Staunton Green 2020

The Obama administration’s recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, aka the stimulus plan, bodes well for states and localities that want to edge toward clean and renewable energy solutions while also moving thousands out of unemployment and into good jobs. With roughly $80 billion of the stimulus tagged to green energy, there’s ample opportunity for Staunton to get in on the clean energy game.

So, should we? What would be the advantage?

(more…)

Green. Its one of the most common terms in circulation today. We hear “green” all the time now. When anything “green” comes up, its meant to cover an amazingly wide range of products, services, ideas and behaviors.

Who knows what it means after a while?

Yet the promise surrounding “going green” generates so much hope that its no surprise to hear everyone from eager students to farmers to formerly skeptical lawmakers to corporate mavens, all touting the benefits of going green.

That enthusiasm is great, to a degree. But just slapping a “we’re green” slogan on what we do in our recycling efforts and other green behaviors is no longer enough. The task now requires us to build a credible green economy built on clean energy and new jobs. Where hope meets practicality green visions become grounded in viable solutions. And practical solutions are exactly what a sputtering economy and a slew of displaced workers need most right now.

That’s why one of my favorite websites is Sustainable South Bronx. This environmental justice and economic development group offers one of the brightest indications that when it comes to crafting an even better society and economy, we’re all in it together. They believe that we can solve many problems with one simple solution: going greenforall.

(more…)

Builders, consumers and organizations that want to help Virginia meet the state’s goals for energy sustainability and economic development found in Governor Tim Kaine’s Renew Virginia initiative can start by looking to the Virginia Sustainable Building Network (VSBN.)

The VSBN, started in 1995, offers a compendium of resources on Virginia-based and near-regional vendors of green building supplies and services as well as other news and resources to inspire and inform.

(more…)

To create new high-paying jobs while preparing our city for a world of volatile and rising energy costs, the Staunton Green 2020 coalition supports developing a “green plan” for our city.

The plan would chart a course for Staunton to: 1) save energy and 2) locally produce its own clean, renewable energy.

Building the plan would be the work of citizens, businesses, and government through a year or more of dialogue and input under a task force to be appointed by the City. For us, “green” is about prosperity and a high quality of life through the new clean economy. A brief outline of what a green plan could look like follows. (more…)