Green Options

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… for production of renewable energy and maybe carbon sequestration.

Carbon neutral is gaining popularity these days, but Mantria Corporation is taking it a step further.

“We pledge Mantria Place will be the first carbon negative community in the nation by 2011,” states Troy Wragg, Mantria Corporation Chairman and CEO. “Carbon neutral is simply not good enough given today’s environmental issues. At Mantria, we believe that we must go much further to truly help our planet. Our goal is to be carbon negative.”

Located in Sequatchie County, Tennessee,  Mantria Place will be Tennessee’s largest master planned community weighing it at 5,500 acres. Nearly half of that will be green space in addition to two championship golf courses. A big question looms: can new, luxurious development really be green? With luxuries like two golf courses, how can their carbon footprint make it below par? Mr. Troy Wragg was kind enough to speak with me to answer that very question.

If you thought the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was cool in years past, wait’ll you get a look at this year’s lineup … not only the talent on stage, but the starring sustainability efforts backstage too.

The four-day camping festival, held annually in Manchester, Tennessee, since 2002 has grabbed accolades galore just for the great variety of performers it attracts (this year’s lineup includes everyone from Pearl Jam, Chris Rock, Kanye West and B.B. King to Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Willie Nelson and Janeane Garofalo). But it’s taken increasingly awesome steps each year to green the event onstage and off, and this year is no exception.

Knoxville, Tennessee, will play host next month to a conference exploring the ethical implications of energy policy, resource consumption and the environment.

Set for April 10 - 12, “Energy and Responsibility” will feature presentations by, among others, Robert Socolow, the Princeton professor who helped develop the concept of “stabilization wedges” to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and curb climate change.

Tennessee officials have fired back a salvo at the state of Georgia, which recently passed resolutions aimed at “correcting” an 1818 survey and moving its border north to gain access to water from the Tennessee River.

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield’s response was to proclaim today, Wednesday, Feb. 27, “Give Our Georgia Friends a Drink Day” (GOGFADD?). To observe the day, Littlefield is dispatching his aide Matt Lea — in a coonskin cap, no less — to deliver a truckload of bottled water to Atlanta.

The proclamation creating GOGFADD has already itself been widely proclaimed as priceless. Judge for yourself:

Expanding on a previous post, the development of proposed I-3 has taken a fresh turn as legislators push for development and opposition continues to mount. There have been set-backs and victories on all sides, and now the stakes are raised. I-3 is moving slowly towards the first inklings of action while another major road is proposed through the same region. Like an ancient, sleeping monster, the cliche-inspired “Corridor K” has reared its head to threaten not one, but two major recreational rivers and two wilderness areas.

I-3 Update:

After years of political maneuvering and bureaucratic mire, 1.3 million dollars have been allocated to study possible routes for I-3. Even this seemingly small step has not gone without controversy or contention. Paul Broun of Georgia campaigned against I-3 last year and won a seat in the House of Representatives, affirming,”I am totally against I-3. I would like to de-fund the study” on June 29, 2007. Safely elected, today he sings a different tune; he favors the road but not in his home state: ”There are always environmental impacts from a highway, but it would be much less on the South Carolina side than on the Georgia side.” But even before Broun’s turn around, local opposition has been fierce in Georgia.

“In a town hall meeting in Hiawassee on May 24th 2005, 650 people showed up to voice an overwhelming opposition to the project. Then on June 7th in Rabun County, 178 citizens applauded and gave a standing ovation to the Rabun County Commissioner’s unanimous opposition to the proposed interstate through the north Georgia mountains.”

Alabama, Georgia and Florida are expected to miss their Friday, Feb. 15, deadline for reaching a regional water-sharing agreement, the Associated Press reported today.

The states have been squabbling for years, and the situation only grew worse as last year’s drought drove levels at Lake Lanier — Atlanta’s main water supply — perilously low. When that happened, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue did more than pray for rain (though he did that, too): he asked the feds to let his state hold back more water in its reservoirs rather than maintain federally mandated river flows into Alabama and Florida.

Editor's note: Our friends at Ecotality found out the meaning of "mixed blessing" today: this post we're republishing was picked up by the Drudge Report, and the ensuing traffic crashed their blog. We wish them best of luck in getting back on track…

by Ecotality blogger Bill Hobbs

Sign seen in front of Al Gore's mansion in the posh Belle Meade section of Nashville Thursday, indicating Gore is moving forward with plans

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