- This amazingly clever and well-done campaign is worth seeing how to adapt it to your city. At a talk last night by the head of our city’s Solid Waste, Regina Wheeler explained Santa Fe’s goal of zero waste and said how difficult it was to do the “Reduce” part of the famous “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”- ie. getting people to stop consuming so much. Having highly visible goals and an aggressive inclusive campaign are a good start! Watch the inspiring, well-done video. - Editor

Vancouver’s Innovative Talk Green to Us Campaign
Vancouver has adopted a set of bold and inspiring goals for the long term. They will require harnessing our city’s greatest resources—people, businesses, organizations, schools, and institutions. We won’t get to perfection by 2020, but we’ll start on the path to global green leadership.
We invite you to be a part of this historic transformation. Help us find the solutions to creating a prosperous and sustainable economy, a healthier planet, and happier people. What would you do to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world? Among all of the great green ideas out there, which would you pursue first? Help us prioritize between blue-sky visions and immediate opportunities. Give us your pet ideas and your audacious possibilities. Please provide your input and vote on the ideas that you think will work best before October 7, 2010. 
http://www.talkgreentous.ca/about.php
http://www.talkgreentous.ca/index.php

Green Economy
Climate Leadership
Green Buildings
Green Transportation
Zero Waste
Access to Nature
Lighter Footprint
Clean Water
Clean Air
Local Food
http://www.talkgreentous.ca/goals.php0

QUOTE
“Making Vancouver the greenest city in the world will
require harnessing the city’s greatest resources—its
people, businesses, NGOs, schools, and institutions.
All hands on deck are needed to help achieve the
transformation into a one-planet city.

By sparking a global competition for the title of
Greenest City, we hope to inspire not only Vancouverites
but also the citizens and governments of cities
around the world to join our efforts.”
http://vancouver.ca/greenestcity/PDF/Vancouver2020-ABrightGreenFuture.pdf

- Determining the amount of greenhouse gases in products to allow for comparison is not so easy. This example shows that it took a year and $100,000 to do one type of product, so imagine how hard it will be to do this with all boxes, bags, and tins of foods in a grocery store. - Editor
Is Your Product Good for the Climate? Here’s How to Prove It
BSF manufactures a variety of window films, which are retrofitted to the inside of glass surfaces, allow sunlight to penetrate windows while reducing solar heat gain. BSF recently completed a climate declaration — the greenhouse gas emission portion of an environmental product declaration (EPD), a lifecycle assessment of a product’s environmental performance. The climate declaration analyzed film, finding that, when installed, the films prevented more GHGs from entering the atmosphere over time than was expended in their manufacture, shipping, installation and expected end of life disposal and recycling.  The cost to produce the climate declaration was just over $100,000. The document took a year of work to assemble, requiring a cradle-to-grave lifecycle analysis. One motive for BSF’s climate declaration came from the company’s customer base: queries, lots of them. “Our sales team was reporting increasing questions from our international customer base,” Fremont says. “Customers wanted to know if our product was really carbon neutral or carbon negative.” These questions have been raised around the globe.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS212248723520100824

What Is A Climate Declaration

An increasing attention on climate change has driven the demand for new ways to provide information on products and services climate impact. Purchasers and consumers are asking for information to make climate conscious purchase decision.
Climate declarations are based on quality secured scientific methods. They provide a holistic approach on products and services climate impact and can be used by purchasers and consumers who want to take climate considerations in their purchases.
http://www.climatedec.com/  

- This may not be as precise as the above example, but this campaign is worth considering. Of course, less “stuff” in “Reduce” is often better, too. It’s no longer what you can afford- it’s what the Earth can afford to continue giving us. Think in what we call here “Earth Dollars”.  - Editor
 

Back-to-Cool- Shopping with Climate Change in Mind
Before you spend another dime, there are a few things you should know. The back-to-school shopping season is second only to the holiday shopping season in generating revenue. All that (“stuff”) requires energy, packaging, and transportation — all contributing factors in climate change.
The nonprofit organization Climate Counts is a collaborative effort to bring consumers and companies together in the fight against global climate change. In order to promote awareness among consumers, Climate Counts scores companies on their climate impact.
For the Back-2-Cool Campaign, Climate Counts is taking a look at back-to-school ads from the apparel, electronics, food products, and Internet/software industries to keep consumers informed about the actions of the companies behind the ads. Join the Back-2-Cool Campaign and become a climate-conscious consumer.
We’re getting results- between 2008 and 2009, 90 percent of companies scored by Climate Counts improved their scores by at least 22 percent. Those companies have taken steps to measure their climate footprint and reduce their climate impact.
Consumer choices matter. You can have an impact with your voice — call them, email them, tell them why you are taking your business to the competition… and you can have an impact with your wallet. When it comes to the bottom line, companies will take action to protect their brand and their reputation.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/back-to-cool-shopping-with-climate-change-in-mind.html

 The Douglas County School District (and several business partners) have announced the development of more than 3 MW of solar projects at 31 different sites, including 30 schools and one athletic stadium. The school district has entered into a power purchase agreement with REgeneration Finance, which will own and finance the solar electric generating projects. The project will be built at a cost of $18.3 million at no capital, operational, maintenance, insurance, financing or ownership expense to Douglas County School District taxpayers, and it is estimated this project will save the school district $5.5 million over a 25-year period. Installation will take approximately nine months to complete
http://www.solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content_lt.php?content.6121

The Bio-Bug has been converted by a team of British engineers to be powered by biogas, which is produced from human waste at sewage works across the country. They believe the car is a viable alternative to electric vehicles. Excrement flushed down the lavatories of just 70 homes is enough to power the car for 10,000 miles - the equivalent of one average motoring year. This conversion technology has been used in the past but the Bio-Bug is Britain’s first car to run on methane gas without its performance being reduced. “If you were to drive the car you wouldn’t know it was powered by biogas as it performs just like any conventional car. It is probably the most sustainable car around.” the Bio-Bug is carbon neutral because all of its CO2 would have been released into the atmosphere anyway in the form of methane gas.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7929191/Bio-Bug-Car-run-on-human-waste-is-launched.html

 Well, Floridians, with your flat landscape, you won’t need to tie yourself to the exercise equipment at the gym anymore- just take a spin around the neighborhood! Watch the video- it actually looks doable!  - Editor
HumanCar, Fred Flintstone wants this car and so should you
Inventors who are willing to wheel and deal in crazy new ideas often get pegged as cranks. However, that should be a compliment for Charles Samuel Greenwood, the creator of the HumanCar, a human-electric hybrid vehicle powered by cranks. Hand cranks, actually. If you and three friends are really cranking it, this sleek little toy can wind up to 60 miles per hour through flat towns and still maintain a cool 30 mph up hills. However, if you don’t have any backseat drivers to help, then the electric plug-in feature can give your handcranking a hand.  The less than 3 minute video is delightful!
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-08-17-fred-flintstone-wants-car-so-should-you/

- Want more time, better health, clearer conscience, more fun, and more money? Join the No Impact movement and begin your empowerment while joining with others. National No Impact Week starts August 29th! Come on- get your feet wet, challenge yourself, and make new friends- there are numerous options. – Editor
 
SIERRA CLUB NO IMPACT WEEK 8/29
For one week, remove yourself from consumerdom, lower your environmental impact, and improve your quality of life by focusing on what’s really important to you. Starting August 29th, thousands of people across the world will take part in the No Impact Week! To experience the difference low impact living can have for yourself, click to register and receive the new and improved how-to manual. http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageNavigator/NAT_noimpact

FINDING LOCALS
Joining a MeetUp group is a great way to get support and inspiration from local No Impact Week participants! Check out our MeetUp page here to find one in your area. Can’t find one? Start your own! Once you’re set up, email us to receive the workshop manual, which has everything you’ll need for sparking meaningful discussions and activities. www.meetup.com/No-Impact-Project/

PLANET GREEN TV HOUSE PARTIES
Call up your peeps and host an end of the summer No Impact House Party! Planet Green will broadcast the television premiere of No Impact Man August 28th at 10pm EDT.  We’ve partnered with Sierra Club to create a toolkit with fun activities, provocative discussion questions, and ideas for actions you can take to make a difference. Download it here.  No TV? No problem. You can rent the film or stream it free from Netflix.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/reel-impact/no-impact-man-lives-life-with-less.html

NO IMPACT WEEK FOR UNIVERSITIES
This fall, nearly 30,000 college students nationwide will take part in our customized University No Impact Week! Schools include Ohio State University, Indiana University-Purdue, Rollins College, and Arizona State University. It’s a great way to get students involved in and excited about environmentalism, and to introduce them to all the great green resources on campus. If you’d like us to create a week with your school, click here for more details. http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/universities/

SCREENINGS FOR COMMUNITIES OF FAITH
Hosting a screening of No Impact Man is a great opportunity for your community to get together to discuss environmental issues and take action. And thanks to generous support from the 11th Hour Project, faith-based organizations are invited to participate in our special community-screening event for free. In addition, participants are eligible to purchase copies of No Impact Man the book at half-off retail price. If your faith group would like to screen No Impact Man, please contact Lindsay@noimpactproject.org   http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/universities/

In the city of Richmond, people can get everything they need to start their own urban gardens, with a little help from the local library. The seedbank at the Richmond library is the brainchild of school teacher Rebecca Newburn. “I think it takes and connects a lot of dots for me - it’s creating community. People are coming together and we’re sharing our resources and sharing our skills.” The seeds are rented at no cost, but you do have to fill out the correct forms and attend a small workshop. Information on each type of plant is typed on index cards and color-coded to show how hard or easy they are to grow. The seeds may be free, but that doesn’t mean you get them for nothing. At the end of the growing season you have to bring back your new seeds, so somebody else can borrow them and keep the idea passing forward.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7612093

- The costs of driving cars are huge- if people thought about it, they would really like to get over $8,000 tax-free every year! And how should a city calculate public transportation costs? - Editor
 

Costs to displaced transit riders could outweigh the $47M Pittsburgh needs
The cost of cutting public transit service by 35 percent could far exceed the $47 million that is needed to avoid the cuts, according to various projections.  If the Port Authority loses 15 percent to 22 percent of its ridership after the proposed Jan. 9 cuts, as it predicts, those displaced riders would spend an additional $135 million to $198 million annually to drive and park. The association releases an annual study of the savings enjoyed by transit riders. This year’s report, issued in April, concluded that riders in Pittsburgh save $8,174 each year on gasoline, parking, maintenance and other automotive costs.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10231/1081135-455.stm