university as well as public and private planners, architects, business, residents, and non-governmental organizations. Finally, it restored people’s sense of community and civic responsibility, and reinvigorated local democracy.

For more information visit the Sustainable Communities Network.

Volver al inicio

EUA – New York (New York City) – Protección de Cuenca

by Amanda Suutari

The New York City (NYC) Water Department supplies some 1.3 billion gallons of water to nearly 9 million New Yorkers every day, transported mainly by gravity through a system of 19 reservoirs in a 1,969 square mile watershed that extends some 125 miles north and west of NYC (The Croton and Catskills/Delaware watersheds).

For years, NYC’s water quality was one of the highest in the country, but increased pressure from agriculture and urban sprawl caused the water quality to decline, as was seen by an increasing number of boil-water alerts over the past 5 years. Installing a filtration system would have cost an exorbitant $2-8 billion dollars. City, state and EPA officials thought it would be much cheaper if they focused their priorities not on purifying degraded water but by preserving it at the source – -the watersheds themselves.

From 1989 the city began a watershed protection program, funding upgrades of sewage treatment plants, water supply facilities and dams, and a watershed agricultural program, which paid farmers to remove some sensitive lands from production and apply conservation practices in place of crops. This was the first upstate-downstate collaboration where water quality and economics were viewed as a shared, not a conflicting, goal. In 1997, watershed communities, the City and State governments, the EPA, environmental organizations and others united to create a landmark Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which had 3 main elements:

  1. Land acquisition and stewardship: The City spent (or will spend) $250 million (properly, with a consultation process) on purchasing lands or conservation easements (giving money to landowners to conserve the land they own) in undeveloped land near reservoirs, wetlands, or land with other natural features that are sensitive to water quality. Priority is given to buying undeveloped lands around reservoirs, streams and wetlands. In agricultural regions, a total of 3,000 acres of highly erodible land and 2,000 acres of riparian “buffer” lands have been targeted for protection.
  2. A watershed protection and partnership program: This is meant to promote watershed-wide cooperation, and especially build good connections between the City and its upstate neighbors, who are the day-to-day stewards of the water on which NYC depends. These might include maintenance and rehab of water and sanitation facilities, water conservation education programs and a “bank” which loans money to environmentally sensitive projects in the watershed communities.
  3. New watershed regulations: This replaces the outdated 44-year-old standards related to design/construction/ operation of wastewater treatment, and stormwater control measures.

While the MOA is seen as a milestone in the City’s water supply, the challenge lies in implementing it, but the expected result is that over 165 stream miles, and thousands of acres of natural areas will be preserved, resulting in improved water quality at a fraction of the price of a filtration system.

For more information visit the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Oregon (Portland) – El Centro de Reconstrucción

by Amanda Suutari

Started in 1998 by Shane Endicott and his partners in Portland, Oregon, The Rebuilding Center is a “nonprofit enterprise.” As a young man Endicott faced the dilemma of many socially-conscious people in search of livelihood: how to support a family without also supporting “the suicide economy.” He had been interested in construction and demolition, but didn’t want to simply “crunch and dump, grind up all that useful wood, metal and brick and dump it in a landfill then go and chop down more trees and mine more iron to build something else.”

With a private loan of $15,000, Endicott and his partners, along with some volunteers, set up shop in a garage in an economically depressed area of Portland. Entirely by hand, they began calling friends, contractors and developers, offering to pick up unwanted items and equipment, and set about gutting apartment buildings, demolishing wood or brick houses, removing old built-in furniture like kitchen cabinets or toilets, renewing them, and selling them at half or less of the retail cost.

The Rebuilding Center now occupies a half-block long building full of its goods where customers from around the city come to buy anything from light fixtures to movie theater seats, door frames, roofing, church pews, hot tubs, appliances, fountains, and other salvaged goods. Its new warehouse, built in 1999, was made from recycled materials. It tries to maintain a closed-loop cycle, where every scrap is saved and renewed, which has diverted thousands of tons of useful materials from landfills while reducing demand for a shrinking supply of raw materials. It recycles an estimated 3,000 tons of materials per year.

While the Center could now afford to expand and ship out more desirable refurbished furniture out of the region, it refrains from doing so as the use of fossil fuels would contradict its goal to reduce fossil fuel use and other environmental impacts and support the local economy. The work is labor-intensive, requiring a large number of staff, but without the maintenance and fuel costs of sophisticated machinery, the Center is still able to pay living wages to its employees (starting at $10/hour for the most unskilled work and increasing with regular reviews and hikes), who also receive full medical and dental benefits. While four other centers in the city opened and failed, RC survived because it was not as commercially-oriented, as it receives support from some 500 part-time volunteers and functions as something like a community center, where customers can also borrow do-it-yourself books from the center’s library.

The Center’s organization is democratically structured, with a low ratio between the lowest-and highest-paid members, the same number of votes per staff on work-related issues, and a hiring process where new people are hired by the people he or she will be working with. With 36 full-time employees, most of whom are from the neighborhood, the Center has been credited in local media for revitalizing the local economy. Financially the company has been operating at surpluses, which are either reinvested into the business or paid out to community projects, one of which, Our United Village (OUV), is a nonprofit organization started by Endicott before he teamed up on the Rebuilding Center. OUV is a mechanism to link people in the community, for example elders teaching neighbors how to make jam, or community scholarship funds paid to young people doing odd jobs like lawn mowing.

The Center received Portland’s “Best Business” award as well as other awards in recognition for its practices.

For more information visit The Rebuilding Center.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Texas (Austin) – PODER: El Pueblo Organizado en Defensa de la Tierra y sus Recursos

by Amanda Suutari

The work of PODER (or People Organized in the Defense of Earth and Her Resources) began with the successful removal of a 52-acre “tank farm,” or fuel storage facility which for 35 years had emitted toxic chemicals and was linked to chronic illnesses for neighborhoods in East Austin, where 88% of the population is Mexican or African American also suffering from high rates of crime and unemployment.

In 1993, after over a year of campaigning, PODER, other community groups and residents succeeded in the closure and relocation of the site, whose three pipelines were owned by major oil corporations, a notable achievement in the state of Texas.

From this success, other initiatives began, including:

  1. A survey given to assess the health problems of residents living around the tank farm was shared and used with communities of several other states.
  2. Helping neighborhoods fight excessive increases in property taxes resulting from both closure of the tank farm, and with the appearance of new high tech IT giants who have moved into the neighborhood induced by major tax abatements from the government (also garnering government funds for one of these, SEMATECH, towards research and development of clean, safe manufacture of microchips).
  3. Pressuring state officials to crack down on the oil companies who have made little effort to clean storage tank sites.
  4. The relocation (to a non-residential area) of a poorly-run recycling facility where overflow was left outside, causing rat infestation, and whose glass crusher at night prevented residents living around the site from sleeping properly.

PODER began teaming up with other neighborhood groups to look at issues of regulations, taxes, policy and design of infrastructure, which have major implications for East Austin residents, despite the fact that decisions were taken without the input of those most affected. Such issues have growing importance to PODER and other neighborhood groups and they have launched various Land Use/Rights campaigns, including:

  1. Forcing the city to “downzone” the tank farm site from “industrial” to “community/commercial” and “neighborhood/office” in order to prevent new industrial-level occupation or development in the area. These zoning categories are also integral to the concept of “smart growth” (the prevention of sprawl and unplanned haphazard development).
  2. Getting the passage of an ordinance requiring neighborhood residents to be notified and given opportunity to voice concerns any time an industrial facility wants to locate or expand in East Austin.
  3. Forcing the City Council to impose a 90-day moratorium and initiate a land-use study in East Austin.

They are also involved with various transportation issues:

  1. Conducting a transportation/safety issues campaign, and raising money for transportation improvements for East Austin residents, including bus shelters, sidewalks, bike racks, additional street lights and signs.
  2. Working at the state and national level with organizations to reform transportation, especially with the construction of a light rail transport system whose design has not yet taken into account the community, economic, and transportation needs of East Austin residents, especially youth.
  3. Programs aimed at ethnic “minority” youth for addressing educational, environmental, social and economic justice, including a youth employment program serving young people of 14 or 15 years old.
  4. Technical support and training of residents and PODER members in IT to help narrow the “digital divide.”

Working with other neighborhood groups such as El Pueblos, community members are being given the tools, information and motivation to work with local city and transportation agencies to get investments that improve safety and livability of communities.

This case highlights the concept of “environmental justice,” and how environmental issues in low-income communities are inherently bound up in historical, social and economic forces which have shaped land use, zoning regulations and demographics. It also shows how the system enables middle or upper classes to externalize the costs of their lifestyle onto the poor and politically marginalized on many levels, for example through flight into white suburbs which is draining the tax base from inner cities, or through siting of commuter freeways, industrial sites, or landfills in poor neighborhoods. As one PODER executive member pointed out, “Land-use practices and transportation design are the worst agents of these injustices.” Rather than simply battling each new issue piecemeal, PODER is pushing for changes at the deeper level of fiscal regulation, zoning policy and transportation design.

For more information visit PODER-Texas.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Texas (Austin) – Programas de Edificación Verde y Opción Verde

by Amanda Suutari

Both programs have won recognition as leaders in the sustainable building and energy sectors. Since the 1980s, Austin launched the Energy Star Program which rated energy efficiency of new homes.

In the early 1990s, there was a sense among the more progressive architects and builders that more could be done beyond energy savings. Materials in house building, for example, are generally inefficient as the used building materials, containing mined materials and other recyclables, mostly end up in landfills because of the low disposal fees. In 1990, with a grant from the Urban Consortium for Energy, a partnership between Austin Habitat for Humanity and American Institute, with the help of volunteers, created a demonstration project which helped to promote the program to buyers, builders, developers and architects. Green building principles view the house as a system, which includes four main areas (water, energy, materials, and waste). The program began as a checklist which focused on site, energy, water landscape, waste material issues and indoor air quality which later evolved into a rating system ranging from 1-5 stars (5 being the highest). Green practices included in the system might include:

Materials:

  1. Recycled carpets made from PET bottles to use of fly ash in concrete.
  2. Straw bales for insulation.
  3. Reduction of toxins which are found in many building materials and paints, for example formaldehyde-free fiberboard, low volatile organic compound recycled materials in carpeting.

Water:

  1. Composting toilets, greywater recycling or rainwater harvesting.
  2. Xeriscaping in gardens to conserve water use (as opposed to traditional lawns or non-native plants unsuited to the climate).

Energy:

  1. Use of solar panels.
  2. For heating: “passive solar energy” or design or positioning to optimize natural sunlight for heating and lighting.
  3. For cooling: design of windows for ventilation, strategic planting of trees to provide shade and moisture, creation of a porch to provide shade for walls, the inclusion of windows in rooms to allow for cross-ventilation, the choice of galvanized metal roofing to avoid heat buildup

Waste:

  1. Options for backyard composting.
  2. Choice of materials for recycleability.

Austin currently has slightly different programs for residential, commercial, multifamily and municipal buildings (setting standards with the construction of its new airport and other City buildings). The program also offers technical support and assistance for architects and builders, puts out educational publications for builders, promotional and educational materials for buyers, and offers financial incentives for builders and the public. The program has largely relied on using market forces to achieve critical mass and drive the standards into the mainstream instead of appealing to regulation to force it there.

In 1992, Austin had the only green builders program and the National Association of Homebuilders had little awareness or interest in promoting it; but today the NAHB hosts green building conferences and many similar programs are thriving around the country.

Integral to the program is the Green Choice program, considered one of the more successful utility-sponsored green power programs in the US, especially considering it is in the country’s fossil fuel capital. The program offers a choice to consumers to pay extra for energy from renewable sources (which in Austin would be wind, solar or biogas from a landfill) at 3.3 cents/KW-hour as opposed to standard fees of 2.8 cents/KW-hour for standard fuel sources (which rely on coal or natural gas). While of course these renewable sources can’t be singled out to provide energy to individual subscribers, the program operates so that the more subscribers pay for the program, the more green power sources will be contracted out, displacing conventional sources. The program also promotes renewable energy and provides low-cost loans for installation of solar panels, as well as offering rebates for improvements to energy efficiency (i.e., upgrades to more efficient air conditioners or other appliances).

For more information visit the Austin Green Building Program and the Austin Green Choice Program.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Texas (Austin) – Programa de Conservación del Cañón Balcones

by Amanda Suutari

In the 1980s, Travis County in central Texas was growing, with most development in the periphery of Austin. The Balcones Canyonlands, a natural area of limestone hills, spring-fed canyons, caves, springs, and sinkholes (below which is an aquifer which supplies water to some 1.5 Central Texas residents) are home to unique species found nowhere else in the world.

When it became clear that the Fish and Wildlife Service would list species found in the area as endangered, such as two songbirds (the golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo), some city and regional planners worried that enforcing the ESA (Endangered Species Act) would lead to an ad hoc checkerboard pattern of development across the county.

In 1988, the city of Austin and Travis County formed a steering committee that would create a plan for economic stability and that would protect certain species. A series of meetings were to begin a grueling, 8-year long process of public meetings with agencies from three levels of government as well as scientists, developers and environmental organizations. In 1992, Austin’s mayor supported a $US 22 million city bond, with which the Nature Conservancy acquired land, as the first step towards creation of the Balcones Canyonlands Nature Preserve which came into being in 1996. The Preserve is a multi-agency conservation effort which includes the Nature Conservancy Texas, the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Texas Audubon Society, various government agencies and industry.

It works through acquisition of targeted land in the reserve deemed to be habitat of several endangered species or “species of concern.” The final goal is to acquire and manage 30,428 acres, approximately 80% of which had been acquired by 2002. Certain reserves have various levels of regulation and conditions, for example some are required to provide for maintenance, patrol and biological management, biological monitoring and research, as well as restriction of activities such as biking or hiking. Others are open to various recreational or development activities, including hunting or building. It is meant to strike a compromise between development and conservation. It works under a system of “incidental take permits,” where acquired land is given mitigation “credits” for infrastructure development; that is, development in the acquisition causing direct or indirect damage (or “take”) of an endangered species is “compensated for” by purchasing the credit which goes towards acquisition of other land in the reserve.

The Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Program (BCCP) was among the first of regional multi-species habitat conservation plans, which has served as a model for locally-based habitat protection programs that balances competing needs of developers and conservationists. It has had mixed reviews of its success. Restrictions on mountain bikers has drawn criticism from sport/adventure enthusiasts who say their impact is minimal and far less invasive than the construction of strip malls or subdivisions built close to the edge of reserves. Others say that development at the edges of reserves means the area of the reserve is much smaller than it appears, as a large buffer zone is needed between pristine and developed areas. (These songbirds, for example, need a 100-meter distance away from human settlement). Still others say that the BCCP was designed to allow development to continue, and that developers pay for the right to destroy habitat (much as the greenhouse credit trading critics say it allows industries to buy the right to burn greenhouse gases). For example, the BCCP allows “take” of 55% of black-capped vireo and 71% of identified golden-cheeked warbler habitat. The original habitat documents prepared by scientists identified a region more than twice the size of the current target.

But many environmentalists do concede that while it is far from adequate, the BCCP is better than nothing, and that it has potential to protect a large tract of land from being swallowed up by development characteristic of Texas. It has been praised as increasing badly-needed trust between developers and environmentalists, and built a strong relationship between the city and county staff. It has also set the wheels in motion to establish other land near BCCP boundaries.

For more information visit the National Center for Environmental Decision-Making Research and the Austin Chronicle.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Estado de Washington – Acuicultura Marina de la Nación Lummi

by Amanda Suutari

The Lummi Nation occupies some 12,500 acres of land and 8,000 acres of Puget Sound tidelands in the Northwest corner of Washington State, about 200 km north of Seattle.

The Lummi people have lived in Northwest Washington for about 12,000 years and there are about 4,000 members of the nation today. Fishing, especially salmon, has been the basis of their culture and survival, with ceremonies and folklore centered around salmon and salmon fishing. According to Lummi legend, a deity known as the Great Salmon Woman tells them that if they only take the salmon they need and protect the spawning areas, the salmon will thrive; this teaching has shaped their relationship with the salmon and its habitat throughout the generations.

The last decade has seen dramatic drops in salmon stocks all over the Pacific Northwest, with two of the four salmon species considered endangered. This has been due to logging of headwater areas, small dams on salmon streams, ground and water pollution from industry and agricultural wetlands, and inappropriate development of wetlands. The Lummi Nation maintains the largest Native American fishing fleet in the Pacific Northwest, and the most extensive fisheries protection program in the region. Many of its highly qualified tribal fisheries technicians and specialists were trained at Lummi Community College or Lummi School of Aquaculture. The fisheries department has an annual budget of 3 million dollars and overseas one of the country’s most successful productive salmon hatcheries in the US.

The goals of the program are to sustainably manage fisheries stocks, including protection of salmon spawning habitat, conducting salmon counts in many small river tributaries near Nooksak Basin, monitoring the return and harvest of salmon and increasing production of hatcheries, pursuing new and stricter laws to protect salmon habitat, and launching an aggressive public education campaign to better inform the public of the importance of salmon as a sustainable source of livelihood. It also manages an extensive shellfish hatchery in the Puget Sound tidelands.

The Lummi Nation is also represented on the International Salmon Commission, among whose goals are to regulate activities of offshore driftnet fisheries. It is a model for involvement of indigenous peoples in planning and management of natural resources, both local and internationally, and its traditional values, such as “generational time” (the impact of today’s policies on distant future generations) and management practices have great potential to influence fisheries management policy at the state or national level.

The Lummi Nation also has launched a variety of social programs such as a mobilization against drugs, education and youth programs, and a wellness program aimed at improving physical and mental health.

For more informtaion visit the Lummi Indian Nation.

Volver al inicio

EUA – Varias localidades – Fitoremediación

by Amanda Suutari

This emerging technology is marketed under various names like “Wastewater Gardens” or “Living Machines.” It is also commonly known in industrial ecology as “phytoremediation” or “bioremediation.” But the underlying principles are similar: a system whose design is to facilitate natural processes “doing the work” of cleaning up wastewater, restoring degraded ponds, streams or wetlands, treating sewage, or more controversially, toxic waste sites.

The use of wetlands to treat wastewater is not a new idea. The Chinese and Egyptians, for example, used them, but the concept of actually constructing a wetland was first attempted in 1904 in Australia. The technology became more developed in the seventies and eighties as part of the emerging fields of industrial ecology and ecological engineering. The goals of these fields are to optimize natural processes to perform industrial functions with reduced costs both to the economy and environment.

The system relies on the use of specially chosen native species of plants and non-pathogenic microbes specifically targeted to the system in question. With a diversity of regions and applications, experts are refining their systems especially in bioregions which have other successful projects which have served as models. The systems have been used in the US, Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines and elsewhere.

Generally the sites are used for more benign types of wastewater and sewage treatment, but they are also being used to clean up oil fields, abandoned mines, weaponry testing sites, fertilizer spills and other sites contaminated by toxins. The potential of using them for “remediation” of dangerous zones caught researcher’s attention after sunflowers grown hydroponically on floating styrofoam rafts were used to “vacuum” radioactive waste in Chernobyl.

Specifically chosen plants act as “pumps” which draw and concentrate pollutants from the soil, and stimulate the growth of chemical-degrading bacteria. The plants can then be disposed of. This is seen as a less expensive alternative to removing or transporting soil or waste materials. On the other hand, there are concerns over whether animals and insects feeding off these plants would then reintroduce these toxins to the food chain. It also might discourage corporations from using cleaner industrial processes in the first place as they could use the process to justify creating toxic pollution.

These systems may have their greatest potential in the developing world, where sanitation services are not keeping up with growing rural and urban populations. Warm climates are ideal, as vegetation grows easily year round. Their potential, as with alternative energy, could represent a shift towards “decentralization and diversification” of wastewater services, with systems introduced for apartment buildings, schools, hotels, or small factories, which would remove dependence from and take pressure off of a distant, centralized, and costly treatment plant.

Like conventional wastewater treatment, the systems generally operate on several levels, where sewage (blackwater) first enters a sealed primary holding tank, where bacteria reduce the waste by 65-95% in a good system. Then it passes into a wetland cell, or layered garden, a bed of gravel with specially selected vegetation on top. Additional third gardens sometimes are designed which receive the wastewater that can be used for non-drinking water purposes such as irrigation or toilet flushing. Well-designed systems have met EPA and European Health Authority standards.

The costs are an estimated 5-10% of ordinary maintenance and operation costs, and can be designed to rely on gravity, thus reducing/eliminating the need for energy. They can reduce the amount of fecal coliform bacteria by 99% without the use of any chemicals, such as harmful and expensive chlorine.

For more information visit the U.S. Geological Survey.

Volver al inicio

Canadá – British Columbia – La Nación Tsleil-Waututh

by Amanda Suutari

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation occupies some 190,000 hectares of the Indian River valley just north of Vancouver, Canada, living off the richly forested land with salmon and chum-filled rivers. Their way of life depended on salmon, deer, elk, bear, mountain goats, cedar, berries, and medicines; today although dramatically altered, some of these traditions still continue.

During the 1950s-1980s, industrial logging and other industry caused salmon runs to decline, affected other sea life, and degraded the water quality of the Indian River which drains into the Burrard Inlet. Concern over the ecosystem’s state and health of the community inspired the Nation leaders to find new ways to conduct stewardship of the land.

Among other things, they signed an agreement with the British Columbia (BC) government to co-manage the region’s provincial park, held a conference on integrated stewardship, began a watershed and restoration study, began an ecotourism business with canoe and boat tours, and signed cooperative agreements with the BC forest ministry and forestry operations to create sustainable logging ventures. They joined forces with foundation Ecotrust Canada in 1998, which provided funds, support and training for various programs, including: use of GPS for restoration of salmon habitat, field work and data collection, and cleanup of industrial waste in the valley left behind by logging camps and sawmills. They also deactivated 100 km of logging roads, which has been key in restoring the watershed.

They are applying for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council, the eco-labelling system for wood) certification for their logging, and plans are advancing for more ecotourism development.

Services/benefits: Watershed quality improved, salmon runs recovering, sense of stewardship and pride among TW nation, economic benefits

For more information visit the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.

Volver al inicio

Canadá – British Columbia – Cultivo Sustentable de Ostiones

by Amanda Suutari

This case is interesting because it is a radical departure from the boom-bust cycles characterizing Canadian Pacific Coast economies and ecosystems since the early 1900s. These include whaling, sealing, mining, sardine canning, and logging.

Clayoquot Sound includes coastal temperate rainforest, rivers, lakes, marine areas and beaches, and is home of the Nootka first nations peoples. It is best-known as being the focal point of one of the country’s largest civil society campaigns to stop industrial logging, culminating in 1993 when the provincial government allowed logging of old-growth forest in the region. Activists organized blockades and other acts of civil disobedience which finally resulted in the region being declared a World Biosphere Reserve in 2000. (However, critics are skeptical of this because “reserve” does not legally protect the resources. Environmentalists insist that the same companies under changed names are using the sanitized euphemism of “conservation-based forestry” to continue industrial logging in a form virtually unchanged, which has lulled people into the belief that the area is protected.)

Anyway, as the economy searches for solutions to wean itself off its past addictions to resource extraction, aquaculture of shellfish began growing in the region since 1985 as a way to diversify the economy. An important difference between farming of shellfish (mainly oyster but also scallops and clams) and what has gone before is that it depends on a pristine marine ecosystem to thrive. It requires fertile water, good currents, and nutrients, including leaf litter from the shore, which means the marine ecosystem is recognized to include the neighboring terrestrial ecosystem. Because they grow in such good conditions, the oysters themselves are said to be of very high quality. In fact, shellfish farms have had to close a few times by law after heavy rainfall when fecal levels in the inlets where they are raised are too high. The practice itself is low-impact and relatively pollution-free (it does have some impacts and must be monitored carefully). The sector is expected to expand by up to three times by 2007.

This is another illustration of how markets can shape long-term preservation of a resource (as in silvofisheries in Malaysia, tree frogs in Peru, agroforestry in China’s upper Yangtze watershed) as much as they were incentives for earlier short-sighted use of resources through the same pattern of discovery, exploitation, and depletion. Finally it shows some residents have learned important lessons after watching history repeating itself for a century.

Volver al inicio

Canadá – Northwest Territories – Invernadero Comunitario Inuvik

by Amanda Suutari

This is a good example of increasing food security and self-sufficiency in a cold climate, as well as other important benefits the project has brought with it.

Inuvik is a town of 3,500 which lies 2 degrees north of the Arctic Circle, between treeless tundra and northern boreal forest. Permafrost and a short and unpredictable growing season limit agricultural possibilities, but between June and August there is 24 hours of sunlight, and so potential to make use of it under the right conditions.

In 1998, the Inuvik Community Garden Association decided to rescue a disused arena and adjacent school which were slated for demolition, with funds it had raised for this purpose. It replaced the walls with glazing and added a second floor, to create what is now the world’s most northerly greenhouse. On the first floor are raised beds for community plots which are reserved and paid for with a nominal annual fee (some of which are provided to elders and other community groups by local businesses), while on the second floor is a commercial nursery which grows bedding plants (starter flowers and vegetables, which are being bought and planted in gardens around town and has improved the aesthetic) and later filled with hydroponic cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables. The building also has space for workshops and gardening classes. The community garden has received funding from businesses and government. Starting in 2000, the project is still young but has begun a composting and town beautification scheme with hanging baskets for the main streets, and window flower boxes for the subsidized housing.

The greenhouse has become a focal point for community development and has attracted a variety of residents from various backgrounds (including indigenous Gwiichin and Inuvialuit) and age groups. There has been an enthusiastic response, with waiting lists growing for plot allotments. While the growing season is short, it is also very intense, with 24-hour sunlight creating an environment for vegetables to grow where they would not normally in the soil. This local availability of fresh food is important here where variety and quantity of fresh, produce is limited. This could reduce the dependence on food grown in distant places, treated by one chemical preservation process or another and imported over long-distance fossil fueled transport.

Benefits/services: social relations, waste treatment, recycling of disused building, food security/options, reduced dependence (during the growing season anyway) on distant food sources.

For more information visit Urban Agriculture Notes.

Volver al inicio

Canadá – Nova Scotia – Proyecto Compostero Cero Residuos 2005

by Amanda Suutari

This was an ambitious plan for the small town (population 600) of Annapolis Royal to achieve zero waste by the year 2005. It was chosen to commemorate the 400-year anniversary of nearby Port Royal, which is Canada’s oldest European settlement, and was modeled after the low-waste lifestyles of the French settlers who arrived there.

In 1996 an environmental coalition called the Annapolis County Environment Protection Association (ACEPA) was formed to oppose the siting of a large landfill in an environmentally sensitive area. The plan for the project began in 1997, where members researched various alternatives to realize the goal, contacted experts and read technical literature. Their challenge was to break away from the provincially-mandated regional waste management, where despite high fees to participate, a small town like Annapolis Royal would have virtually no input in decisions affecting them.

Curbside collection of recyclables had been in place in Annapolis Royal since 1991, and after the province of Nova Scotia banned organic material from its landfills, many regional recycling/composting programs began, but they involved hauling organic waste, sometimes great distances, to central facilities.

Since the town had a small population (and small tax base), it wanted to find a solution that did not rely on fossil fuels to transport wastes long distances to a central facility, and was cheap and easy to use, particularly for the large population of elderly residents. They realized that the curbside collection and centralized composting was costly, so they found there was potential to save on tax dollars which would make up for any of its initial investments.

ACEPA formed a committee to handle the project, which had a lot of support with the public and elected city officials from the beginning. The whole project was created municipally, the information meetings were open to the public, and it still enjoys a high level of support and participation from the community.

Some 30% of Annapolis Royalis waste stream is organic. Three low-tech systems were put in place:

  1. “Green Cones” for individual backyard composting; these were cheap aerobic digesters which would handle meat, bones, dairy and other kitchen waste not composted.
  2. Neighborhood composters for use on streets or near multiple-unit dwellings.
  3. “Earth Tubs” which processed commercial volume up to 200 lbs/day, for businesses that produced higher levels of organic waste (supermarkets, restaurants).

The town exceeded its goal of diverting 50% of its waste from the landfill by 2000, with 53% being diverted. Before the start of the program 40% of its residents were composting to some degree; by 1999, 82% were composting. The waste from neighborhood composters and Earth Tubs are sold to farmers, gardeners and soil blenders. Around Nova Scotia, other municipalities are studying and copying the program, or adopting similar programs after learning of Annapolis Royal.

This case is interesting because the purpose of the project was to have a waste reduction program and purchasing choices that would allow residents and businesses to be “waste-free” by 2005 with a minimum of personal effort. This is a good illustration of redesigning a local system of purchasing, distribution and waste management that makes it “cheap and easy” for ordinary citizens to protect the environment rather than the other way around, and proves that if these conditions are put in place, people participate willingly and enthusiastically.

The whole of Nova Scotia’s waste-disposal program could be seen as a larger tipping point. When a large landfill was fast approaching capacity, and scheduled to close in 1996, with opposition to building a new one, a few strong leaders in the provincial government and municipalities began thinking of other solutions to the waste problem, since the story of aging outdated waste facilities was all over the province. This was the initial decision to ban not only organic waste but bottles, cans, cardboard, and other recyclable materials from landfills. After initial opposition from municipalities and citizens the situation has evolved to the point that Nova Scotia met the Canadian government goal to divert 50% of its waste from landfills, where no other province has come close. Now a burgeoning recycling industry has evolved, with tires and other “waste” being converted into car mats and other products, which has created at least 600 new jobs.

Services/benefits: Social relations, waste management, saving money, sense of pride, cultural heritage values.

For more information visit the Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada.

Volver al inicio

Verified by MonsterInsights