Akron Changes

Some recent changes in and around Akron:

We can now purchase yogurt and cottage cheese without becoming overwhelmed with guilt when confronting the empty container, as Akron's recycling program has been upgraded to collect and recycle all plastics labeled 1 through 7. I no longer have to bug The Mustard Seed about their number 5 plastic take-away containers. While I'm glad the city is boosting its recycling program, I still think we need to be more mindful of the amounts of plastic we consume and toss away on a daily basis. Look at all the plastic in your life that doesn't come with a convenient recycling number,such as plastic potato chip bags, plastic bubbles around electronic products, plastic windows in junk mail envelopes, plastic notebooks, lunchboxes, brushes and combs, your toothbrush and so on.

Along with the recycle upgrade, Akron officially launched its much anticipated Green Print (you can download it in its entirety here). The ABJ's Bob Downing summarizes the goals:

Suggestions include promoting green buildings; cutting the use of electricity; boosting water conservation; expanding the urban forest; increasing green jobs; encouraging neighborhood revitalization; better managing the city's fleet of vehicles; increasing parks and walkable areas; turning more sewage sludge into electricity; boosting recycling and bicycling; adding grass-covered roofs; limiting pollution in storm-water runoff; building rain barrels and boosting new urbanism and regional smart growth.

All of those proposed changes sound good to me. Too bad we aren't focused on making those changes realities. Instead, we must put up with a small band of opportunists who want to "Change Akron Now." They aren't talking about making positive substantial changes in Akron's environment. No, these are the folks who want us to kick out the mayor -- for reasons that range from petty to vindictive, as they can't seem to find anything illegal.

We all got to vote for the mayor less than two years ago at which time we could discuss and debate the mayor's policies and abrasive personality all we wanted. He had competition in the primary, won that race and then faced no opposition in the general election. Nothing I've read from the Change Akron Now folks has convinced me that I made a mistake in voting for Don Plusquellic in 2007.

The only good thing that can come out of this is that the political careers of the opportunists instigating the re-call drive come crashing to a halt when they fail to drive out Mayor Plusquellic. If anything, this recall election should wake up the electorate enough to consider who our future political leaders might be.

Akron Greenprint rollout delayed

I know I said I didn't have time to post, but -- at the E4S meeting in Akron tonight I learned some news that may interest my Akron readers. The schedule for tonight's event had been announced at the last meeting in August as including a preview of Akron's new Greenprint. That didn't happen. Evidently the process is taking much longer than anticipated. I had a chance to talk to some folks who are involved in the Greenprint, one of which works for a company that assists businesses, non-profits and now entire cities in assessing their green needs and helping to format a template for sustainability that will continue on no matter who is in political control at the time.

I was told that Cleveland's ongoing sustainability project began without any attention to the underlying system. Instead, the demand was for visible results from the get-go. One guy was hired to begin the project and was told that he would get funding if he could show bottom line efficiencies. There have been some dramatic results up by the mouth of the Cuyahoga, and evidently Akron's Greenprint folks are quite envious. However, the consultant I talked to felt it was better to put the underlying structure in place first. She said the Cleveland project is now faced with having to go back and do just that before they can continue to move forward.

E4S is all about networking. There is a "network weaver" who gives out conversation starting questions and gets people talking to each other around the room. I have had the opportunity to talk to very interesting and intelligent people. Tonight I met a local landscape designer from a firm that can help you conserve water through landscaping choices. I also met an architect who said he has worked on some of the Akron Public Schools new community learning centers. He says that the new schools yet to be built are going to feature more green elements. What fantastic news!

The Ohio new schools project began back in the era of Taft and his cronies, and nothing about green and sustainable building practices were included in the first rounds of urban school designs. Strickland has ushered in an era of progressive thinking about the buildings we work and live in. The Ohio Schools Facilities Commission has adopted the LEED for Schools Green Building Rating System. And just in the nick of time. As fuel costs go up, school districts investing in green energy systems will be ahead of the game. Green building practices in the urban setting will have a huge effect on student health and learning.

For more on the how and why of building green schools, go here.

It all makes me very glad that the building I teach in is on the list for the very final round of building and renovation. Maybe my dream of teaching in a school with a green roof with solar panels and geothermal wells under the parking lots is not so out there after all.

Breaking News -- Akron to recycle plastics 1 - 7!

When I began this blog at the end of summer in 2006, the City of Akron was rolling out the new green trash bins along with blue recycle bins for paper, glass and plastic containers marked #1 and #2. I owe my growing passion for recycling and environmental issues to the city for initiating their program, because it lead me to ask, "What am I supposed to do with plastics three, four, five, six and seven?" You can see my initial question in the heading intro at the top of this blog.

I have been informed by a source from a local non-profit environmental group that Akron will start collecting all plastics as of this October, the city having found a company that is willing to handle all our plastics for recycling! The day this happens will be a great day for our city, even if few of us actually celebrate it.

It sounds like the folks who have been working on Akron's Greenprint have taken their task seriously and have already found ways to make major positive changes in the way we deal with our trash. We have our work cut out for us:

Akron ranks 62nd in per capita carbon emissions among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas. The average Akron resident is said to have produced 2.637 tons of carbon, from highway transportation and residential energy in 2005 compared to 2.60 tons of carbon emitted by the average American from transportation and residential energy. The study indicates Akron’s per capita footprint increased 8.47% in these two areas between 2000 and 2005. [Keep Akron Beautiful]

It is time to stop the carbon spewing and find healthy sustainable ways of living in Akron. So many sidewalks and so few citizens actually walking from place to place! We need to continue to make our neighborhoods safe, friendly and green!