Contact :
Donna Hoffman, Sierra Club, 512-299-5776 or 512-477-1729
The
Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club consists of over 25,000 members.
The Chapter spans the entire state of Texas, excepting El Paso, which
is part of the Rio Grande Chapter.
Located in Austin, the Lone Star Chapter's State Conservation Office
serves Sierrans as their grassroots communications center. We also provide
Sierrans with a full time professional activist staff employed to represent
Sierrans as we fight at the state level to protect and conserve Texas'
diverse and valuable natural heritage.
AUSTIN WINS SIERRA MAGAZINE
'GREEN STREETS' AWARD
Leader in Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Power
Austin was called the “Biggest Breath of Fresh Air” for its achievement as a leader in energy efficiency and renewable power in Sierra Magazine's first-ever "Green Streets" awards, which celebrates great ideas that are transforming urban life.
"Cities like Austin show how being greener saves money, attracts businesses, and improves the quality of life for residents," explains Jennifer Hattam, Senior Associate Editor of Sierra Magazine. "Our winners each demonstrate smart, common-sense solutions that can easily be replicated in other places."
“Having a municipal utility makes Austin more responsive to the citizens, more willing to actively pursue options for clean energy,” said Dr. Neil Carman, Clean Air Program Director for the Lone Star Sierra Club.
The following is a short description of the top award winners:
BIGGEST BREATH OF FRESH AIR-
Austin Texas is widely considered oil country, but don't tell that to the City of Austin, which has carved out a niche as a leader in energy efficiency and renewable power. In addition to its first-in the-nation green-building program, which provides free consultations to builders and homeowners, Austin's municipal utility also retrofits schools, pays for insulation and shading devices in low-income housing, and offers free energy audits and rebates to residents and businesses that make improvements. All told, the city has saved 600 megawatts of power, more than a new coal-fired power plant could have generated in the same time. And resident save about $200 a year on energy bills.
MOST UNLIKELY FOODIE HAVEN- Pittsburgh
The home of the National Football Champion Steelers has another claim to fame. Pittsburgh ranked number one in SustainLane.com’s nationwide survey of farmers' markets and community gardens per capita. It boasts no fewer than 31 farmers markets and farm stands, many of which even accept food stamps. The Steel City is also a leader in sustainable construction, with the country’s first green convention center and a high number of new energy-efficient buildings.
BIGGEST TRANSIT TURNAROUND- Salt Lake City
Although it only opened its first light-rail line in 1999, Salt Lake City's 19-mile Trax line is currently drawing 58,000 riders a day. That's well more than double the ridership that city and transit officials expected to see by 2020. The even better news is that nearly half of the system’s initial riders were new to mass transit. "That means that almost half of those people got out of their cars and jumped on the train," says the sierra Club's Marc Heileson. "If you can do that in Salt Lake City, you can do it anywhere."
BEST EXAMPLE OF CLASSIC AMERICAN THRIFT- Minneapolis
In a country that wastes 300 million tons of construction and demolition materials each year, Minneapolis is a trailblazing exception. The Twin City's ReUse Center, which is run by a local nonprofit, provides jobs in struggling neighborhoods, saves landfill space, and preserves architectural character by finding new homes for vintage doors, windows and other fixtures. Minneapolis also runs a model curbside electronics recycling program, one of the few in the nation.
