For your summertime reading pleasure - enjoy all our breaking sustainable news! July 2018 Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Plug-Ins With an eye toward the Electric Car Expo on September 15th when the public will have the opportunity to talk with owners and dealers of electric vehicles, Sustainable Tallahassee’s committees for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Transportation have been busy surveying local car dealerships to learn about the ins-and-outs of EVs including availability, servicing, driving range, and future features. Recently, the American Automobile Association (AAA) conducted a survey that showed 20% of Americans (50 million people) are likely to purchase an EV as their next vehicle. Of those, 80% indicated the primary motivator was a concern for the environment, followed closely by cost savings. That’s encouraging news and a game changer for the environment! Community CO2 Scorecard for Leon County County-wide sustainable energy planning is slated to kick off this year which brings added importance to the Community CO2 Scorecard. This document, complete with detailed figures and graphs, serves as a single source for understanding the multiple aspects of carbon dioxide (CO2) production in Leon County from 2001 thru 2017. It will assuredly prove to be an invaluable resource to guide planning for a sustainable energy future and to monitor progress of meeting objectives and adopted goals.
Transcript
For your summertime reading pleasure - enjoy all our breaking sustainable news!
July 2018
Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Plug-Ins
With an eye toward the Electric Car Expo on September 15th when the public willhave the opportunity to talk with owners and dealers of electric vehicles,Sustainable Tallahassee’s committees for Renewable Energy and SustainableTransportation have been busy surveying local car dealerships to learn about theins-and-outs of EVs including availability, servicing, driving range, and futurefeatures.
Recently, the American Automobile Association (AAA) conducted a survey thatshowed 20% of Americans (50 million people) are likely to purchase an EV as theirnext vehicle. Of those, 80% indicated the primary motivator was a concern for theenvironment, followed closely by cost savings. That’s encouraging news and agame changer for the environment!
Community CO2 Scorecard for Leon County
County-wide sustainable energy planning is slated to kick off this year which bringsadded importance to the Community CO2 Scorecard. This document, complete withdetailed figures and graphs, serves as a single source for understanding themultiple aspects of carbon dioxide (CO2) production in Leon County from 2001 thru2017. It will assuredly prove to be an invaluable resource to guide planning for asustainable energy future and to monitor progress of meeting objectives andadopted goals.
Thanks to Richard Hopkins for his excellent work on this project! View the fullreport here.
CONA – Public Servant of the Year Award
Sustainable Tallahassee is honoredto be named the 2017-2018Public Servant of the Year bythe Tallahassee/Leon CountyCouncil of NeighborhoodAssociations (CONA). Receivingthis prestigious awardacknowledges and reinforces ourcommitment to encouraging andsupporting dynamic andsustainable neighborhoods.Thanks to all our members thatmake it possible!
Green4Tally – Best Practice Workshop
Green4Tally continues to move forward in its quest to assistTallahassee businesses incorporate sustainable practices intheir every day operations. At the next workshop, a programupdate will be presented followed by a discussion on foodwaste options and food waste recovery. For more detailedGreen4Tally information, click here.
August 1st at Noon, Site TBD
Sustainable Neighborhood of the Year Award
The votes are in and Indianhead-Lehigh Neighborhood has been named the“Sustainable Neighborhood of the Year”. Congratulations to all of its dedicatedresidents who incorporate sustainable principles in their daily lives! Levy Park,Glendale, and Woodland Drives Neighborhoods are also to be commended for theirefforts – thanks for contributions to our community.
If your neighborhood isn’t already on a path togreater sustainability, help start the process! Youcan begin from a small footprint and build fromthere. For some pointers about how to kick thingsoff, Sustainable Tallahassee has some helpfuladvice.
Food Waste/Recovery Project –Volunteers Needed
Sustainable Tallahassee needs you! We arelooking for volunteers passionate about foodwaste and insecurity to help launch a compostingprogram in a local elementary school starting thisfall. Volunteers will assist in collecting and loggingcompost during lunchtime. If you are interested in learning more, [email protected].
Share It Night at Panera
Most everyone is a fan of Panera’s diverse anddelicious menu items. You may not know,however, that Panera has made great strides intheir approach to animal welfare and expansion ofplant-based proteins. As an expression of theircommitment to sustainability, a portion ofproceeds will be donated to SustainableTallahassee on Share It Night.
The dinner bell is ringing so head on over! Makesure to print the flyer from SustainableTallahassee's home page in order for us toreceive credit. From our organization to yours,thanks for your support.
July 14th from 4:00 – 8:00 pm, Panera Bread, 3523 Thomasville Road
Kathryn Ziewitz, PhD, Interim Director ofFAMU’s Sustainability Institute will provide anoverview of several exciting initiatives thattheir students are involved in. Come learnabout FAMU’s outdoor sustainability educationand engagement destination and importantresearch that is being conducted in coastline
stabilization and climate-related hazards faced by socially vulnerableneighborhoods. You don’t want to miss this Green Drinks presentation!
Green Drinks is hosted at GrassLands Brewery on Gaines Street with on and off-street parking.
July 30th from 5:30 – 7:00 pm, GrassLands Brewery, 603 W. Gaines Street
Environmental Forum – Local Candidates
Here’s your chance to attend a forum that focuses on environmental, energy,sustainability, and growth management issues in our community. Sponsored andhosted by Big Bend Environmental Forum (BBEF) and The League of WomenVoters of Tallahassee, local political candidates will present their positions andcitizens will have the opportunity to pose questions that are important to them.
Prior to the forum, there will be an open house where you can meet the candidatesin person and view their and BBEF member organizations’ displays. Click here formore information.
August 9th at 6:00pm, Tallahassee City Commission Chambers, 300 South AdamsStreet
StarMetro to add more Electric Buses
The City of Tallahassee is taking a big step forward by adding more electric busesto its fleet. These state-of-the-art buses will charge faster, include designimprovements, and feature a shorter length. Talks are also underway with FSU toutilize them on campus routes. Say goodbye to diesel fumes!
Here's a great article that highlights the many benefits electric buses offer suchas lower running costs. When compared with internal combustion engine models,the economics of fuel and lesser maintenance are compelling.
In our monthly recycling segment, we want toremind you that an entire load of recyclables canbe rejected and sent to the landfill due to“contamination” from non-acceptable items.Unfortunately, it’s not always obvious what canand can’t be recycled. Learn more at LeonCounty’s Recycling webpage.
Become a Member
While Sustainable Tallahassee has many dedicated and capable members, we arealways in need of more individuals to help us accomplish our mission of creating amore sustainable community. Come join us – it’s fun, interesting, and important!Oh, and affordable, too. Sign up today! Please join together in welcoming our newmembers!
Nancy Dufoe, Laura LaChappelle, Sheila Modi
Donations are Appreciated
Sustainable Tallahassee is a proactive non-profit organization made up of dedicatedmembers who work to make our community a better place to live. All the manyinitiatives that we are involved in take money to create results so please considermaking a donation of any amount today. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.Donate here.
Check Our Calendar
Sustainable Tallahassee’s calendar is the most up-to-date resource for sustainableevents in our area so make sure you visit it often! Green Links is a companionnewsletter that provides a variety of news stories and information, generally at adeeper level. We hope that you’ll utilize both to stay on top of sustainable topicsthat are relevant to the well-being of our community and planet.
