[Gulf Coast Kat-Cop] Mayor-elect Landrieu's Sustainable Energy and Environmental Task Force Present Final Recommendations

[Mary I Williams]

www.dscej.org

 

 

Sustainable Energy and Environmental Task Force Co-Chairs present final recommendations to Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu

 

 

Dr. Beverly Wright presents final recommendations

for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Task Force

 

 

Sustainable Energy and Environmental Task Force Co-Chairs Elizabeth Galante, Global Green and Dr. Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University presented final recommendations to Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu at the One Voice, One Mission Transition New Orleans Meeting on Thursday, April 22, 2010. The recommendations were crafted by the 30 member Sustainable Task Force.

Recommendations:

·         Create an Office of Sustainability Resiliency.

·         Reinstitute city-wide recycling

·         Implement aggressive energy efficiency goals for city buildings to help save much needed revenue.

·         Ensure that environment and social justice are embraced city-wide by understanding and utilizing the human capital provided by neighborhood associations, citizen groups and non-profit organizations.

·         Advocate for a Quality of Life initiative to include support of bicycle transportation, the Lafitte Greenway Corridor Project, water management efforts, and healthy and safe foods for all communities.

 

Louisiana and New Orleans have been blessed with abundant natural resources and a remarkably beautiful and enduring ecosystem. Because New Orleans is at the mouth of the Mississippi and rests primarily on low-lying land, the City has always had a dependent relationship with the environment. It is important now to reach a balance between the wants of New Orleans’ residents and the need for sustainability. All cities, but especially New Orleans, are being challenged because more than ever before the environment needs to be considered in shaping policy for future development and energy use.

 

Many cities are pivoting on rising energy costs and increasing environmental degradation to create new cutting edge industries. Historically, oil and gas exploration and chemical refinement has been an integral part of the local economy; today the sector employs thousands of people. However, environmentally unfriendly practices, arguably common to this industry, are compromising Louisiana’s coasts and cannot provide enough new jobs necessary to build a 21st century New Orleans.

 

The green economy is projected to grow nationwide, which has created intense competition between municipalities to attract industry and investment dollars. This fact is especially poignant, given the fragile state of the economy and the significant job losses created by the global economic downturn. New Orleans has an opportunity to expand and capture incentives for green businesses in both the public and private sector.

 

Another major and long-term issue facing New Orleans is environmental contamination. The floods and subsequent standing water that followed Hurricane Katrina, illegal dumping, and generations of poorly controlled industrial activity have created an environmental crisis for many New Orleans residents, especially those living in low income predominantly minority neighborhoods. Respiratory illness, poisoning, and other problems relating to a poor environment have been prevalent throughout the City. Many of these issues are related to the release of heavy metals from local industrial sites as well as unsafe renovation, rehabilitation and demolition practices.

Finally, like many cities, New Orleans is facing a financial crisis. It is becoming clear that in order to lower the deficit new ideas and policies need to be implemented to cut costs. Every year the City spends millions of dollars on energy use alone. City Hall has fallen short managing energy consumption, initiating energy reduction initiatives, or embracing innovative green practices. Now with both a tight budget and increasingly negative signs of climate change New Orleans can move to the forefront of cities with proactive energy efficiency and renewable energy policies. 

 

Leadership will be the deciding factor in whether or not New Orleans will be able to adjust to the new environmental circumstances. In many ways, New Orleans' civic, business, and political leaders have only recently started to consider the environment to be an issue of concern. Too often poor planning and pressure from specific interest grouops has resulted in negative environmental outcomes. The challenge now is to move forward and recognize the need for new solutions to problems that have been building for generations.

 

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Dillard University

Deep South Center for Environmental Justice

2601 Gentilly Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70122

504-816-4005 office ~ 504-816-4032 fax

www.dscej.org

 

 

 

 

Mary I. Williams, M.Ed.
Program Manager for Community Outreach
Dillard University
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
2601 Gentilly Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70122
504-816-4028 office
504-816-4032 fax
www.dscej.org

 

 

P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

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