Great news for all in the Manitowoc area who would like to read the book The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti.
The Manitowoc Public Library has confirmed that it has ordered several copies of the book that will soon be available for check out. If you have not yet read it, it is certainly a read well worth the time.
Stay tuned for study circle details.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sustainable Living
A Sustainable Living forum sponsored by City of Manitowoc and the League of Women Voters was hosted May 23, 2007. Greg David, a Jefferson County Supervisor and Organic Farmer, and Paul Moderacki, the Johnson Creek Village Administrator gave an excellent and enlightening presentation on Sustainable Living and Eco-Municipalities. Both have traveled to Sweden to study the Swedish model. They graciously agreed to come to the City of Manitowoc to make their presentation regarding the Natural Step. As of June 18, 2007, 10 municipalities in the state of Wisconsin (Sweden has 76) have passed resolutions confirming their commitment to sustainable living.
Sustainable community: treating all with respect - in a fiscally,
socially and ecologically responsible manner.
Mssrs. David and Moderacki gave an insightful 
presentation about "The Natural Step" approach to sustainable living and sustainable development, and the fact that it is best for the economy. The misconception is that folks think living green is not economical, when in fact it is just the opposite. The three aspects of sustainability: Ecology, society and economy. The purpose of sustainability is permanence....meeting the needs of the present but continuing to meet the needs into the future and indefinitely. Sweden, a country plagued with air and water pollution in the 50's and 60's, aggressively pursued the Natural Step principles for sustainable living and will be off of fossil fuel by 2020. The City of Falkenberg, Sweden will be off fossil fuel by 2015. That's incredible. It's not some distant, future, sci-fi wish....that's only 8 years from now!
presentation about "The Natural Step" approach to sustainable living and sustainable development, and the fact that it is best for the economy. The misconception is that folks think living green is not economical, when in fact it is just the opposite. The three aspects of sustainability: Ecology, society and economy. The purpose of sustainability is permanence....meeting the needs of the present but continuing to meet the needs into the future and indefinitely. Sweden, a country plagued with air and water pollution in the 50's and 60's, aggressively pursued the Natural Step principles for sustainable living and will be off of fossil fuel by 2020. The City of Falkenberg, Sweden will be off fossil fuel by 2015. That's incredible. It's not some distant, future, sci-fi wish....that's only 8 years from now! "Problems cannot be solved by the same means of thinking that created them." -Einstein
They presented an example of a green campus that strived to be zero emissions. Located on the campus (in addition to other things) was a McDonald's, a Ford auto facility and an educational building. By using the used oil from the McD's fryers, the Ford auto facility created fuel. The heat from the McD's fryers was used to heat the adjacent educational building. The roofs of the facilities were designed as green roofs. Reduction in external input energy for heating: 60%. Reduction in electricity consumption: 60%. Reduction of external energy for cooling: 100%.
Eco-Municipalities in Wisconsin
Manitowoc became the 10th municipality, among a distinguished group, in the state of Wisconsin to commit to sustainability with unanimous passage of a resolution by the Common Council on June 18, 2007 !!!
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Renewable. Rethink. Respect. Responsibility.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Renewable. Rethink. Respect. Responsibility.
The Natural Step for Communities
Would you like to learn more aboutThe Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices by Sarah James & Torbjorn Lahti (Leader of the Swedish Eco-Municipality Movement) and how Manitowoc can move towards sustainability and becoming an eco-municipality? Study Circles are now being organized. More detail soon.
A Time of Great Challenge is also a Time for Great Opportunity
Due to human activities, our atmosphere contains 32 percent more carbon dioxide;
Mitigation – taking strong action to reduce emissions – must be viewed as an investment;
Local governments have a key role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency and reducing fossil fuel use;
Local government can lead by example by taking specific actions to transform itself into a model of sustainable practices that can result in cost savings and increased employment, and enhance environmental quality and community well-being;
A piecemeal application of the objectives of sustainability will make it much more difficult to attain. Need a whole system approach to sustainability including the three types of community capital: economic, social and natural.
Mitigation – taking strong action to reduce emissions – must be viewed as an investment;
Local governments have a key role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency and reducing fossil fuel use;
Local government can lead by example by taking specific actions to transform itself into a model of sustainable practices that can result in cost savings and increased employment, and enhance environmental quality and community well-being;
A piecemeal application of the objectives of sustainability will make it much more difficult to attain. Need a whole system approach to sustainability including the three types of community capital: economic, social and natural.
Toward a Sustainable Community
Why this effort is important: This is a crucial time to reinvent our institutions to help our community stay healthy and whole because we have entered an era where human generated pressures on the natural world are unprecedented and threaten our current way of life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
