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The Sustainable Growth Engine Newsletter | Spring 2012 |
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 Executive Director's Update
Greetings!
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S. Burnes with one of the youth honored, Brooklyn Wright a.k.a. Earth Saver Girl - from Downtown Atlanta Earth Day Challenge Cleanup.
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Whew! It's the end of April and if you listen closely, you can hear a happy, collective SIGH from the green community around Atlanta. The countless hours of planning for Earth Month activities again paid off as thousands of Atlantans rallied to demonstrate their commitment to making our city a better place to live. Sustainable Atlanta was thrilled to be a part of the 2012 Downtown Atlanta Earth Day Challenge Cleanup with EPA, the City of Atlanta, Central Atlanta Progress, and Park Pride, and inspired by the youth leaders who joined us. In other locations all around the city, individual citizens, students and groups of employees turned out to pull weeds, pick up litter and old tires, recycle electronics, remove graffiti, plant trees, learn, and celebrate. Thanks to each and every person who gave of their time and energy, our city shines brighter today! Check out our brief roundup below and let's keep the sense of civic pride and commitment going beyond this one blitz month.
We're pleased to share other updates with you in this issue as well, across the sustainability spectrum. Read about the success of the completed energy retrofits at the Civic Center, a flagship project in the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge; about the great work being done by FODAC to connect disabled children and adults with rehabbed, usable medical equipment otherwise headed for a landfill; and get an update on activities around the upcoming Transportation Referendum, and ways you can ensure that Atlanta seizes the opportunity to invest in our transportation future. Also, don't forget about the upcoming May 4th Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable presented by Southface that will explore water reuse opportunities in Georgia.
Finally, we hope to see you all tomorrow, May 1st, at the Southeast Corporate Sustainability Rankings at the Carter Center, as we celebrate the leaders in our business community and support those working to improve their practices. There are opportunities for impact around each of us, and Sustainable Atlanta continues its work to connect passions with action for a better quality of life for us all.
2012 Earth Day Atlanta Roundup
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Don't miss out on the 2012 Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings - Space is limited, Reserve your seat now!
May 1st, at the Carter Center in Atlanta, GA, Co-Founders Mark Callaway and GreenBusiness WORKS, will announce the Most Sustainable Companies in the Southeast and recognize the representatives who are leading their company in advancing sustainability.
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Transportation Investment Referendum Fast Approaching
 With less than 100 days left before the July 31 Regional Transportation Referendum vote, you've probably seen or heard the radio, TV and billboards ads encouraging you to learn more about how we can address our need for traffic relief. The plan before us is a 10-year penny sales levy to fund 157 transportation projects in our ten county region.
Everyone agrees - metro Atlanta has a serious traffic problem. It costs the average commuter $924 per year in wasted fuel and loss time. Gas tax revenue, our primary source of transportation funding, is steadily declining as vehicles become more fuel efficient and the influx of new residents begin looking for alternative modes of travel. This leaves us little room for transportation expansion and improvements. By 2040, our region will have added an additional 3 million people --roughly the size of Denver.
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Civic Center Showcases Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge
Last fall, Mayor Kasim Reed, together with Michelle Moore of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, A.J. Robinson, President of Central Atlanta Progress (CAP), and other leading business and community organizations kicked off the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent in participating buildings across Atlanta by 2020 with a primary focus on the city's downtown business district. It is part of an initiative that President Barack Obama launched in 2011 to encourage private sector investment in commercial building upgrades and innovative clean energy technologies that save money and improve productivity.
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Stone Mountain Organization Keeps Medical Equipment Out of Local Landfills
Each year, Atlanta non-profit organization Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) provides over $9 million in durable medical equipment (DME), such as wheelchairs, hospital beds and walkers, at little or no cost to the recipients. Much of the equipment comes from FODAC's recycling and reuse program, which annually keeps almost 200 tons of this equipment out of local landfills.
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