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Newsletter Team
Editor/Design/Production:
Katie Bray
Copy Editor:
Carolyn Keefe
Contributors:
Lenny Bernstein
John Stevens
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Mission Statement:
The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute drives knowledge into action, solving societal problems today for generations to come by harnessing world-class environmental, economic, and energy research to support collaborations among researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, government officials, and community activists.
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BRSI's
Definition of Sustainability
The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute is an advocate and catalyst for actions that make the earth more sustainable. Sustainability means creating and maintaining conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling social, economic and environmental requirements of present and future generations.
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Board of Directors
Paul Bellows
Chair
Retired Chief Operating Officer, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
Patricia S. Smith
Treasurer
Retired President, The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
W. Louis Bissette, Jr.
Secretary
Partner, McGuire, Wood & Bissette
John Ager
Owner; Hickory Nut Gap Farm, Partner, Drovers Road Preserve
Becky Anderson
Consultant; Founder and Former Director, Hand Made in America
DeWayne Barton
Co-Director, Green Opportunities
Jack Haiden Britt
Blackwell Britt & Associates; Retired Executive Vice President of The University of Tennessee
Kitty Boniske
Former Chair, International League for Peace and Freedom, Asheville Chapter
Robin Cape
RLCape Consulting, Inc.
Susan Fox
Assistant Director of Research, Southern Research Station, US Forest Service
Pam Lewis
Director of Entrepreneurship, Asheville/Buncombe Economic Development Coalition
Holly Jones
Buncombe County Commissioner; Director, YWCA of Asheville
Randy Talley
President, The Green Sage
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BRSI Profile
We have an amazing collection of talented professionals who contribute their time and resources to the management and development of BRSI projects and programs.
This month's featured member is:
Susan Weidmann
BRSI Business Manager and Advisor on Sustainable Tourism
Thank you, Susan, for your contributions!
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BRSI Sponsor Profile
We owe much appreciation to our sponsors who are instrumental to our existence and development.
This month's featured sponsor is:
Lenoir Rhyne University Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville
Thank you
for your support!
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LEADERSHIP GROUP
Tim Ballard
Energy Campaign Manager
Lenny Bernstein
Projects and Programs Director
Brandee Boggs
Advisor of Collaborations
Katie Bray Manager of Residential Energy Programs Sue Brown Sustainable Tourism Advisor
Steve Cochran
Principal
Charlie Coggeshall
Development and Finance Advisor
Rebecca Efroymson
Senior Advisor on Natural Environments
Michael Hull
IT and Web Developer
Ed Mayer
Sustainable Tourism Advisor
Bill Hargrove
Senior Science Advisor
Tom Hatley
Special Advisor on Rural Development
Carolyn Keefe
Copy Editor
Caroline Long
Advisory for Public Relations Design
Teresa Matthews
Manager of BRSI's Contacts
Jon Snover
Senior Advisor on Sustainability
John Stevens
Executive Director
Sherry Vaughan
Administrative Assistant
Susan Weidmann
Business Manager and Sustainable Tourism Advisor
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Climate Change Back on the Political Agenda (I Hope)
Climate Change Column by Lenny Bernstein
After two years of silence, and no mention during the Presidential election campaign, Washington is again talking about climate change. In his State of the Union Address, President Obama said:
...for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. ... I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change ... But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.
Bold words, but does the President really mean them? One test is his position on the Keystone XL Pipeline, which is proposed to carry more than 500,000 barrels a day of tar sand liquids from Alberta to various points in the U.S. Since the pipeline crosses an international border, the President must approve its route. Environmentalists oppose the project because the production of liquid fuels from tar sands has large environmental impacts. The process requires much more energy, and emits much more carbon dioxide, than the production of fuels from crude oil. Yet on March 1, the Obama Administration issued an environmental impact statement (EIS) saying that the pipeline would have little environmental impact since the fuels would be produced anyway and if this source of liquid fuel was not available to the U.S., other sources would be used.
In a narrow sense, the EIS is correct, but looking at the larger picture, creating a convenient market for tar sand liquids in the U.S. cannot help but encourage greater production of these fuels and result in still higher carbon dioxide emissions. Tar sand liquids are not one of the sustainable sources of energy the President called for in his State of the Union speech.
Read more here!
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Upcoming BRSI Green Mondays
What is ZED and EE?
Do they have a home in Asheville?
Building on the Green Monday spring theme of ENERGY, the March 18 Green Monday will highlight Zero Energy Districts (ZED) and community based energy efficiency (EE) initiatives. Benefits of both initiatives are familiar to friends of BRSI - reduced carbon emissions, cleaner air, lower energy costs, and getting the most out of the energy dollars we spend.
The question, though, is can these initiatives add to sustainable energy momentum in Asheville? If so, how?
Cecil Bothwell will report on his visit to the FortZED community partner initiative in Fort Collins, Colorado. Richard Fireman will offer a presentation on Clean Energy Durham, a neighborhood initiative designed to support local action toward clean energy and energy efficiency.
Both presentations will be brief. The emphasis of this event will be group discussion to explore implications of both approaches for Asheville and communities in our region. Near the end of this event, there will be opportunity for interested participants to form an initiating group to move ideas into action.
We welcome interested citizens, clean energy policy developers and business representatives, local government representatives, business leaders, educators, and students. It will take all of us to build a sustainable future!
See you on the 18th!
BRSI Green Mondays are held in the Lenoir Rhyne Board Room at 36 Montford Avenue from 4-5:30p.m. Green Mondays are sponsored by Progress Energy, with support from the Lenoir Rhyne University Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville, and Purplecat Networks. Thank you!
Get connected at Green Mondays!
All are welcome to come and participate!
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BRSI Green Mondays Review
February 25, 2013
Testing a New Format with a Discussion of the EvolveEnergy Parnternship
BRSI's slogan is Knowledge into Action, and Green Mondays is meant to convey information that is a springboard for action. In recent years, the program format has provided a wealth of useful information. However, we felt that more could be done to be a catalyst for community action.
At the February 25th Green Mondays, we tested a new format: one presenter introduced a topic followed by a facilitated discussion intended to help identify action being taken in the community and to stimulate follow up planning and action.
The majority of the 90-minute program revolved around active interaction between a large group of participants. Some participants hailed from organizations and businesses already engaged in renewable energy; others were interested community members. Given that the purpose of the new format was to identify audience members willing to continue the discussion and develop an action plan to be presented at a subsequent Green Mondays, the response was very positive, for at least 12 people expressed an interest in concrete action planning.
The topic for February 25th's Green Monday was the Land-of-Sky (LOS) Regional Council's EvolveEnergy Partnership. This program was introduced by Patrick Harper, a regional planner for LOS. The EvolveEnergy partnership is an initiative of business and community leaders in support of Western North Carolina's clean energy economy. Its vision is clean energy powering every mountain community by 2050. EvolveEnergy's industry partners are clean energy businesses and related support services; its implementation partners are local governments, businesses, institutions, residents, industry sectors, etc.
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What Are We and What Do We Do?
A Note from John G. Stevens
Executive Director, BRSI
The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute had its beginning five years ago. Many people have participated in the ongoing process of articulating who we are and what we do. Over the last six months, we have reviewed our original documents (Mission Statement, Business Plan, and initial white paper describing our vision) as well as many other documents and discussion notes ). The statement below, actually two statements (a one-liner and a one-pager), is the result of our transcribing "knowledge into action." This statement was reviewed and approved by the BRSI Board and is central to the focusing of our vision and agenda for the future.
Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute
The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute develops partnerships to
enhance sustainability in Western North Carolina
by putting "Knowledge Into Action"
The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute translates "Knowledge Into Action" to address and overcome the barriers to achieving sustainable communities in Western North Carolina. The Institute's projects measurably improve both the environment and the economy while assuring social equity.
Uniquely, The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute engages in collaborative partnerships and builds the necessary operational capacity to:
- Transition our energy dependency to clean energy
- Develop education programs in Sustainability
- Grow a green economy for Western North Carolina
- Establish Western North Carolina as national leader in Sustainability
Examples are:
- The Green Restaurant Initiative resulted in Asheville achieving the highest density of certified Green Restaurants in the country and being named the first urban region designated as "America's Green Dining Destination."
- Green Mondays is a public monthly forum that convenes individuals from the region to explore diverse aspects of sustainability.
- Asheville Metro Area Zero Energy District (AMAZED) will be a virtual community of businesses and residences committed to the goal of zero net electricity usage.
- Sustainable Asheville will create and market an authentic, sustainable destination experience for the Asheville area.
This agenda is advanced by empowering change-makers to achieve measureable and sustainable results.
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Meet Michael Whitmire: BRSI Projects-Funding Matchmaker  Growing up in Upstate South Carolina within view and travel distance of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Michael was drawn home to the forests of Appalachia after a 3-year stint in Seattle that concluded in 2003. He has since received a Master's Degree in Plant and Environmental Science from Clemson University, a Permaculture Certificate from Gaia University, and completed coursework in a PhD program at Clemson in Planning, Design, and the Built Environment. Michael has been active in ecological and community issues for many years, including co-coordinating action on a Superfund site at Twelve Mile River in South Carolina, creating a community garden on public park space in Carrboro, NC, assisting in a campaign to save an ecological center in Carrboro, initiating a campus edible landscaping project at Clemson University, and now project-grants match-making at Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute in Asheville. Michael has worked in various administrative settings over the years as well as in educational roles as youth counselor, residential houseparent, home school teacher, secondary school teacher, and graduate assistant. He is also a permaculture edible landscaping and farmscape designer and installer, and a gardener. He has a deep love of pruning, tending, and caring for plants and the earth. Truth, clarity, compassion, right livelihood, and right relationships are core personal values for Michael. He imagines himself helping cultivate a flourishing Gaian human culture in which the human species recognizes its vast potential and sacred role as conscious and compassionate caretakers and knowledge-holders for the planet Earth. Personal interests of Michael's include ecomythology and human life cycle development, song and dance, visual art, inspired conversation, and co-creating sustainable regions and communities. At BRSI, Michael hopes his work will help projects find the funding and support they need to become a reality. He is currently researching and consolidating funding sources, familiarizing himself with projects and personnel, and processing funding requests. Thank you Michael for volunteering your time, energy and expertise to BRSI! We appreciate you! |
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BRSI's monthly newsletter Knowledge Into Action is made possible by a generous donation from the
James McClure Clarke Fund
Thank you for your dedication to sustainability in Western North Carolina!
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