Shifting To Sustainability – A Reality Reader

As someone who’s long advocated for increased energy efficiency and a transformation to a green economy, it’s gratifying to see the world shifting in that direction. The evolution of green technologies has been held back for too long by energy giants who would have us believe that Big Oil created the world in seven days. My candidacy for City Council is largely based on the fact that the energy economy is shifting, and we can either be on the forefront or eat the table scraps from more progressive cities.

Through retrofitting we can conserve enormous amounts of energy, minimizing the need for building more power production facilities. Retrofitting will also provide innumerable jobs for our talented construction industry while infusing our nascent alternative energy manufacturing sector with private capital.

By raising the bar on energy efficiency in new construction, we can recognize a simple reality – we can not continue to pollute our air, water, and soil without repercussions. We can meet our energy needs without building another power plant. We can get behind our green developers and sprout a new employment base.

Those things being said, here’s some reading around sustainable growth:

At the state level, the NC Save$ Act will create an office, separate from the utilities, for energy efficiency and will establish a fund to retrofit residences across North Carolina. More at NC SAVE$ Energy.

In the New York Times, Richard Moe reminds us of another simple truth – “Preserving a building is the ultimate act of recycling.”

“NEVER before has America had so many compelling reasons to preserve the homes in its older residential neighborhoods. We need to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. We want to create jobs, and revitalize the neighborhoods where millions of Americans live. All of this could be accomplished by making older homes more energy-efficient.”

My favorite magazine, Scientific American, lays out the Top 10 Myths About Sustainability:

Myth 1: Nobody knows what sustainability really means.
Myth 2: Sustainability is all about the environment.
Myth 3: “Sustainable” is a synonym for “green.”
Myth 4: It’s all about recycling.
Myth 5: Sustainability is too expensive.
Myth 6: Sustainability means lowering our standard of living.
Myth 7: Consumer choices and grassroots activism, not government intervention, offer the fastest, most efficient routes to sustainability.
Myth 8: New technology is always the answer.
Myth 9: Sustainability is ultimately a population problem.
Myth 10: Once you understand the concept, living sustainably is a breeze to figure out.

The NC Board of Realtors is spent $972,000 lobbying Raleigh lawmakers. They oppose informing buyers about landslide risks, creating a transfer tax to fund important infrastructure projects, and mandating more energy efficient building. It’s interesting to meet realtors, because there are very few I’ve run across who agree with their Board’s lobbying arm. The NC Board/Association of Realtors dumped thousands of dollars into Asheville’s last municipal election and will likely do so again. Here’s a comment from the AC-T forums from a realtor who disagrees with the President of the Asheville Board of Realtors’ stance on opposing steep slope regulations:

I gotta chime in here to say this Realtor is all for steep slope regulation! The board does not speak for all of us and I feel that it is very irresponsible to build in a manner that damages the local slopes and contributes to poor water quality due to runoff issues etc. To use the argument of poor economic times to justify looser regulation is a sad one. There is never a right time to do the wrong thing and never a wrong time to do the right thing!

Amen.

Lastly – The Asheville City Chickens group has managed to move urban agriculture into the spotlight. They’re encouraging folks who keep chickens and bees to turn out to the April 28th City Council meeting:

The staff will present a broad revision including dogs and chains, bees, maybe goats, and of course chickens. We have been told lots of things by lots of people about the final content of the revisions. We know that they will recommend reducing the distance requirement. We have heard that they will present 50 feet coop to neighbor’s house or 10 feet coop to property line, and we have also heard 25 feet coop to neighbor’s house or 10 feet coop to property line, both from fairly reliable sources. Either way, it is a huge improvement over the previous 100 feet coop to neighbor’s house.

Producing one’s own food is one of the many ways you can make Asheville more affordable and more sustainable. I applaud the City Chickens group for effective organization and advocacy.