Green Options

Three more car companies received sizeable loans from the federal government yesterday, but don’t worry; it’s not another bailout. In fact, the$8 billion is just the start of a larger $25 billion project called the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVM for short) that was thought up back in 2007 and funded by Congress in late 2008 during the Bush administration. The project, overseen by the Department of Energy, is a federal grant and loan initiative bent on providing [...]

LEED, for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, has become the alpha acronym when referring to green, or eco-friendly, buildings. The standard, from the U.S. Green Building Council, recently went 3.0.

Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, is taking the green diploma to an even higher degree. University officials are betting a new Living Learning Center will meet the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most stringent green building rating system from the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, a chapter of the USGBC and its Canadian counterpart.

The Tower Grove Farmers’ Market and Bazaar in St. Louis is not only a community center piece, but a regional one. And the group is candidly joining a nation-wide line of community-minded organizations who are in economic straits and need support.

Understanding that there are many worthy groups asking for assistance these days, the one that organizes the Tower Grove market is asking, in particular, for those who already value what it creates in the St. Louis region — shoppers and friends who stop by, even just twice a season — to consider stepping forward. The support can be monetary or otherwise.

The Missouri Sewer District (MSD) reports success in its rain barrel sale, which ended April 3. I’d posted here at ecolocalizer about the sale last week.  

As a thoughtful follow-up, Debbie Johnson in the Public Information department for MSD left a comment for that initial posting, updating readers on the program’s status. Here is that information:

Being a Missourian, it is particularly nice to see this Midwestern, conservative state step up to the green plate at times. Recently, a Missouri tax holiday was announced for the purchase of energy-efficient home appliances.</

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported:

From April 19-25, the state is waving its 4.225 percent sales tax on washing machines, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners if the new appliance is Energy Star-certified. Nine counties and just over 50 cities also are waving their sales taxes for the week.

The Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) in St. Louis, Mo., is selling rain barrels through 5 p.m. on April 3.

As of the end-of-business on Thursday more than 1,000 barrels had been ordered, according to the office personnel handling the orders. A news story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch laid out the general information this way:

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is offering its customers the opportunity to help take the burden off those creeks — and its storm water system — by purchasing 55-gallon rain barrels to collect and store rainwater that would otherwise flow into a storm drain.

Smith Electric Vehicles to build electric trucks in Kansas City

Company officials at the UK-based Smith Electric Vehicles announced on Friday that they will begin manufacturing “The world’s largest battery-electric-powered truck” at a new plant in Kansas City, Missouri.

The battery-powered Newton will be the first vehicle to be produced at the new plant, but starting next year, the plant will manufacture an electric version of the new Transit Connect light-duty vehicle in collaboration with made by Ford Motor Co.

The Map Room in the historic Benton Park neighborhood in St. Louis, Mo., is about to open. There are 7 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes, 24 — no, wait: 23…13…8… Well, the seconds keep ticking us closer to the grand opening, as the countdown clock on The Map Room’s Web site proudly — and funly — indicates.

The grand day begins at 7 a.m. on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. The address is: 1901 Withnell (at Lemp).

The countdown clock tells me there’s an I-can’t-wait atmosphere over there. That tells me to expect a smile when I walk in the door. And everything I’ve read so far on the Map Room’s site — and via email exchange with one of the inspirations energizing the place, Michele Floyd — tells me I can probably believe a number of the thoughts already put out on the coffee & wine house’s site:

St. Louis, Mo., rates as one of the dirtiest cities — in the bottom 10 percent — in the United States “in terms of air releases of recognized carcinogens,” according to scorecard.org.

It pains me to have to put more horrifying news about St. Louis out to the world. If anyone not from St. Louis, my home city, thinks anything of this historic, blues-music thrumming, Gateway Arch-boasting, Stan Musial-loving, Mississippi River-guarding city, it’s likely about the city’s position in the annual “most dangerous city” rankings.

I wrote my first “Building Bridges” post on a lark: the article I referenced on carbon offsets tied in nicely with ideas about bridging the divide between the environmental community and “Red America” (which tends to distrust, at the very least, environmentalists). Since then, I’ve been digging into existing success stories… and I’d love your input.

For the next round of posts, I’d like to feature “case studies” of “red” communities (and I hate that designation, but it conveys the rights characterization) that are implementing “green” practices. I’m particularly interested in “homegrown” initiatives put forth by local residents, as I think ideas that come from within will get a better reception — we’re all a bit more open-minded about ideas that come from people we know and trust. So far, I know about the following communities:

• Rock Port, Missouri: This town of 1300 residents is the first 100% wind-powered community in the United States.
• Reynolds, Indiana: Designated “Biotown USA,” Reynolds has set the goal of total energy self-sufficiency (as part of a larger state program).
• Greensburg, Kansas: Greensburg has received a ton of attention for its decision to rebuild to LEED Platinum standards after 95% of the town was destroyed after a tornado.

Next to bathroom breaks and brushing teeth, eating may be one of the most routine, daily activities we engage in. Yet perhaps because food is so engrained in our everyday existence, we forget that it can readily be a strong means for us to activate some activism, no committee sign-ups required.

Instead blend your own creativity and contribution and come up with your own vision and project for promoting sustainable agriculture and local food. Come up with your own project to work towards a secure, healthy food system. Think out of the box and beyond just the dollars you spend at your farmers’ market. How can you contribute your skills, interests and enthusiasm toward bigger-picture change?

Melinda and Dan Hemmelgarn provide super-sized inspiration in such self-initiated, purposeful volunteering. Long-time supporters of their local farmers’ market in Columbia, Missouri, this creative couple blended their talents and passions into creating a calendar featuring area farmers: Farm Hands – a Tribute to the hands that feed us.