Environment

October 8th, 2011

August 21, 2009 - Community gardens, where you can be the farmer

Today I was having a conversation with a co-worker about some interesting things and the subject of community gardens came up. He's a member of Gateway Church in San Antonio where they have established their own community garden behind the church. Apparently they are zoned in such a way they can raise poultry and possibly even a couple of milk cows. They also raise fruits and vegetables to provide for members and some of the staff of the church. It's ... Read more »

June 4, 2010 - How to politicize an oil spill

Just when I thought we were finally getting on the same page about the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon incident the politicians showed their true faces regarding the oil spill. This is really sad when you look at the damage of the spill and its impact to the region in the years to come. Since the incident happened millions of gallons of oil have poured into the Gulf with no complete relief in sight for months. Yesterday BP was able to finally ... Read more »

July 9, 2010 - Houston, Astros, and Fiesta Verde

I'm in Houston this weekend enjoying my annual MLB weekend. Unfortunately my friend couldn't join me due to work issues. But I'm still going to make the most of it. The weekend started with a presentation to the Texas Festivals and Events Association (TFEA) Conference on Fiesta Verde. After that, we're at the Inn at the Ballpark (great deal through Priceline) which puts me literally across the street from the park. I'll have to say the highlight was ... Read more »

August 11, 2010 - Wearing green or plastic or ...

As I said yesterday, I'm going to try a new approach to my blog by writing on a different topic each day of the week. Wednesday I'm going to focus on sustainability and am toying with Wednesdays are for the World. I know it's corny but I couldn't find a good W word for Wednesday. Today I decided to look at a new trend in clothes regarding sustainability, especially on a concept of clothing made from recycled plastic. Yes, I'm talking about those recycled ... Read more »

September 6, 2010 - Solar in the parks

Today I took a walk around Woodlawn Lake Park after an early morning meeting. It was great to get back out on the walking trail at Woodlawn Lake since it gives me an opportunity to do some thinking while walking. Sure enough, the brain started working while I was hiking around the 1+ mile trail that surrounds the lake. What I noticed while walking along the trail was the large amounts of land that really go unused in obscure places around the park. ... Read more »

November 21, 2010 - The High Line and San Antonio, there is a connection

This weekend, while reviewing some of the various events, I ran across an article in the Express-News about an upcoming lecture by Robert Hammond, co-founder of The High Line project. The event will be Tuesday, November 23, and is sponsored by the Architecture Foundation San Antonio. While I have already written about The High Line in an entry a couple of summers ago, I found out that the project actually has a San Antonio tie in Mr. Hammond, a native ... Read more »

December 12, 2010 - San Antonio gets a little greener and a little smarter

Thursday San Antonio took another step towards becoming a greener city by passing an ordinance that requires multi-family dwellings to provide recycling bins for residents to drop off recyclable items. In doing so, the city possibly can divert as much as 25,000-50,000 tons of waste annually from the landfills to recycling facilities. This would represent a very significant change in San Antonio's waste management structure and help move the city towards ... Read more »

December 23, 2010 - Why wouldn't a city redevelop it's core?

I've been blogging lately about the focus of redevelopment in and around the downtown area of San Antonio. To start the conversation I focused on whether the development should be in or around downtown, feeling that developing around downtown might be a better choice. Following that I looked at the area around Madison Square Park as one of the neighborhoods that might make a good choice for redevelopment focus. In doing so, I started to realize that ... Read more »

April 19, 2011 - Fiesta Verde 2011 was much better but we can improve

Yes, I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted to the blog but there’s good reason for the absence. I’ve been playing the Trash Man of Fiesta, heading up the Fiesta Verde effort in conjunction with Fiesta events and the city. It’s my second year in the position and we wanted to make a difference compared to our pilot year. The numbers are still coming in but it’s looking like we may hit our goal of doubling recycling tonnage collected ... Read more »

April 21, 2011 - It’s Earth Day tomorrow so do something to help Mother Earth

Tomorrow is Earth Day, celebrated around the world as a way to highlight activities focused on helping improve our presence on this planet. Started in 1970 by Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-WI), the purpose was to inspire awareness and appreciation for Earth’s natural environment. As Nelson stated “I am convinced that all we need to do to bring an overwhelming insistence of the new generation that we stem the tide of environmental disaster is to present ... Read more »

June 17, 2011 - Small but green

Small businesses make up a large part of the business environment in America, representing over 99.7% of all employer firms and employing over half of all private sector jobs according to the Small Business Administration. Small businesses are just about everywhere you look, from consulting firms to taco stands. So, with such a substantial footprint in America, how green are these small businesses? In reality, probably not very green since small businesses ... Read more »

June 20, 2011 - Maybe all this heat is what we need to be a solar city

How fitting that on the three days prior to the big announcement about new energy we’ve had record-breaking heat and sun. Yes, today San Antonio seemed to be on the cusp of a new era in the city’s economy. As CPS CEO Doyle Beneby and Mayor Julian Castro took the stage opposite each other, they were flanked by executives from five new energy companies who not only announced new initiatives and investments for San Antonio’s energy economy but ... Read more »

June 28, 2011 - Change is in the Bag

You’ve seen them throughout the city, along streets, in ditches and probably even against your fence lines. They’re those pesky plastic tumbleweeds we get every time we visit a store. What’s even worse is they are creating a problem in our environment. Now the City of San Antonio/Solid Waste Management Division (COSA/SWMD), Keep San Antonio Beautiful (KSAB) and five area retailers are trying to do something to help reduce them to get them off ... Read more »

October 10, 2011 - BexarMet, maybe it’s time to let SAWS take over

Sunday, when I was wading through my feeds, I found an interesting one from a fellow blogger, Charles Kuffner in Houston, highlighting an NPR story about SAWS water conservation and reclamation efforts. Charles didn’t say much in his piece but ended it with an interesting point about how San Antonio has taken an adverse situation and made the best of it. “The point here is that while San Antonio’s population has been growing, the amount of water ... Read more »

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