Sustainable City Dashboard

Screenshot of the homepage of the Sustainable City Dashboard.

Today SLCgreen joined Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker to unveil a new and innovative tool to track our sustainability efforts and engage with the public.

The Sustainable City Dashboard website features over 100 different metrics from 12 core areas of livability: Air & Climate, Energy, Recycling, Transportation, Open Space, Water, Urban Forestry, Arts & Culture, Housing, Community Health & Safety, Food & Nutrition and Education.

“The Sustainable City Dashboard is an effort to openly engage with residents as we work toward our goals for the future,” said Mayor Becker. “The tool illuminates a broad and ambitious agenda to protect our resources, enhance our assets and establish a path toward greater resiliency and vitality for every aspect of our community.”

The dashboard also features a venue for residents to voice their ideas and concerns about all aspects of Salt Lake City life. The new format, facilitated through Open City Hall, provides the opportunity for two-way communication and enhanced idea sharing.

We hope that Salt Lake City residents will see the new dashboard as an opportunity to explore what their city is doing to improve our community, and become part of the process by sharing their own ideas on how we can reach our goals.

Start exploring the new Sustainable City Dashboard. We can’t wait to hear your ideas!

#WhyWasteIt? Glass Recycling in SLC

Glass has a checkered past in Salt Lake City. It has been only recently that the City, through a close partnership with Momentum Recycling, has offered a voluntary curbside recycling service to residents.

One of the most common questions we are asked is “Why can’t I recycle my glass in the blue bin?” Many cities throughout the country offer glass recycling in the mixed recycling bin.

So why not Salt Lake City? Continue reading →

SLC Seeking Comments on Proposed Business Recycling Ordinance

Recycling stations at Moscone Convetion Center to help achieve 75% waste diversion, as mandated by city of San Francisco. Photo: IntelFreePress via Flickr.

Did you know? The waste diversion rate for Salt Lake City homes hovers around 38%. This means that roughly 38% of all waste collected through the City’s residential collection program is recycled or composted.

Now compare that to the estimated 10% diversion rate for Salt Lake City businesses.

In an effort to increase business and multi-family (i.e. apartment) recycling rates, Salt Lake City is proposing a new Business & Multi-Family Recycling Ordinance that would require property owners or managers where 4 or more cubic yards of solid waste are generated per week to:

Subscribe to a recycling collection service from an authorized waste hauler.
Designate area(s) for recycling containers.
Implement a recycling program for use by occupants, employees or residents that is as convenient as trash collection.
Distribute educational recycling information to occupants, employees or residents annually.

Continue reading →

Rising Temperatures Challenge Salt Lake City’s Water Supply

Tom Kelly via Flickr

Sensitivity study helps the City, others in the Intermountain West, plan for the future

In an example of the challenges water-strapped Western cities will face in a warming world, new research shows that every degree Fahrenheit of warming in the Salt Lake City region could mean a 1.8 to 6.5 percent drop in the annual flow of streams that provide water to the city.

By midcentury, warming Western temperatures may mean that some of the creeks and streams that help slake Salt Lake City’s thirst will dry up several weeks earlier in the summer and fall, according to the new paper, published today in the journal Earth Interactions. The findings may help regional planners make choices about long-term investments, including water storage and even land-protection policies. Continue reading →

Give Hope, Opportunity & Training to New Farmers

Photo: Shawn Peterson

The Green Urban Lunch Box, a project of the Community Foundation of Utah, is preparing to launch an incubator farm in the spring of 2014.

An incubator farm offers urban farmers access to land on which they can start their own growing operations with guidance from experienced farmers. The Green Urban Lunchbox’s planned incubator farm is located in Layton, UT on an old fruit orchard leased from the Utah Department of Transportation.

Continue reading →

Have a Green Halloween!

Photo Credits via Flickr: Paul Stein, Nick Thompson, Steven Depolo & Pamela Link.

Happy Halloween, Salt Lake City!

Tonight, think outside the candy bag with some creative ideas from Green Halloween.

A few of our favorites:

Crayons
Acorns
Honey sticks
Fruit snacks or fruit leather
Feathers
Mini granola bars

Check out the full list at GreenHalloween.org.

This Electric Bus Charges On-The-Go

Get ready to be amazed by some local ingenuity…

This one-of-a-kind electric bus is capable of charging itself through wireless induction technology!

The electric “Aggie Bus” uses a high power, high efficiency wireless power transfer system that is capable of transferring enough energy to quickly charge the vehicle on an air gap of up to 10 inches.

In practical terms, this electric bus charges itself instantly, and at every stop. Plus the vehicle has zero emissions!

Continue reading →

Utah’s New Air Quality Alerts

Goosnj via Flickr

Say goodbye to the basic Green, Yellow and Red air quality days!

Utah’s Division of Air Quality has updated their air quality alert system to more clearly and precisely communicate about action days and health alerts related to Utah’s air quality.

Continue reading →

Community Improvement Grants Available

Salt Lake City has allocated $187,000 in grants for community nonprofits, neighborhood groups, and neighborhood business districts as part of the Community Improvement and Outreach Grant program.

This grant program is designed to quickly and efficiently improve the quality of Salt Lake City’s communities and neighborhoods.

With the help of residents and local organizations, these funds can be used towards public safety projects, recreation and education projects, sustainability projects, neighborhood improvements, neighborhood-school partnerships, local project developments, and more.

Applications will be accepted November 1-December 2, 2013 and are available online.

The Challenge of the 100 Mile Meal

Photo by Jeremy via Flickr.

This evening, Salt Lake City Green and Mayor Ralph Becker will host the 100 Mile Meal: Food with a Salt Lake City Story. The meal represents a celebration of Salt Lake City’s local food, farms and economy, while illustrating a commitment to sustainable agriculture.

Did you know the average meal in the United States travels 1,500 miles from the farm to your plate? Food that travels long distances impacts:

Environment. A larger carbon footprint due to fuel consumption and polluting emissions.
Food Security. Limited accountability due to large processing and distribution chains leaves food more vulnerable to contamination.
Nutrition. Fruits and veggies are most nutritious (and delicious!) when they are fresh.
Economy. Local farms mean more local jobs and revenue.

The 100 Mile Meal features seasonal ingredients sourced from farms within 100 miles of Mayor Becker’s office. In this day and age, this was no easy feat.

Continue reading →