Archive for December, 2009
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on December 22, 2009
The following illustration from Online Education addresses the facts about bottled water and it’s true impact on the environment – from the creation of the plastic bottles to the tap water used to fill many of them up to the consequences of only recycling 1 in 5 water bottles.

Is the environmental impact of plastic water bottles and recycling really all that bad? This chart tells the story.
Thanks to my brother Byron for sharing this!
Posted in Environment, Water | Tagged: clean drinking water, facts about bottled water, Online Education, plastic bottle recycling, plastic bottle statistics, plastic water bottles, recycling statistics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on December 20, 2009
Are you looking to get your garden off to a great start in 2010? You can start planning now – whether you’re anticipating a vegetable garden, excited about landscaping, or angling for a rose garden, the DeKalb County Extension Service has everything you need to get started or increase your current knowledge base! Below is the schedule of DeKalb County’s 2010 gardening classes, “Gardening for Food, Fitness, and Fun.” You can find a registration form and more info in their PDF brochure here! Be sure to register early!
Gardening Series 2010 – Gardening for Food, Fitness & Fun
- All classes are at 4380 Memorial Dr., Decatur, GA 30032
- Cost is $10 per class if you pay at door or get all 7 for $50 if you pay in advance through the mail
- First 50 registered are guaranteed a seat.
- For more information or to request a printed copy of the brochure, please call 404-298-4080. You can also visit www.dekalbextension.com.
Class #1 - January (Thursday), 2010 from 7 to 9 p.m.
“Understanding soils” | Speaker: Walter Reeves | WSB radio, speaker and writer will tell you about soils
“Basics of composting” | Speaker: Dr. Jim Spotts | well known agronomist, master gardener and King of Compost will share his famous composting secrets
Class #2 – February 2 (Tuesday), from 7 to 8:30 PM
“Basic Vegetable Gardening” | how to start and what to grow | Speaker: Bob Westerfield, University of Georgia Home Gardening Specialist.
Class #3 – February 16 (Tuesday), from 7 to 8:30 PM
“Growing Specialty Vegetables” | emphasizing crops that are popular in other parts of the world but that will grow well in Georgia.
Class #4 – February 23 (Tuesday), from 7 to 8:30 PM
“Identifying and Limiting Common Pests & Diseases of Vegetables” | Speaker: Gary Peiffer, DeKalb Extension Agent and Horticulture Manager
Class #5 – March 18 (Thursday), from 7 to 8:30 PM
“Roses and Their Care” | Speaker: Stan Leacock, a well known local rosarian who cares for roses every day in his business and at his home.
Class #6 – April 20 (Tuesday), from 7 to 8:30 PM
“Using Color in the Landscape and Color Trends 2010″ | Speaker: Tara Dillard, local, well known speaker, designer and garden writer. Tara knows plants and design and she presents her subjects with great wit and enthusiasm.
Class #7 – May 18 (Tuesday), from 7 to 8:30 PM
“Tropical Plants to Know and Grow” | There are many wonderful tropical plants that will do well in the Atlanta area with the right conditions and the right kind of care. Speaker: Dr. Bodie Pennisi, University of Georgia, Horticulture Specialist in Griffin, GA. Dr. Pennisi is an expert in her field and she works closely with our Georgia commercial plant producers.
Posted in Education, Gardening | Tagged: Atlanta gardening classes, composting, Decatur gardening classes, DeKalb Extension Service, Georgia native plants, landscape color, rose care, tropical plants in Atlanta, vegetable gardens, vegetable pests | 2 Comments »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on December 18, 2009
Earlier this month, DeKalb County joined the City of Decatur as one of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Green Communities. What does this mean for one of metro Atlanta’s biggest counties? This designation recognizes DeKalb County’s efforts to become more environmentally sustainable and sets the county as an example for other local governments to follow suite. DeKalb is one of only six counties and three cities in the state of Georgia to be tapped by the Atlanta Regional Commission in earning this bronze certification.
DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis stated:
We are working to clean up brownfields and underutilized shopping centers; we have placed a priority on transit-oriented and mixed-use communities that reduce traffic and promote affordable housing options; we are developing incentives to create new green communities; and we are focused on maintaining our long-term commitment to sustainability.
Local environmental organization, Southest Green, went into more detail on what the Atlanta Regional Commission took into consideration for DeKalb’s Green Community:
Communities are judged in 10 categories—green building, energy efficiency, green power, water use reduction and efficiency, trees and greenspace, transportation, recycling and water reduction, land use, education, and innovation—and earn points based on the difficulty and overall impact of the sustainability effort.
DeKalb is certified at the bronze level for its green projects and programs including the Gregory Adams Juvenile Justice Center, which is the county’s first LEED certified building and the state’s first LEED certified courthouse; Seminole Landfill’s conversion of methane gas to electricity; and the county’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and Lights Out/Power Down policies.
Read more on Southeast Green’s website here!
And find out more about the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Green Communities and how your local government can apply for consideration!
Posted in Environment | Tagged: Atlanta Regional Commission, brownfields, environmental stewardship, green Atlanta, Green Communities, LEED certified buildings in Atlanta, mixed-use communities, Southeast Green | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on December 15, 2009
We’re all well-aware of the value of recycling office paper, newspapers, magazines, junk mail, etc. but what about another large source of paper that could potentially be eliminated all together? Every year 42,000 trees are killed to print blueprints for the construction industry. The solution? Replace paper blueprints with electronic plans.
That’s precisely the goal of Houston Neal, author of The End of Blueprints on The Construction Blog, a part of the website www.SoftwareAdvice.com. Neal would like to see the construction industry go paperless in 2010. This is no small feat, but not due to the lack of design and estimating software, but more due to the traditional mentality of the construction field.
Neal and his team got together and set out to research just what impact the 167-year old practice of blueprinting has on the environment and found that approximately 37 million blueprints are freshly printed each year, not to mention the carbon footprint left behind by the repographics shops and the courier vans used to pick up or hand deliver the tangible documents. What their studies offer are viable alternatives to deforestation via cost analysis and possible industry guidelines. You can read more about The End of Blueprints on his blog here!
Posted in Environment | Tagged: construction blueprints, construction software, electronic blueprints, electronic plans, environmental research, Houston Neal, paper blueprints, paperless office, Software Advice | 4 Comments »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on December 6, 2009

Maria serves up cups (and whole beans by the pound) of certified organic, fair trade coffee at the Sweet Auburn Market!
Yesterday, I stopped by the Sweet Auburn Curb Market to check out Cafe Campesino, a relatively new addition to the farmers’ market. I heard about them on Friday at Southface’s Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable where they’ve been providing attendees with their fair trade and certified organic coffee for years. Based out of Americus, Georgia, Cafe Campesino offers Atlantans a line of single origin coffees, blended coffees, espressos, teas, green bean coffees, and more.
When I stopped by, Maria (pictured to the right) was putting finishing touches on the Cafe Campesino mural on the wall and stopped to talk to me about their various coffees. I was leaning towards getting a dark roast when I tried a sample of their medium-bodied coffee named Sweet Auburn after their home in the market (it’s also the most popular selection). I ended up going with the Sweet Auburn with the intention of trying the dark roast next time (they have sample cups where you can taste before you buy).
Cafe Campesino also has free WiFi and an outdoor patio area at the entrance to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. For a snack, they also have baked goods.
If you’re looking to purchase coffee by the pound bag, you can order from their wide selection online at www.CafeCampesino.com by Thursday and pick up at the store on Saturday (the store will absorb the shipping cost of $4.95). Or just walk in and buy your bag of whole coffee beans! If you’re like me and don’t have a coffee grinder at home, Maria can help you out with her commercial machine. And for every bag of fair trade coffee you purchase – whether online or in the store – you get a free cup of coffee!
Sweet Auburn Curb Market is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.!
Posted in Food | Tagged: Atlanta coffee shops, Cafe Campesino, fair trade coffee Atlanta, green beans coffee, organic coffee Atlanta, Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable, sustainable coffee, Sweet Auburn Curb Market | 4 Comments »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on December 5, 2009

Volunteers came out to plant native Georgia trees in Edgewood with Trees Atlanta!
This morning, dozens of volunteers braved the windy, chilly weather to come out to Whitefoord Elementary School in Edgewood to help Trees Atlanta plant over 50 new, native Georgia trees around the playground and surrounding streets (at least there was no snow as predicted). After a demonstration on how to properly plant a large, 15+ gallon tree from Trees Atlanta leader Greg, students from the school, volunteer groups, individuals, and Trees Atlanta regular volunteers grabbed shovels and pick axes and starting moving dirt. Blake, who’s been with Trees Atlanta for about a year, led the project and helped coordinate our volunteer groups, distribute the trees, and run the water truck (fed by the huge rain collection systems at the headquarter’s LEED-certified building). Angel Poventud, one of the most active volunteers with both Trees Atlanta and the Atlanta BeltLine, was also on-hand to guide the tree planting.
After we finished at Whitefoord, we moved down Hosea Williams to Coan Middle School where we planting a long line of trees behind the school. I also discovered an Edgewood community garden that I didn’t know about before (more to come on that soon).
Do you know how much it costs to plant each tree with Trees Atlanta? Between the cost of the tree itself, the watering and mulching for three years after planting, and pruning for five years, it all adds up to about $150 per sapling. Not too bad considering that spans five years worth of work and is an invaluable resource for Atlanta’s urban tree canopy and air quality!
If you’re interested in volunteering with Trees Atlanta, please visit www.TreesAtlanta.org and sign up to receive Susan’s weekly emails that will let you know where the projects are for that weekend. Projects are every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Posted in Trees, Volunteer | Tagged: Atlanta volunteering, Trees Atlanta events, Atlanta tree plantings, Whitefoord Elementary School, Coan Middle School, Georgia native trees | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on December 1, 2009

This could be you! Evan Zeigler, one of our star volunteers, showed visitors around the BeltLine booth at Virginia Highland Summerfest
Are you one of the many people who volunteered with the Atlanta BeltLine at local festivals over the past two years? Thanks to all of you, we just wrapped up our second successful festival season! And the BeltLine would like to thank you – and offer you food in exchange for your feedback. Next week, the BeltLine is hosting an end-of-year event for all of our volunteers to meet each other as well as the BeltLine staff and to ask everyone how we can improve your volunteer experience.
- What: An invitation to BeltLine festival volunteers to come out and meet one another and give feedback on volunteer experience
- When: Thursday, December 10th, 2009 from 5:30 – 7 p.m.
- Where: 660 Apartments at 660 Ralph McGill Blvd., Atlanta, 30312
- RSVP to Sharron at Sharron@beltlinepartnership.org or 404.446.4407
Look forward to seeing you there!
Posted in Atlanta BeltLine, Volunteer | Tagged: Atlanta volunteering, Atlanta BeltLine, BeltLine volunteering, local Atlanta festivals | Leave a Comment »