I love learning about different roles in local government. I was lucky enough to interview Andy Maxwell, the Director of Planning & Sustainability in the City of Syracuse, New York. This interview was especially interesting to me since I spent the past year completing my MPA program at Syracuse. It was fun to hear someRead… Read more »
Using renewable energy can be tricky. For example, when the wind blows and people need power, life is pretty simple for wind turbine operators. But what happens when the wind blows at off-peak times? Can that energy be stored? As most of us already know, the answer is “yes, but we’re still working on theRead… Read more »
On Tuesday, the General Services Administration purchased the federal government’s first fleet of electric cars. The purchase coincides with the release of a new White House memo requiring all new federal vehicles to utilize alternative energy. The 116 new cars are a mix of Chevrolet Volts, Nissan Leafs and Think Cities and will be usedRead… Read more »
I’ve been to Philadelphia twice in the past week to attend Globalcon and the Brownfield Conference. I can report that the new convention center is pleasant, Reading Terminal is still the best place to eat and the City of Philadelphia is putting significant effort into being green. Philly’s goal is to reclaim waterfront property, putRead… Read more »
Earth Hour 2011! March 26th 8:30 P.M. If you weren’t motivated prior to the crisis in Japan, perhaps now is the time to reconsider! Get on board and join one of the largest voluntary actions ever witnessed that is now uniting the world.
After we had gotten past the platitudes and niceties that all good managers trying to implement a directive spout when garnering employee buy in for the directive, we were left with the question “So, now what?” One brave soul finally raised a voice and said “None of those words mean anything unless you put actionRead… Read more »
Universities nationwide are getting involved in a Green Revolving Fund. ROI ranges from 29% (Iowa State University) to 63% (University of Denver). This seems to beg the question, what if local governments launched similar projects? Some universities are public institutions afterall…. Open publication – Free publishing
The GAO released a new report yesterday called Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue. It could start a very productive conversation or become a political football. Those of us who have worked in government, believe in organizational collaboration, change and innovation have seen many redundant and duplicativeRead… Read more »
Just started a blog called Green City Streets (http://greencitystreets.blogspot.com/). The blog’s purpose is to explore the application of Web 2.0 techniques to create more sustainable transportation systems. It’s a topic I have been interested in for many years; here are a few of my papers on the subject: An Integrated Web 2.0 Approach for ImprovingRead… Read more »
Valentine’s Day is big business…and it has a big impact on our environment. They say that 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are sold each year, and the holiday takes the #1 spot for fresh flower purchases, with around a billion valentines sent out each year. Those billion cards, if you were to lay themRead… Read more »