Calendar

• 11/5: New American Public Works Association sustainability committee
• 11/11: The Greater Downtown Area Plan interactive community workshop
• 11/11-15: National League of Cities Congress of Cities and Exposition, Orlando, Fla.
• 11/13: Environmental Excellence Business Network fall networking event
• 11/14: Designing bicycle facilities web seminar
• 11/19: Air & Waste Management Association meeting: What happens to the "stuff" we recycle?
• 11/19-21: GreenBuild 2008, Boston, Mass.
• 12/9-11: Designing the Parks Conference, San Francisco, Ca.

E-Resources

• Petroleum Brownfields Action Plan: Promoting Revitalization and Sustainability
• Online tools make it easy to track power plant emissions: eGRID and Power Profiler
• Waste News is seeking nominations for 2008 Environmental Awards
• EPA, Energy Department release '09 Fuel Economy Guide
• Climate change strategy to help manage water resources
• Strategies for the Green Economy
• Rating system for green cleaners debuts
• New e-tools help planners pick green meeting places

World News

• Carbon tax seen as best way to slow global warming
• U.S. air quality standards for lead now 10 times stronger
• Climate change actually is a matter of individual choice
• Navigating shared-space streets in the US
• Risks of global warming greater than financial crisis
• World can halt fossil fuel use by 2090
• New guide on sewage sludge use in food production
• Study: wildlife need more complex travel plans

November 2008

Attend the 2008 Bridging The Gap Environmental
Excellence Awards

Each year Bridging The Gap celebrates and recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding businesses, individuals, volunteers and schools in the Kansas City metro area that are taking steps to protect and enhance our environment. Bridging The Gap and the Mid-America Regional Council will co-present the David Garcia Award for Environmental Excellence, a special award to an individual or organization who is a leader in collaborating to find solutions to regional environmental issues. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through November 13. The ceremony will be held 5:30–8:00 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library, 14 West 10th Street, Kansas City, Missouri. For more information, contact Leslie Barland at 816-561-1061, ext. 128.

Celebrate America Recycles Day (ARD), Nov. 15

America Recycles Day, held every year on November 15, is a national campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of recycling and buying products made with recycled materials. Events are scheduled throughout the community and information is available on specific ways you can promote ARD at your business or organization. For more information, contact Matt Riggs mriggs@marc.org at (816) 701-8313. Want to recycle, but don’t know where to take stuff? Visit RecycleSpot.org.

New American Public Works Association (APWA) Solid Waste Committee to hold first meeting

The purpose of the APWA Solid Waste Committee is to provide a forum for solid waste, public works and environmental professionals to discuss ways to improve the region’s solid waste infrastructure, provide cost-effective solid waste services, meet resident needs for basic solid waste services, and encourage further waste reduction and recycling efforts in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The committee’s first meeting will be Dec. 3, 11 a.m. at the MARC offices. For more information, contact Nadja Karpilow karpilow@marc.org at (816) 701-8226.

Jackson County begins recycling in parks

Jackson County’s Parks and Recreation Department has instituted a recycling program throughout its parks system. The recycling program includes 34 in-ground units and six above-ground units. These units are designed to provide a safer, more efficient method for handling materials. To launch the program Jackson County provided a $25,000 match to a $100,000 grant from the Mid-America Regional Council’s Solid Waste Management District and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. For more information, contact Jackson County Parks & Recreation at (816) 503-4800.

Training from the Academy for Sustainable Communities

MARC's Academy for Sustainable Communities offers seminars, technical workshops, roundtable discussions, speakers' series and other special events focused on how the Kansas City region can serve as a model of sustainability by emphasizing environmental, economic and social success. Visit marc.org/sustain for a complete list of events and opportunities.

Upcoming courses:

• 11/6: Attracting Retail and Commercial Redevelopment
• 11/6: Success Stories: Local Government Sustainability Initiatives
• 11/14: An Overview of BMP Design Principles
• 12/2: Success Stories: Green Building & Community Sustainability Efforts
• 12/12: Extended Wet Detention Basin and Extended Detention Wetlands
• 1/23: Rain Gardens and Bioretention