by Moses McCall

To reduce DC’s carbon footprint, it is important to measure the state of sustainability . Here is DC’s report card created by sustainable lane.

This leads to

How does DC rank against other cities in the US? DC is ranked 12 th in the nation. In many categories such as city commuting and LEED (Green) Buildings DC is leading the nation. However there is need for improvement. Three of the largest areas of concern are air, water quality, and metro congestion which we will explore in the future.

If you are interested in finding more information about how sustainable lane measured city sustainability, click here.

by Moses McCall

The US Postal Service launched a program that allows customers to recycle small electronics including Blackberries,digital cameras,  iPods  and inkjet cartridges by mailing them free of charge.

Click here to find out more information

So last week I read a post in hybridcars about Mayor Fenty raising the tax breaks for residents of DC who purchase high efficient Hybrids above 40 miles per gallon.

The only vehicles that qualify would be the Toyota Primus and the Honda Civic. My colleagues and I were debating on whether this was a good policy decision. On one side we thought the decision would discourage people who would purchase a hybrid vehicle for the incentive. On another side, the incentive should reward people who purchase fuel vehicles not the technology. What do you think? Is this a good policy decision? Do you have any alternative suggestions?

- Moses

Hi there, fans!  I edited the first blog post.  Viewing our videos on emPivot.com is much easier now that we have a PTDG “channel.”  No more confusing searches!  Enjoy.

 Also, our site design is really coming along.  Expect an updated site soon!

-Jocelyn

I don’t know when this was posted on the ABC News website, but I think it does a great job of speaking about “going green” in real terms.  Almost every company out there is throwing a green leaf on their products to try and capitalize on the green hype with no actual process change.  I laugh when I think about how the cheap cardboard fake dresser that my old roommate had would now be bright green and marketed as “an environmentally friendly, sustainable storage cube.”

After reading this Post article about the first restaurant in DC to be labeled a “certified green restaurant”:

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011500755.html

 I asked myself how feasible it is every restaurant to head in this direction.  In an industry where every cent counts, restaurant owners would be forced to spend more on every plate, fork, and napkin.  Inevitably, this would be taken out on the consumer with smaller portions or higher costs. 

 My question for you is: Would you sacrifice the portion size of your lunch if you knew your fork was made of corn? 

The EPA announced an agreement with the District of Columbia to implement major green infrastructure enhancements to protect the Potomac and Anacostia rivers from storm water runoff. To find out more of the details visit:

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/npdes/dcms4.htm

I read an article in the Washington Post a few months ago about DC’s carbon footprint or the cities total amount of Carbon Dioxide output. According to the article the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments measured DC emmitted more than 65.6 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2005 which is more than all of Hungary, Finland, Sweden, Denmark or Switzerland, each of which has more people living in the countries than in the district. The statistic that is eye catching is that DC’s carbon footprint is not decreasing, but increasing . At the current pace, they forecasts, emissions will increase 35 percent by 2030.

So you ask why is DC carbon output so high. It’s because of traffic and the cities dependence on coal power plants. What can be done? Ask your employer to participate in the Cool Capital Initiative , use public transportation, and request the purchase of renewable energy credits from your local power company for powering your home.

Moses

Last Friday, I was at Eco-Green living located in Dupont Circle attending a fundraiser for the Environmental Workgoup (EWG), a non-profit which mission is to both provide consumers with information about the health and environmental impact of products. It was a good event. I talked to a few people at EWG and saw the latest additions to the second floor of Eco-Green living.

Moses

Paint the District Green is a video and blog project and more! We’re striving to answer this question: What if green choices were easy, cheap and appealing enough for everyone in the DC metro area?

PTDG is the brainchild of Moses McCall, Jocelyn Allen and other volunteers.  Work began in August 2007.

Our complete website (including videos of course) is coming SOON, SOON, SOON and will be located right here at paintthedistrictgreen.com! Stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can view some of our videos on emPivot.com (a DC-based site that is like the “green” version of YouTube). We have a “Paint the District Green” channel:  http://www.empivot.com/channels.php?suid=149

Please send questions or comments to both me (Jocelyn) - jocelyn_a@bluebottle.com and Moses - mosesmc52@gmail.com.

-Jocelyn