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May 2, 2011
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Climate Change Fellows
We are leaving Austin today , and its time to say BYE Y’ALL, and thanks. Today Climate Change Fellows Wayne Prangnell and I head back to Washington DC after two weeks with the City of Austin. Lucia Athens, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Melissa Martinez put together a comprehensive program that included tours and interviews with leaders in local government, non government and community based organisations. Thanks to all who generously gave their time and effort to make this a valuable and memorable experience at Austin. Our program here, and the exchange of information and
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May 2, 2011
Blog:
Climate Change Fellows
According to Jose Beceiro, Director Economic Development with the Austin Chamber of Commerce, Texas oil production peaked in 1975, however the economic boon that oil brought to the area is now being surpassed by a green economic boom. Around 1700 companies in Austin have embraced green-tech and clean energy and are driving the new economy. With 45,000 people now employed in this sector in Austin, and with this figure growing it is clear that Green is the way of the future. The City’s Green building requirements, and incentives offered by Austin Energy are driving
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May 1, 2011
Blog:
Climate Change Fellows
Friday April 29 we visited the headquarters of Texas Disposal Systems, near Austin, and site of one of the largest landfills in the country. But this landfill is really WILD! The TDS landfill receives 2-3000 tonnes of waste every day The landfill which was recently voted best in USA receives around 640,000 tonnes of waste per annum of which around 200,000 tonnes is recycled. Recycling and resource recovery includes composting of organics, operation of a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) to process comingled recyclables, recovery of metals, sorting and crushing of Construction
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April 25, 2011
Blog:
Climate Change Fellows
Friday April 22, Austin City treated us with an unforgettable program that began with a meeting with Bob Getter, Director of Solid Waste Services, followed by a tour of the University of Texas at Austin, followed by a meeting with Pliny Fisk and Gail Vittori, then an evening Earth Day Concert that featured a riveting presentation by Robert F Kennedy Jr and performance by Bruce Hornsby. Austin's large 96 gallon (360 litre) blue recycling bins - the way to go. We had an interesting discussion with Bob
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April 22, 2011
Blog:
Climate Change Fellows
Wednesday April 20 we toured the Austin Convention Centre, which features leading edge sustainability building design and practices. By Australian standards this convention centre is enormous with a floor area of 890,000 Austin's Plug In Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Austin Convention Centre back room waste recycling sorting station square feet. But we were told that by US standards it is only small to medium size! Sustainability elements of the Austin Convention Center include double glazing, water efficient fixtures,
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April 21, 2011
Blog:
Climate Change Fellows
On Tuesday April 19, we were treated to tours of the City of Austin’s City Hall and administration centre, and held discussions with staff about the many facets of Council's operations and wide ranging sustainability initiatives. The scale and range of the Councils activities in mind boggling! Its 13,000 employees serving a population of around 800,000. The Council launched the Office of Sustainability in Sept. 2010, with Lucia Athens appointed as the Chief Sustainability Officer. Lucia, and Melissa Martinez, within the Office of Sustainability Office have generously provided a comprehensive program for our two weeks at Austin.
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April 15, 2011
Blog:
Climate Change Fellows
Tuesday April 12, we visited the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Annopolis headquarters, known as the Philip Merrill Environmental Centre. The building is rated as “Platinum” standard for energy efficiency , and although a decade old is still considered the most energy efficient in USA. Sustainability features of the building include: passive thermal design to optimise solar heat gain in winter and minimise heat gain in summer, insulation of ceilings, floors and walls, summer shading by the use of trellises and louvers, draft protection. use of natural recycled materials with low embodied energy Solar PV electricity supply
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April 15, 2011
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On Thursday April 14, 2011 we visited Bladensburg Waterfront Park and went on a boat tour of the Anacostia River with James Foster of the Anacostia Watershed Society. The river which is located in the middle of a highly urbanized area was previously highly polluted due to sedimentation, urban and industrial run off, landfill activities along its banks, and surcharge of untreated sewage. With the aid of volunteers from the Anacostia Watershed Society this river is being transformed into a more natural state. The river is being enhanced for recreational use including boating, canoeing and walking trails along its banks.
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April 15, 2011
Blog:
Climate Change Fellows
On Wednesday 13 April 2011, I and other Climate Change Fellows participated in a visit to the Town of Bladenburg to hear about the Bladenburg Solar Energy Recovery Plan (SERP). We were warmly received by the Deputy Mayor, Council members and Staff. Sgt. James (Jim) Flynn gave a presentation and later led us on a tour about the project that involved the installation of 9 * 20KW (Approx) photovoltaic systems on public buildings across nine partnering Councils. This project was undertaken with the benefit of grant funding. As an aside, Bladensburg Council serves a population of 9000 over
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