Author Archives: slcgreen

Exchange your old gas can (for free!) on Saturday, April 11

Exchange your old empty 2.5 or 5 gallon gas can for a free, brand new, environmentally friendly can of equal size!

UCAIR and Chevron are exchanging over 4,500 gas cans. That’s equivalent to eliminating 540 cars off Utah’s roads per day over the 5-year life of each gas can. Making this small change can have large impact on our air quality. Together we can make a difference in Utah’s air quality.

The Gas Can Exchange Program will be the first of its kind in Utah and help our state come into compliance with the EPA standard.

The event will be held on April 11, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the following locations:

2100 S. 300 W., Salt Lake City, Chevron Station
1997 E. 3500 N., Layton, Davis Landfill
1855 Skyline Dr., South Ogden, Chevron Station
1200 Towne Center Blvd., Provo Towne Center Mall

Why exchange your old can? Old gas cans contribute to volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by:

Permeation of vapors through walls of containers.
Escaping fumes while fuel is being dispensed.
Spillage and over filling as fuel is being poured into equipment.
Spillage and evaporation through secondary vent holes.
Evaporation through inadequately capped spouts.

The new cans have several improvements including:

Automatic shut-off feature to prevent overfilling.
Automatic closing feature.
- Sealed when it is not in use.
- Prevents leaking vapors.
- Protects children from accidental spills and ingestion.
- Secondary venting holes are eliminated to stop venting of fumes into the air.
- Thicker walls to reduce vapor permeation.

Please contact Angie at coordinator@ucair.org if you have any questions about the gas can exchange.

Source: http://www.ucair.org/hot_topics/ucair-chevron-gas-can-exchange/

Grow West Garden Fest: Free Family Event April 9 at Sorenson Unity Center

SAVE THE DATE FOR A FREE FAMILY EVENT
Thursday, April 9 from 6-8 p.m. at the Sorenson Unity Center

The Grow West Garden Fest invites the public to learn about health, nutrition, and gardening resources available to westside Salt Lake City neighborhoods. These resources include community gardens, school gardens, workshops, youth activities, and organizations & businesses that support gardening practices. For attendees who participate in event activities, free food will be served by El Ranchero Chido, a local taco cart.

For more information, visit wasatchgardens.org or check out the Facebook event page.

Your Utah. Your Future. Take the Survey!

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Envision Utah needs 50,000 Utahns like you to help make history and participate in the Your Utah Your Future project. Over the past few months, they have been using your input from the BUILD YOUR 2050 UTAH WEB APP and working with more than 400 task force members to create a survey to find out what you want Utah to be like in 2050.

Take a few seconds now and reserve your spot in the survey. Envision Utah will send you a link to the online survey when it goes live this spring.

Learn more about the Your Utah Your Future initiative below, or visit EnvisionUtah.org.

SLCgreen Kicks Off Katharine Hayhoe’s Week in Utah

The Salt Lake City Green team was honored to meet with Katharine Hayhoe, renowned climate scientist, communicator and educator, to kick off her week in Utah. We had a fascinating discussion about Salt Lake City, Utah and climate change, and explored the unique opportunities in our community to move forward on climate action.

Dr. Hayhoe (@KHayhoe) will be in Utah much of the week speaking about faith, science and climate action.

Monday, March 23:

Tuesday, March 24:

Logan LDS Tabernacle (50 N Main Street) — 5 p.m.

Thursday, March 26:

Clark Planetarium (110 S 400 West) — 7 p.m.
Facebook event (RSVP)

e2 Business Best Practice Lunch Series Returns, Tackles Core Values

Today marked the first Salt Lake City e2 Business Best Practice lunch, hosted by Sustainable Startups and catered by Bud’s. The topic of discussion was incorporating new core values into existing business frameworks, and the group heard from eBay, USANA and Larry H. Miller Group about their sustainability initiatives, successes and missteps.

Ken Vance with eBay shared how they have used the core value of reuse to drive innovation, including building the country’s first LEED certified data center, and integrate with other businesses and nonprofits, Patagonia’s Common Threads program among them, to forward that goal.

Jeff Robertson with USANA shared how the company has been shifting from a traditional sales model to a more modern one based on the value of health promotion and better health outcomes. He shared that they have found most success with the “light and often” approach to talking about heavier issues like climate change and air quality.

Robert Bell with Larry H. Miller Group shared how their efforts to clearly define their core values has laid the groundwork for further sustainability initiatives in their growing company.

Thanks to Sustainable Startups for hosting us at your new location! Learn more about how Sustainable Startups is helping incubate new businesses in Salt Lake City.

The e2 Business program is a free program offered to Salt Lake City’s businesses. Participating businesses receive expert consultation and guidance in incorporating sustainable business practices that will save money and reduce their impact on the environment. The Best Practice Lunch Series takes place March-August and features in-depth discussions on a variety of topics pertinent to today’s business community.

Downtown Farmers Market Vendor Information and Involvement Opportunities!

Would you like to be a vendor at the Downtown Salt Lake City Farmers Market? Are you a farmer or grower within 250 miles of Salt Lake City? Do you hand-make artwork or crafts? Are you a local musician? A non-profit organization? A volunteer? A sponsor?

For details about the application process and the link to apply, visit the Downtown Farmers Market application page.

The application period ends April 3^rd. Secure your involvement in something sustainable, local, and beautiful today!

The Future of the Central Wasatch Mountains Comments Due March 16th!

Clean water, open space, and the beauty of nature—the qualities valued most in the Central Wasatch.

This valuable and pristine natural resource is facing pressure from increasing population and visitation, sprawling development, and changing climate. On peak days, the Central Wasatch supports 50,000+ visitors. Annually, there are 5.7 million visitors—this is more than the annual number of visitors to the Grand Canyon and nearly twice the number of annual visitors to Zion National Park! Mountain Accord was established as a collaborative effort to make critical decisions and implement solutions to preserve the Central Wasatch and ensure long-term vitality for future generations.

Here are some of their ideas:

Secure protections on federal lands to provide permanent and predictable management, and work with ski areas to place lands into public ownership.
Broaden watershed protections.
Protect key wildlife corridors
Connect the regional trail network for recreation
Generate sustainable economic growth to reinvest in the Central Wasatch
Expand transit services to potentially include:
- Mountain Light Rail service in Little Cottonwood Canyon and possibly full corridor service all the way to Kimball Junction. This would be made possible by one tunnel between Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood and another tunnel (or aerial transportation) between Big Cottonwood and Park City.
- Millcreek shuttle service
- Year-round Big Cottonwood bus service

Over the last year, Mountain Accord has worked to develop goals and define an “ideal” future for each system: environment, recreation, economy, and transportation. Their plans are summarized in a blueprint that is open for public review and comment until March 16. The blueprint contains several links to more detailed documents. Consider reviewing these documents for additional information and to develop a comprehensive response.

Visit: mountainaccord.com/get-involved

Comments may be emailed to comment@mountainaccord.com or mailed to:

Mountain Accord

375 West 200 South, Ste. 275

Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Please take the time to share this with others. It is the future of the Central Wasatch!

City Urges Water Conservation, But Predicts No Local Shortages in Year Ahead

Little Cottonwood Canyon. Photo Credit: Arbyreed via Flickr.

With the warmer than normal temperatures at the beginning of 2015 and current snowpack levels below average, Mayor Ralph Becker and the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities remind residents to use water efficiently. While snow levels are below average, Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities does not anticipate a local water shortage this year.

This is the result of the proactive water resource stewardship approach Salt Lake City has taken, which includes investing in infrastructure to provide water storage and actively monitoring and managing water resources. The Salt Lake community’s pattern of improved water conservation is also a significant factor.

“We are always closely monitoring our water supplies,” said Jeff Niermeyer, Director of Salt Lake City’s Department of Public Utilities. “Salt Lake City’s infrastructure investments and forethought in planning, and our community’s continued water conservation efforts, should ensure an adequate supply of water for this year.”

Regardless of the current City water supply, weather variability can make predicting next year’s snowpack and precipitation difficult. There is never have enough water to waste, and therefore it is important that residents and business owners always use water wisely. Public Utilities will be posting periodic updates on local snowpack levels and the water supply outlook on its website at www.slcgov.com/utilities and at www.facebook.com/slcpu.

Even though recent record breaking warm temperatures made it feel like spring, the winter season is still upon us and the City does not recommend turning on lawn sprinklers. However, now is a good time to start planning for water efficient gardens.

Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities is pleased to announce a free online tool to help you achieve an enjoyable and water efficient garden. SLC Gardenwise is a new, interactive water-wise landscape website.

“SLC Gardenwise is an interactive website that includes virtual garden tours, an extensive plant database, watering how-to’s and other resources,” said Stephanie Duer, Water Conservation Manager for Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities.

Designed to provide information and inspiration for either the home gardener or landscape professional, the site provides a virtual tour of beautiful, water-wise landscapes, as well as technical information on site design, pest management, landscape maintenance and, of course, watering practices. Visit www.slcgardenwise for more information.

Dining with Discretion: Food Choices Matter

Last week, SLCgreen’s Bridget Stuchly and Tyler Poulson unveiled a compelling presentation at the Intermountain Sustainability Summit to a packed house. Dining with Discretion: Food Choices Matter outlines how personal choices about what and how we eat impact our environment and can either contribute to, or help alleviate, climate change.

The Presentation

If you missed it, you can scroll through their presentation slides.

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Dining with Discretion from SLCgreen

Take Action!

Long story short, there are some very real steps you can take in your everyday eating habits that will have a positive impact on the environment:

Eat less meat & dairy
Eat more plants
Cook smart
Waste less
Speak out

Source: Meat Eaters Guide to Climate Change + Health

TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” Viewing Party

TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” Viewing Party

Saturday, March 7, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Gould Auditorium of the Marriott Library

TEDxManhattan, “Changing the Way We Eat,” is a one-day conference featuring a dynamic and diverse group of speakers addressing issues in the sustainable food and farming movement. Watch the webcast LIVE from the Marriott Library on the University of Utah campus from 9:30 am to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 7. Bring your lunch and enjoy a day of learning about food system innovations and networking with like-minded Utahns!

Hosted by Wasatch Cooperative Market, University of Utah Sustainability Resource Center, Salt Lake City Sustainability Division (that’s us!), Slow Food Utah, the Marriott Library, and Wasatch Community Gardens.