Sustainability

[highlightrule] “ ‘Status quo,’ you know, is Latin for the mess we’re in.” — President Ronald Reagan [/highlightrule] The tension and rhetoric about whether to build toll lanes on Interstate 77 is something I’m watching with dispassionate interest. I’m familiar with North Mecklenburg after work there some years ago, but my professional stake in the […]

[highlightrule] Three environmentally minded Charlotte entrepreneurs believe they can make a profit by diverting food waste into compost.[/highlightrule] Fact: Mecklenburg County residences generate some 60,000 tons of food waste annually, with only about 2 percent to 5 percent diverted from landfills by home composting. Fact: In Mecklenburg County, 22 percent of commercial solid waste (not […]

After three years of citizen engagement and the creation of a Regional Growth Framework for the 14-county Charlotte region, the CONNECT Our Future initiative moves into the implementation phase, to assist local governments in their individual efforts to realize the goals and objectives of that framework. One element of the implementation phase is a collaboration […]

2014 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Sustainability Report Card Category Local Trend National Comparison Air Quality B C Energy Use A C Equity/Empowerment C C Food D C Jobs/Income C C Land Use D D Transportation B D Waste B – Water Use B B Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s first comprehensive sustainability report card is in, and the results are mixed. The […]

The KEEPING WATCH initiative, a three-year collaboration of historians, writers, artists, scientists and environmental experts, has gained more funding support. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation awarded UNC Charlotte’s College of Arts + Architecture $10,000 to support the program. The initiative – whose key partners at the College of Arts + Architecture and the UNC Charlotte […]

A 10-foot-wide asphalt path that officially opened Tuesday offers a glimpse of what could be a more pedestrian- and bike-oriented future for some of Charlotte’s least pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares. The path, 0.9 miles along University City Boulevard from Mallard Creek Church Road to UNC Charlotte’s main entrance at Broadrick Boulevard, is the first bike-ped trail along […]

Recycling containers sit in classrooms in every Charlotte-Mecklenburg public school, and students at nearly half of them make the extra effort to dump leftover liquid from milk and juice cartons before tossing them into bins. “The recycling systems are in place in the schools,” says Laurette Hall, environmental manager for Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Services, […]

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, in partnership with the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture, has launched KEEPING WATCH, a three-year initiative designed to bring a higher profile to, and engage the public in, issues about the natural environment. The initiative will foster collaboration across various interest groups and disciplines. An exhibit opened Friday, […]

I’m not immune to the charms of a dozen roses on Valentine’s Day – or any day for that matter – though I’m always disheartened by those with no discernible fragrance and perfect buds that inexplicably shrivel and droop. These are not attributes one cares to associate with romance. I try to limit my purchase […]

If you’ve been paying any attention to national politics in recent weeks, you’ve surely heard remarks like: Why don’t politicians listen to the people? How can we get through to them? Why can’t government get anything done? But when people say “the government,” what government do they mean? It’s likely they’re thinking of the sclerotic […]