Category Archives: 2016

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: Natural Lands Outreach and Education Specialist

Salt Lake City’s Open Space Lands Program seeks a highly motivated individual with background in environmental education and/or youth and outdoor leadership, to develop and administer outreach and education activities that connect diverse communities to urban natural lands.

The position is an individual placement Americorps Member position through the Utah Conservation Corps (UCC) – www.usu/edu/ucc/. The individual must complete 1,700 hours of service; the position requires 30-40 hours of service work per week and terminates no later than December 31, 2017. Salt Lake City is accepting applications through November 18, 2016, and will interview candidates and hire for the position in early December 2016. Job duties will begin approximately December 31, 2016.

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PCE Superfund Community Meeting on October 26, 6:30 pm

On October 26, the EPA and Veterans Administration will be speaking at a community meeting to update residents about the PCE Superfund plume at 700 South 1600 East.

Background is available here: http://pceplume-700s1600e.net/
A Map of the plume site is available here: http://www.slcdocs.com/ced/plume.pdf

At this time, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the site’s potentially responsible party, is headed into a critical step of the Superfund process called the Remedial Investigation Report. Two critical assessments for the community—a Public Health Assessment (PHA) and Risk Assessment (RA)—will be included in this report. Attend the Wednesday, October 26th PCE Plume meeting to become informed and engaged at this critical juncture. Learn, recommend and have questions answered about:

• What is a Superfund Public Health Assessment and Risk Assessment?
• Why is a public health assessment required?
• When the Public Health Assessment will be conducted
• Site specific information on Risk Assessment
• How Risk Assessment factors into project decisions and,
• Differences between the Public Health Assessment and Risk Assessment

Project Presenters
Mr. David Dorian – Environmental Health Scientist – Regional Representative for Region 8
Mr. Mike Novak – Senior Technologist at CH2M

HOSTED BY: Advocates for VA Groundwater Plume Resolution – a COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP (CAG) for 700 South 1600 East Federal Superfund Site. Barbara Jones, Chair.

Questions? Contact Robin Carbaugh, 801.870.1428

“Leave your Leaves!” This Fall, try mulching your leaves at home

Recycling? Check!

Bringing your reusable bag? Double-check!

Proudly displaying your idle-free sticker? Yup!

Mulching at home? Huh??

Did you know that one of sustainability’s best practices is to “leave leaves alone”?

In the fall, when autumn brings a chill to the air, and Salt Lake’s oaks and elms and other deciduous trees drop their leaves, many of us turn on the blowers, haul out the rakes, and get ready for some serious work.

But—have you considered an alternative? Using some or all of your leaves to mulch your yard or garden?

We’d like to invite you to do just that.

Feeding leaves back into your soil is a cost-effective and natural way to enrich your yard, as well as to protect fall plants and vegetables from the cold.

Curious? Here are some tips for making the most of our autumnal deluge:

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Glass Recycling: Providing Possibility

by Tera Clausen

There is no such thing as away when it comes to waste. It is out of sight out of mind, but it is never truly gone. When things are thrown away, they go to a landfill to pile up in a heap. Some of the items will eventually break down, while many others will not. The reality of the trash heap can be summed up in a word: hopelessness. It is the end of the road, and the possibilities of re-creation and re-purposing are gone. However, recycling brings back possibility.

As the newest intern at SLC Green, my first official order of business was to tour some of the recycling facilities for Salt Lake City. This tour was a front row seat to possibility. One of the stops for the SLCgreen crew was Momentum Recycling. Momentum was founded in 2008, and in 2012 became the exclusive glass recycler for Salt Lake City.

In 2012, Momentum was bringing in about 200 tons of recycled glass. In the past four years, since expanding their curbside services, they now bring in approximately 1,000 tons per month! I will be honest, it was overwhelming to see how many glass bottles were waiting to be sorted and recycled, but the beauty of possibilities also struck me. Instead of hopelessly ending in a landfill, these items could become something new and useful.

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Salt Lake City and Rocky Mountain Power reach agreement on ambitious clean energy goals for city

Today, Mayor Jackie Biskupski sent to the Salt Lake City Council for their consideration the franchise agreement between Salt Lake City and Rocky Mountain Power, the City’s electricity provider. The franchise agreement has been under negotiation for more than a year, and complements a Clean Energy Cooperation Statement that the Administration and utility signed a few weeks ago.

The Clean Energy Cooperation Statement between Rocky Mountain Power and Salt Lake City lays out how the utility and the City will work together to reach ambitious clean energy goals, and pave the way for the adoption of the new five-year Franchise Agreement between Salt Lake City and Rocky Mountain Power. The previous 25-year Franchise Agreement expired in January 2016. Continue reading →

Salt Lake City Community Members Launch U Drive Electric

In a joint press conference, the University of Utah and Salt Lake City today announced the launch of an electric vehicle purchase program extending discounts on multiple makes and models of vehicles. The second round of U Drive Electric offers U community members and Salt Lake City community members the opportunity to purchase or lease electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles at discounted prices through Oct. 31, 2016.

This joint program is aimed at improving air quality and community health both today and for future generations. With almost 50 percent of Utah’s urban air pollution coming from tailpipe emissions, electric vehicles represent an important tool for improving air quality along the Wasatch Front.
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A Visit to the Urban Greens Market

Words and photos by Kyle Strayer

“We Grow Gardeners” is painted inside the vividly decorated and modified school bus that houses the mobile Urban Greens Market part of the time. This slogan is apt for the market, considering the intentions of the organizations which have allowed it to prosper.

I took a visit to the Market last week, to learn more about the organizations that run it and where all this great food is coming from. (Reminder, you can find the weekly schedule here),

The Urban Greens Market is program overseen by Salt Lake City’s Sustainability Department in partnership with the local non-profits Green Urban Lunch Box, Real Food Rising, (a project of Utah Community Action), and Utahns Against Hunger.

Its goal is to provide affordable, fresh produce in areas along the west side of Salt Lake City, which are classified as food deserts by the USDA.

Each of the non-profit partners have slightly different missions but are coming together to rejuvenate farming for the next generation, and provide access to healthy food for more people.

For The Green Urban Lunch Box, the issue is our dwindling supply of farmers. With only 9 percent of farmers in Utah under the age of 35, the need for new farmers is greater than ever. Continue reading →

Clear the Air for a Cleaner, Healthier City

Throughout Utah, air pollution is reaching alarmingly unhealthy levels. In fact, many areas along the Wasatch Front are currently out of compliance with portions of the Clean Air Act.

Transportation is a major cause of the problem. Vehicle emissions are responsible for 50 percent of ground level ozone, meaning that each time we turn the key, we produce pollution which harms our health and the health of our children.

The 2016 Clear the Air Challenge kicks off July 1^st and is a great opportunity to explore alternative methods of transit to improve our air quality. For the past several years, local businesses and citizens have participated in reducing emissions. In 2015, we kept 646.5 tons of CO2 out of the air!

This year our goal is even greater: eliminating 700 tons of CO2, in addition to the many other pollutants coming out of our tail pipes.

How to Take the Challenge!

Besides helping everyone breathe a little easier, participants are eligible to win prizes from the Challenge!

The challenge is open to all residents of Utah and offers many options for reducing trips in vehicles.

Employers can encourage employees to participate as a team (to earn prizes and be recognized by the City for good performance!). They can also provide support incentives including the following:

Transit passes
Bike parking
Car-pool incentive programs
Bus-to-work days
Telecommute days
Alternative schedules
Commuter reimbursement benefits, and
Employee recognition of participation in the challenge.

Don’t have an employer who’s participating? Individuals can sign up by tracking their trips and miles saved using the TravelWise Tracker. Individual participants compete against one another based on total miles saved for prizes and recognition.

Miles can be updated throughout the entire month. Your information is used to determine the total emissions saved and, collectively, show us how little changes can make a big difference!

Resources

Taking part has never been easier:

Visit Ride UTA for fares and schedules. If you live in Salt Lake City, consider signing up for the HIVE pass, which saves you 50 percent!
The city’s green bike program can help you get around downtown without a car, and new bike lanes make traveling on city streets safer and easier.
Partner with a co-worker to alternate who drives to work each day.

Don’t forget to sign up!

And thank you for helping make our city a cleaner, healthier place to live, work, and play!