In the wake of a setback in the climate-change lawsuit filed by 21 Oregon children against the federal government, the Center for a Sustainable Coast has renewed its call on Savannah to transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2030.
Tag: Environment
Posted inLatest News
Peachtree Creek’s shoreline, water level shows signs of recent rains
Peachtree Creek in Atlanta is a visual marker of recent rains that have continued to moisten North Georgia this month. The creek level has varied significantly, as has the temperature of water in the creek, according to the federal monitoring system.
Posted inLatest News
Environment Georgia highlights green energy efforts; climate debate rages in Davos
Environment Georgia issued a report Tuesday on successful efforts to conserve energy on college campuses that can be implemented almost anywhere. The report came as teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and President Trump offered competing views on global warming in their remarks Tuesday at the World Economic Forum, in Davos.
Posted inLatest News
Coal ash proposal could add to $3.1 billion in additional clean-up costs Southern Co. cited in 2019 report
As state lawmakers consider a new proposal to secure the ash of coal burnt to create electricity, one line jumps out of a financial report by the Southern Co. – “The ultimate outcome of these matters cannot be determined at this time.”
Posted inLatest News
Water war to end in 2020: Judge commends Georgia for conservation efforts
However the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case of the Georgia-Florida water war, Georgia’s basic framework for conserving water is already in place. The low-flow devices and practices put in place since 2002 were commended in a judge’s recommendation that the court dismiss Florida’s claim.
Posted inColumns
Shaping the news in 2020: Predictions for journalism
Editor’s Note: This is the first of four stories this week that look at topics and trends likely to appear on devices and news platforms in metro Atlanta in 2020.
Journalism that appears this year in metro Atlanta on screens small and large, on radio and in print, will inform and engage with elements that will be like fresh air to some readers – including more diversity in voices in stories, more podcasts, more visual stories, and more stories that percolate up from neighborhoods, according to a collection of predictions gathered by an affiliate of Harvard College.
Posted inLatest News
ARC’s mobility plan offers ‘glimmer of hope’ as residents struggle to move about
A glimmer of hope is one key component of the 30-year plan for spending $174 billion to improve mobility in metro Atlanta.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia prevails over Florida in advisory on water war; Florida’s Ag commissioner won’t back down
Georgia will not be required to release more water into Florida’s Apalachicola River if the U.S. Supreme Court abides by a report released Thursday by a special master appointed by the court to consider the case. Florida’s agriculture commissioner vowed to continue her state’s fight.
Posted inLatest News
Isakson: A common thread in conservation of right whales off Georgia’s coast
Bipartisan support now surrounds the endangered right whales off Georgia’s coast. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp proclaimed December as Right Whale Awareness Month. Former Democratic Gov. Joe Frank Harris signed legislation that made the right whale the state’s marine mammal in 1985.
Posted inLatest News
Plant Vogtle: Age discrimination a new wrinkle in Westinghouse bankruptcy
Timothy Ellis claims he was fired in a clear case of age discrimination. Otherwise, Ellis is just one of many caught in the grinder as Westinghouse Electric Co. declared bankruptcy and lost its job building Plant Vogtle, the nuclear facility near Augusta.
Posted inLatest News
Imperial Sugar, site of deadly 2008 explosion, helps rescue two chilly manatees
Almost 12 years after a deadly explosion at a sugar plant near Savannah, the Imperial Sugar refinery is being commended for helping to rescue a manatee and her calf. The two animals were transported to SeaWorld Orlando for treatment and are to be released.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Atlanta communities facing higher landfill prices for what they flush
It’s getting more expensive to bury what metro Atlanta flushes down the toilet.
Posted inColumns, Guest Column
The right whale to save: Georgia’s gentle giant deserves federal conservation funding
Guest Columnist NANCY K. DAVES, retired international specialist, NOAA Fisheries
Every Winter, many North Atlantic right whales make their way home to the ocean off Georgia’s coast to calve, seeking safe and warmer waters to have their babies before the long voyage home to the New England and Canadian waters in the Spring. North Florida and Georgia coastal communities play an important role in the stewardship of one of the largest whales roaming the seas. However, these whales face much danger in their corridor of migration and the time has come to pass federal legislation calling on the federal government to help conserve right whales.
Posted inLatest News
Isakson’s support for right whale conservation part of broadening bipartisan effort
When Sen. Johnny Isakson announced he was co-sponsoring federal legislation to provide $50 million, over 10 years, to help conserve endangered right whales, he cited an event during his days the Georgia Legislature in explaining why he picked support of this issue as one of his final acts in public office.
Posted inLatest News
Roadside flowers to help bees, butterflies as Georgia Grown policy supports farmers
Holiday motorists in Georgia one day will see roadsides dotted with plants that are both native to Georgia and were grown in Georgia nurseries – as well as year-round flowers whose strategic placement is part of a new initiative to plant blooms that nurture bees and other insects that pollinate crops.
Posted inLatest News
Teen, green crusaders testify in support of Atlanta’s plan to reduce use of plastics
Metro Atlanta’s homegrown versions of teen climate activist Greta Thunberg appeared Tuesday at Atlanta City Hall to speak in favor of legislation aimed at curbing single use plastic bags, straws and other such items at Atlanta’s airport and other city-owned facilities.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta issued $4.6 billion in building permits in 2017, uses 1993 rates to collect impact fees
Atlanta issued building permits for $4.6 billion of new construction investments in fiscal 2017 and charged the same rate for impact fees as in 1993 – money that’s used to improve mobility, parks and public safety. The mayor’s office says any potential revisions in fees won’t be ready until June 2021, not the February 2020 date sought by some on the Atlanta City Council.
Posted inLatest News
Metro Atlanta ranks 3rd in nation for green-certified office buildings: CBRE
Metro Atlanta ranks third in the United States for the proportion of market certified green space in office buildings, according to a new report by CBRE. The report comes as former President Obama is to take a stage Wednesday at a green building conference in Atlanta, and Georgia Tech has opened the ultra sustainable Kendeda Building.
Posted inLatest News
2020 offers chance to intervene in permit review of alleged polluter of Altamaha River
The Georgia Water Coalition released its annual Dirty Dozen report Thursday and – for the seventh time – the report names the Rayonier Advanced Materials chemical pulp mill in Jesup as a polluter of the Altamaha River. Improvements could come in 2020, and a federal court order has observed the Altamaha Riverkeeper can play a role in the improvement process.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta likely to seek extension of 1 percent sales tax to fund sewerage clean-up effort
Atlanta voters in March 2020 likely will face a proposal to extend the 1 percent sales tax that pays for upgrading the city’s water and sewer system, following a vote Tuesday at Atlanta City Hall. This would be the first test of public faith in Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ administration since it revealed the sales taxes for Renew Atlanta and transportation will not complete the entire list of projects presented to voters.
