“What the pragmatists I know want to see is the removal of unnecessary barriers to infill development so as to rationally encourage more multifamily housing, especially in locations where walking, cycling and public transportation reduce car dependency.”
Hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne University April 12, the Sustainability Symposium featured six speakers from different areas of expertise in conservation, renewable energy, city planning and more.
“I support Commissioners Brownie Newman and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara’s calls for the occupancy tax to be used for community needs vs. more tourism marketing.”
“But while the iconic building is an instantly recognizable symbol of Asheville, a look at the facts reveals it as a dinosaur when it comes to technology and use of space.”
“By being part of the solution now, we can avoid the worst costs of climate chaos and honor our responsibility to future generations.”
“However, instead of asking how to get to 100% renewables, we need to refine the question to how can we reduce our energy demand so that we can get to 100% renewables.”
“I am not too concerned about the façade of a building and would rather see creative designs that reflect many Asheville citizens’ values and true Asheville style.”
“It has been suggested that Duke license and implement the eScore program, which was highly successful for the Tennessee Valley Authority. EScore is attractive to both homeowners and participating contractors for its ease of use and effectiveness.”
“Smart meters are a necessary step if our electricity grid is going to accommodate distributed storage (residential batteries like the Tesla power wall). They also offer endless opportunities for apps and other data-driven efficiency strategies that we haven’t dreamed of yet. There’s also a reduction in fossil fuel use when meter readers don’t have to drive to homes anymore.”
Using data provided by Duke Energy, a local task force has shown that much of the growth in WNC’s peak electrical demand is driven by the conversion of existing oil- and propane-fired heating systems to electric heat pumps. Slowing the growth in peak demand is the mission of the task force, which hopes to delay or eliminate the need for one of three new power plants proposed for Duke Energy’s Lake Julian station.
“This program can easily cut individual energy use by 15 percent, saving homeowners hundreds of dollars a year.”
If you live in Asheville, you may have received a mailer recently offering a $25 gift card at Green Sage Café if you signed up with Arcadia Power. Like a number of other local businesses, the eatery proudly proclaims its use of green energy. But apart from the solar panels glinting on some rooftops, there’s […]
“What would most benefit residents and ratepayers is implementing programs that reduce consumption and eliminate the need to build more centralized power plants.”
The Asheville Energy Independence Initiative proposes to increase efficiency and create jobs through city-financed loans.
Western Carolina University has beat the pack by becoming the first N.C. university to reach a 30 percent energy-reduction goal.
Imagine that you’re on a coffee farm in Nicaragua. After pulping and rinsing the coffee “cherries,” the precious beans are dried, sold and shipped all around the world for roasting and brewing. It’s good, tasty stuff. Coffee from cherries: Your cup of joe begins as a little red “cherry” with two coffee beans hidden inside. […]
Asheville hasn’t seen a lot of gully-washers this summer, but the heavy rains that pummeled the mountains Aug. 25 and 26 pumped new life into a long-running controversy concerning erosion-control problems at development sites on steep slopes. Mapped out: RiverLink’s new Web page charts hot spots for polluted storm-water runoff. In an Aug. 26 e-mail […]
It’s late August in Western North Carolina, and the trees are drooping due to lack of rain. The French Broad River is at a record low level, gas prices are higher than ever and the skies are stained with smog. Pedal power: The Southern Energy and Environment Expo offered bright ideas for people of all […]
The North Carolina Utilities Commission opened a docket yesterday to consider an independent statewide energy-efficiency program called NC SAVE$.
Looking over their shoulders at rising gas prices and a warming slice of the globe, Buncombe County’s three N.C. House members are supporting improved energy efficiency in state-owned vehicles.
About a year ago, the Asheville City Council set an ambitious long-term goal for reducing the city’s contribution to climate change: an 80 percent cut in city government’s carbon emissions by 2050. That means looking for ways to conserve, retrofitting city facilities with more energy-efficient technologies, and generally shrinking Asheville’s carbon footprint at a rate […]
