Sharing Sustainable Ideas: Foundations
Professionally, academically, and personally, I've been entwined with sustainable living for somewhere over 6 years... and there are tons of great ideas out there. I'm thinking it's time to put my focus into sharing the ideas, peoples stories, and new (or rediscovered) technology, living styles, and such.
Sharing Sustainable Ideas is a place for me to showcase my writing ability, connections, and work as a freelance writer on ecological subjects.
Welcome and Enjoy.
If you have story ideas or people connections that you'd like to share, I'd love to see them!
Cheers,
Jill
Sharing Sustainable Ideas is a place for me to showcase my writing ability, connections, and work as a freelance writer on ecological subjects.
Welcome and Enjoy.
If you have story ideas or people connections that you'd like to share, I'd love to see them!
Cheers,
Jill
posted by Jill at 9:29 AM
2 Comments:
Currently, the energy sources upon which we largely depend – coal, natural gas and oil – have many negative impacts on all three forms of capital: social, economic, and natural. Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from power plants, cars, and buildings, cause respiratory diseases and drive climate change, which in turn adversely affects economic productivity and environmental health (Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of New Orleans is but one example).14 Further, the instability of oil and gas markets and declining availability of oil have high costs for local governments and their constituents. The most cost-effective way to reduce these negative impacts is to increase energy efficiency – that is, squeezing more productivity out of the energy we use, which enables us
to use less of it. By consuming less energy, we reduce the need for energy production in the
first place and realize immediate savings. Coupling that with using clean energy from locally
available renewable sources including solar, wind, biogas, and biomass will bring the USA
closer to energy independence and economic sustainability.
Local governments’ facilities and operations use significant amounts of energy. Due to their relatively large power and fuel purchases, as well as involvement in smart growth and economic development plans,
there are many opportunities for promoting clean energy initiatives. Using green approaches to planning,
designing and operating buildings, developments and transportation can accommodate growing populations
and economies while reducing dependence on external energy sources. This promotes resource efficiency and provides meaningful savings to taxpayers and improvements in the health of local communities.
Energy sustainability is about finding alternative ways of structuring the energy sector, and
alternatives to our fossil-fuel based economy. Its goal is to provide plentiful, reasonably priced energy
to all sectors of society safely and to support the health of our economy, people and environment
without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their energy needs. Energy savings and the adoption of renewable forms of energy are key approaches to achieving this.
Ryan Wegner
UW-Madison Student
Our transportation choices affect everything – public health, the environment, and our economy.
Pollution produced by fossil-fuel burning vehicles is responsible for public health problems that
decrease our quality of life and impose significant financial costs on individuals and the community as a whole. It also results in serious reductions in the health, productivity and enjoyment of our air, agricultural crops, forests, lakes, rivers and other waterways. Finally, as the
resources that feed our fossil-fuel dependent transportation policies become scarcer and
more expensive, communities are beginning to recognize that those policies simply are
economically unsustainable. The many negative effects of pollution and global climate change resulting from vehicle emissions is now recognized as one of our largest challenges from the local to the global level. A local government’s transportation and mobility policies play a major role in a community’s sustainability. Those policies and decisions should address how to move residents,
employees, visitors, as well as materials and goods to, from, and within the community
in a more sustainable manner. The results of such policies have the potential to generate
environmental, public health, and social benefits, as well as significant cost savings for communities. Sustainable transportation policies must address several areas, including the municipal fleet, parking, commuter options and transportation alternatives.
Ryan Wegner
UW-Madison Student
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