The first electronic waste collection event of the season is on the books! As you are spring cleaning, make sure to set your old electronics aside and bring them to this April 11th event.
Author Archives: slcgreen
Call for Board Members: Green Urban Lunchbox
The Green Urban Lunchbox is looking for board members!
The Green Urban Lunchbox is a small nonprofit organization with the mission of helping people of all income levels gain access to healthy food using resources available in their communities.
The nonprofit is currently made up of numerous programs, including a mobile
greenhouse, an incubator farm, the Back-Farm Program, and a fruit share program.
In addition to the Roles and Responsibilities listed below, the organization is looking to expand to include individuals with expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- Accounting and financial management
- Food policy
- Fundraising and development
- Legal
- Public relations and marketing
The roles and responsibilities are listed below. Any interested individuals should send a letter of interest and a resume to the Board Chair, Phil Sarnoff, at philsarnoff@gmail.com no later than April 14, 2014.
Board Roles & Responsibilities
Legal and Policy
Enable the continued legal existence of the organization
Adopt, follow, update and administer Green Urban Lunchbox bylaws
Adopt and assume responsibility for Green Urban Lunchbox purposes, governing principles,
functions, activities, and course of action
Assume responsibility for internal policies governing the organization
Planning
Establish long term and short term goals for the Green Urban Lunchbox
Develop a Strategic and Annual Work Plan.
Funding & Financial Management:
Assist in raising sufficient funds to ensure the Green Urban Lunchbox meets its objectives
Develop and approve annual budget and monitor finances.
Advocacy
Understand and publicize the work of the Green Urban Lunchbox in the community
Inspire confidence in the organization and relate our services to the work of other groups
Advocate for public policy, economic development, and other initiatives that advance the
efforts of the Green Urban Lunch Box
Evaluation
Regularly review and evaluate operations and standards of organization performance
Monitor program activities
Personnel
Hire and evaluate the Executive Director
Approve personnel policies
Participate in the recruitment, selection and development of Board of Directors
Time Commitments Anticipated
Board meeting – 2 hours/month
Preparation/follow-up work outside of meetings – 2-4 hours/month
Film Screening: Garbage Warrior
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KYJ0dsd-x0?rel=0]
Join SLCgreen, DesignBuildBluff, Catalyst Magazine and Earthship Utah for a screening of the film Garbage Warrior. The film will be followed by a panel discussion lead by expert natural and green builders.
Garbage Warrior Screening
Wednesday, March 26
6-8:30 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium
World Urban Forum 7
Medellin, Colombia. Photo BorisG via Flickr
Salt Lake City is excited to participate in the World Urban Forum, hosted by UN-Habitat this April in Medellin, Colombia.
The City will participate in a special networking session called “Clean Energy and Transport Solutions in an Urban Hemisphere: Lessons from the Americas.”
Over the past few months, Salt Lake City has been collaborating with San Jose, Costa Rica to share experiences & lessons learned from the two cities’ alternative transportation programs. During the session, the City will share our lessons learned from running the Clear the Air Challenge and the “twinning” process with San Jose.
The session is the result of a partnership between the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Organization of American States (OAS). Learn more about the forum below, or on the OAS website.
We’ll be updating the @SLCgreen Twitter feed live from the World Urban Forum (#wuf7) from April 7-11. Stay tuned to stay in the loop!
Intern with SmartTrips SLC!
SmartTrips Intern – Salt Lake City Division of Sustainability
SLCgreen is recruiting a summer intern team for the SmartTrips program!
SmartTrips Salt Lake City is a neighborhood-based program that encourages active and public transportation through collaborative community events, educational newsletters and free kits delivered by bicycle.
SmartTrips is modeled after similar efforts in Portland, Oregon and other communities, which have all successfully reduced vehicle trips and emissions among participants.
This year SmartTrips is visiting Sugar House and the neighborhoods along the recently launched S-Line streetcar. Learn more here: www.smarttripsslc.com.
Intern Learning Opportunities
Enjoy getting to know your neighborhood by bicycle? Want to support and work with local businesses to incentivize their customers to leave their cars at home? Looking for an outlet to write about air quality? Like collaborating with schools, libraries and local organizations on environmental education?
The opportunities for interns to get involved are many! We invite you to bring your own interests, skills and ideas to our team.
Requirements
- Ideal candidates are passionate and knowledgeable about alternative transportation, sustainability, community organizing, and/or the Sugar House area.
- We ask for a 15-25 hour per week commitment from May to August 2014. Know that there is opportunity to start as early as April or extend through September.
- Be flexible to attend some SmartTrips events and bicycle deliveries that may occur in the evening and on weekends.
To apply:
- Visit www.slcgov.com/jobs and “click here” for Current City Job Openings.
- Follow the directions to apply for the Mayor’s Office “Voluntary Intern” listing (Bid #12002).
- In your application, please be sure to specify your interest in interning with SLCgreen’s SmartTrips program.
** Please note that this is a volunteer, unpaid internship.
Questions? Please contact SmartTrips Coordinator, Sara Rose, at: sararose.tannenbaum@slcgov.com.
SLC Embraces Earth Hour
This year, Salt Lake City will participate in Earth Hour, turning off the lights of the Salt Lake City & County Building at 8:30 p.m. next Saturday, March 29th.
Check out the FAQs below to learn more about this effort, and find out how you can get involved!
What is Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet, and is organised by WWF. Engaging a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues, Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide, and the one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement.
When does Earth Hour take place?
Earth Hour 2014 will be held on Saturday, March 29th between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. in your local time zone. The event is held worldwide towards the end of March annually, encouraging individuals, communities households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. Earth Hour 2015 will take place on Saturday, March 28th at 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in your local timezone.
What does Earth Hour aim to achieve?
Earth Hour aims to encourage an interconnected global community to share the opportunities and challenges of creating a sustainable world.
How can I get involved?
The first thing anyone can do to get involved is to turn off their lights on Saturday. But there’s much, much more. Our full ambition is for people to take action beyond the hour. Whether it’s supporting a crowd-funding or crowd-sourcing campaign on www.earthhour.org or starting the movement in their own community. The vision is always to do more, so make the light switch the beginning of your journey.
Air Quality Bills: 2014 Legislature Wrap Up
The community had high hopes for meaningful action during the 2014 Utah Legislative Session on air quality. With the session now at an end, our friends at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality posted a nice summary of the bills that passed.
Here’s a quick overview, head over to their newsletter for the full story.
State Fleet
Legislators directed the Division of Fleet Operations to ensure that 50 percent or more of the state vehicles used to transport passengers will be alternative fuel or high-efficiency by August 30, 2018. View the bill.
Electric Vehicles
A House bill amended the current definition of public utilities to encourage businesses to provide charging stations for electric cars. Another bill provides a state income tax credit of $1500 for the purchase or lease of a new electric vehicle and a tax credit allowance for a plug-in electric hybrid. View the bill. Legislation modified The Clean Fuels and Vehicle Technology Act to allow electric-hybrid vehicles to qualify for funding for alternative refueling infrastructure. View the bill.
Wood Burn Program
The Division of Air Quality received funding to educate the public about the dangers of wood smoke and help convert homes whose sole source of heat is wood to natural gas or other clean fuels. View the bill.
Medical Waste Incinerators
A Senate bill banned the incineration of medical waste within close proximity of a school or residential subdivision. View the bill.
Retrofit and Replacement Program
This program will help small businesses and individuals by providing grant and loan funds for emission-reducing technologies, including retrofits, repowers, and replacements. The program will also encourage replacement of snow removal, landscaping, and other yard equipment with cleaner alternatives. View the bill.
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Funding
The Department of Air Quality (DAQ) received a one-time, $1.4 million grant that allocated $1 million for Utah-specific air quality research, $300,000 for an inventory and photochemical modeling study in the Uinta Basin, and $100,000 for volatile organic compound (VOC) infrared testing equipment. DAQ also received $400,000 in ongoing funding for four full-time employees to work on Uinta Basin oil and gas permitting and compliance.
The legislature appropriated $500,000 to DEQ for an air quality public awareness campaign in partnership with existing clean air programs such as UCAIR and TravelWise. DAQ received a one-time, $500,000 appropriation to help convert homes that burn wood as their sole source of heat and a one-time, $250,000 grant to educate the public on the hazards of wood smoke. The Clean Air Retrofit, Replacement, and Off-road Technology (CARROT) program received a one-time grant of $200,000 for grants and loans to small businesses and individuals seeking to reduce the emissions from their heavy-duty diesel or small-engine equipment.
Get the DEQ Newsletter
Get the full scoop from the DEQ newsletter and join their email list.
City Transit Passes on Sale & On the Road
Salt Lake City’s new resident transit pass, the Hive Pass, is currently available at three permanent sales locations as well as a variety of mobile sales opportunities at locations around the city.
As part of an initial pilot program being offered by Salt Lake City and UTA, Hive Passes are only available to residents of Salt Lake City and can be purchased for the deeply discounted rate of $350 for a year (or $360, payable in 12 easy, monthly installments of $30.)
The pass is good on almost all UTA modes including TRAX, buses, Frontrunner and S-Line Streetcar (exceptions are UTA’s special fare services like Paratransit, ski buses and Park City Connect.)
Passes can only be purchased in-person and a few documents are necessary just to establish Salt Lake City residency. Visit Ridewithhive.com for details.
Also, residents who may not be sure if their address is in City limits will find a handy tool on the website to confirm they qualify for the Hive Pass.
Mobile sales events are happening this week at the following locations:
Wednesday, March 19 – Salt Lake City Chapman Library Branch
577 S. 900 West
5:30-8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 22- Winter Market
Rio Grande Depot
300 S. Rio Grande Street
10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Permanent Sales Locations/Hours:
Salt Lake City & County Building
451 South State Street
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Public Utilities Office
1530 SW Temple Street
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sorenson Unity Center
1383 S 900 West
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Rotary Glen Restoration is Underway
Watershed restoration at Rotary Glen Park is underway!
Emigration Creek is one of the many tributaries of the Jordan River and the home to the Bonneville cutthroat trout (which is on Utah’s sensitive species list). The quality of its water is critical to help maintain a healthy watershed for people, fish and other wildlife.
In 2002, Emigration Creek was declared an impaired waterway due to high levels of the bacteria E. coli. Bacteria levels are highest in the summer months due to waste from park visitors’ canine companions and warmer temperatures.
The restoration plan is to:
- Improve water quality by installing a fence along the southeast edge of the pond to keep dogs and people out of the creek.
- Enhance habitat—which is critical for migratory and native bird species—by replacing Siberian elms with native foliage like cottonwood trees.
- Address public safety and stabilize the hill with slope grading and new vegetation planting.
Fun Restoration Fact: What is the benefit of planting vegetation along the water’s edge? Vegetation creates a buffer for people and dogs, keeps the water in the creek cool by shading, and filters bacteria from runoff.
Come springtime Rotary Glen Park will once again be a safe urban sanctuary for you to picnic, bring your dogs (their poop bags, too), and enjoy nature.
Here’s a recent photo of the work that is underway.
If you are like us, you might be wondering why the workers are filling the pond behind the dam with dirt.
We asked a County employee, who explained that in order for the heavy equipment to access the other side of the creek, workers have to first move the dirt to create a platform for the backhoe and then grade the slope.
Can’t wait to see the project when it’s done!
The Future of the Downtown Streetcar
Planning is underway to bring the streetcar back to downtown Salt Lake City, and you can help decide where it should go!
Join Salt Lake City for a public open house at Harmon’s City Creek on March 13th from 5-7 p.m. Take a peek at the map below to view the proposed streetcar routes.
This is a great opportunity to weigh in on the future of the streetcar in SLC. Don’t miss it!
