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SUSTAINABLE NEWTON
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Honesty Is the Best Policy

1/29/2021

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
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Wednesday in Washington brought a flurry of environmental executive orders and policy statements from President Biden that delighted environmentalists and climate activists -- while also drawing fire from Republicans seeking to use climate as a wedge issue.  Among the most significant actions the President announced, he:
  • Ordered all federal agencies to migrate their fleets to all electric vehicles and to shift to clean energy sources for electricity.
  • Established the Civilian Conservation Corps.
  • Pledged to conserve at least 30% of national lands and oceans by 2030.
  • Committed to researching how farmers might be paid to enhance the carbon-sequestering capabilities of their land.
As I've stated before, it will take much more than Presidential executive action -- namely, bipartisan collaboration and legislation -- to adequately address the Climate Crisis.  But, the actions from the White House this week are significant and urgently needed.  Which is why it's disappointing to see some visible Republicans spread disinformation and false narratives to gain political leverage.


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Driving Down Carbon Isn't So Hard

1/16/2021

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
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For our 2021 virtual kickoff Friday morning, we visited with Ray C. Anderson Foundation Executive Director John A. Lanier to discuss the Drawdown Georgia initiative.  John gave us a hope-filled, inspiring look at the country's only state-centered climate action program.  If you missed it, please take time to view the replay.

Sustainable Newton is committed to doing all we can to promote the Drawdown Georgia effort and bring its 20 carbon-reduction solutions to households, businesses, and local governments in Newton County. 

Starting a new year is the perfect time to assess what personal changes I can make towards "bringing climate solutions home," as they say at Drawdown Georgia.  Across the five key solution sectors (Electricity, Buildings and Materials, Food and Agriculture, Land Sinks, and Transportation), there are feasible actions we can each take to contribute to the overall 46 megaton carbon-reduction goal for the program.  (Each megaton is one million tons.)


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We Are All in This Together

12/10/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
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I remember vividly the last time I saw my fellow Sustainable Newton Board members in person, on the evening of March 9, gathered around a table in our usual meeting room at First Presbyterian Church of Covington.

Three days earlier, 21 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed on a cruise ship off the California coast, and the disease had reached a nursing home in Washington state.  But the World Health Organization had yet to declare a pandemic. 

Still, I recall the awkward silence when a colleague sneezed several times.  "Bless you," we said out loud, but our body language was a little more complicated.  We adjourned at the end of the meeting without saying so, but I suspected we might not see each other again for a month or two.

And, then, all Hell broke loose.


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Food for Thought: Get Down & Dirty

11/29/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
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It wasn't always human nature.  But, for those of us born since the middle of the 20th Century, technology is our go-to answer to every problem.  When you think you can invent your way out of any mess, you kick the can down the road.  We tell ourselves we'll deal with it later.

Then, when we finally decide a situation like Climate Change must be addressed, it’s natural we gravitate to technical innovation to save us.  There’s something sexy about gleaming solar panels, sleek wind turbines, smart buildings, and shiny, new Tesla automobiles. 

Join Sustainable Newton on December 7 at 6 pm for our virtual civic dinner featuring local farmers and a discussion of Food & Agriculture solutions to Climate Change, as proposed by Drawdown Georgia. 

Click here for more information and to register/join.

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Now, HOW Will We Change?

11/19/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
In our 24 Hours of Reality:  Countdown to the Future presentation on October 10, we asked and answered three key questions about humanity's response to the current climate crisis:
  1. Must we change?
  2. Can we change?
  3. Will we change?
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Our resounding "Yes!" to all three questions begs a fourth:  "How will we change?" 

That's where Drawdown Georgia comes in.  With their official launch on October 17, they identified 20 top climate solutions researchers have tagged as critical for Georgia to achieve a 35% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

Using Paul Hawken's 2018 book Drawdown as a starting point, scientists from Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Emory, and Georgia State University studied the 100 solutions originally identified by Hawken and his colleagues to determine the highest potential actions for our state.  The resulting blueprint for action features 20 solutions across five sectors (Buildings & Materials, Electricity, Transportation, Land Sinks, and Food & Agriculture) that collectively can cut carbon emissions in Georgia from 125 megaton to 79 megatons by 2030.


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We Go In and Out and In and Out

11/11/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
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Even as a climate activist and leader of a sustainability organization, I'm still conflicted over President-Elect Joe Biden's commitment to sign an executive order on his first day in office to rejoin the US in the Paris Climate Agreement.  I'm convinced we have years -- not decades -- to reverse climate change or face dire consequences, and I accept the urgent need for coordinated global action.  The crisis is real.  But, as a political pragmatist, I also know this back-and-forth reliance on executive action without congressional approval is ultimately getting us nowhere.


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Reality Doesn't Always Bite

9/9/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
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For anyone paying even the slightest attention to climate news, these are difficult days not to run screaming from the building.  Then again, this summer, outside is no place to be.

From unprecedented dual hurricanes Laura and Marco striking the US gulf coast last month to the scorching heat and raging wildfires now impacting California and Oregon,  we're inundated with news about extreme weather caused by Climate Change.

Throw in Siberian temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit and collapsing arctic ice shelves in Canada, and it's a little hard to remain hopeful.

OK, nearly impossible.  But, still, hope is not lost.


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We're Virtually Unstoppable

8/6/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
PictureAh, 2019, It Was Such a Simpler Time
"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

As I struggle to express my emotions in these socially-distanced, mostly virtual times, Joni Mitchell's lyrics jump to mind.  Though now it's less about paving paradise than putting it under glass.  Or, perhaps, it's we who are under glass.

Has anyone else watched a television show or a movie recently and felt alarmed by scenes of people standing close together -- perhaps even <gasp!> shaking hands or putting a hand on a shoulder?  Now, it's The Police I hear singing "Don't stand.  Don't stand.  Don't stand so close to me."  It's the same way when I look back at photos of past Sustainable Newton events.


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Let Us Make Our Shoulders Strong

7/26/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
I’m making my shoulders strong for the young to stand upon,
Stepping lightly on the backs of those who hold me up.

Those lyrics from singer/songwriter Susan Osborn were on my mind this week as I remembered someone whose shoulders carried all of Newton County a decade ago.  As I relayed in a personal Facebook post on Thursday, that man was former Newborn Mayor Roger Sheridan.

Earlier this month, the City of Covington announced plans to pave portions of the Cricket Frog Trail inside city limits, finally bringing closure to an effort begun well over a decade ago to convert an unused (and nearly abandoned) rail corridor across Newton County into a multi-use trail.

Beginning in 2009, I became one of the vocal, persistent advocates pressing the City of Covington and Newton County to carry through on plans initiated in 2005 by prior administrations to acquire the corridor from Norfolk Southern and pave it for a trail. 

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Covington Commits to Sustainability

4/21/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
PictureThe Triple Bottom Line
From our early days as individuals uniting to change our world by acting locally in our community, Sustainable Newton has defined sustainability along two dimensions:
  1. Applying the "3 Ps"  or "triple bottom line" to important decisions and actions, giving the same consideration to people (society) and planet (environment) that we give to profit (economy)
  2. Making choices and acting in ways that consider long-term implications for generations who come after us.
We believe this philosophy can guide individuals, households, businesses, and local governments to make better choices for the overall health and well-being of our society.  Last night, the Covington City Council made a clear statement they agree, by committing to these same principles in the decision making and operational choices of the city.


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Even in Crisis, Hope Takes Root

4/3/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
PictureA petunia growing from a wall above my koi pond reminds me we're made of strong stuff.
It's taken longer than I hoped -- weeks in fact -- to get to where I could organize my thoughts to share a few words about how we persevere with sustainability efforts in these troubling times.  But, I suspect you all understand.

It's a striking reminder how much life changed so quickly to reread my last post about Arbor Day written 43 days ago, on February 20.  It was easy then to imagine young seedlings and saplings growing into mighty shade trees to shelter generations to come.  But, thinking about that future is a more difficult task today.

I find myself spending spare moments on days not occupied by the present to reflect on my past.  Or, more accurately, the past of those who gifted life to me long ago.


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Arbor Day: Look Back & Pay It Forward

2/20/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.
-- Greek Proverb
Tomorrow through next weekend, communities across Newton County will host Arbor Day celebrations to plant trees and pay homage to their benefits.  Especially in this age of climate change and forests lost to development, agriculture, drought, and fires, the replanting of trees has never been a more necessary act.

But, there's something deeper, more essential, and even perhaps spiritual about giving life to a tree that will likely outlive its planters to shade, shelter, and serve generations yet unborn today.

As the Greek proverb says:  "Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in."  The awareness that actions we take (or don't take) today have consequences for generations to come is at the heart of why Sustainable Newton exists.  As our motto says:  "There 's no time like the present to give our children a better future."
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We Support EtO Legislation for Georgia

2/19/2020

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By the Sustainable Newton Board of Directors
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We added a new word to our vocabulary in 2019 -- more accurately, an acronym.  That acronym was "EtO," short for ethylene oxide. 

This was an unfamiliar term for nearly everyone in Newton County, but news coverage of releases of this known carcinogen from the Becton Dickinson (BD) facility in Covington soon had everyone talking and local governments pressed to act.  In October, we commended the Covington Mayor and City Council for their response to the situation.

Much has happened since, with BD eventually resuming operations at their Industrial Boulevard facility with new air quality testing in place.  However, in late December, BD was again cited by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) for not reporting the existence and release of EtO at a warehouse in Covington's Lochridge Business Park.


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Getting a Charge from Expectations Met

2/11/2020

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By Julius J. ("JJ") Hayden, Sustainable Newton Treasurer
It is great when projects turn out like you intended and do what you expected.

We participated in the Solarize program in 2019 and upgraded our existing small, grid-tied solar system to a bigger and more capable system. The goal was to supply about 50% of our monthly electric power consumption and to have batteries to supply power at night. Not only at night, but also on that rare-for-us occasion the grid power goes out.

Our solar panels and batteries have been living up to our power generation expectations.  And, then came this month's flooding and eight hours of no power coming from the grid. I was working here at the computer when our power went out the first time, and I didn’t even notice it was out, except that the lights went dark in the other rooms. The next morning, I heard the gas furnace and blower come on, and I thought “Great – that’s just what I expected.”  I then checked on our refrigerators, and they were operating just fine.

It's just so great when a plan comes together and works as expected
.
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So Far, So Good on Those Resolutions

2/10/2020

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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
PictureVegan Black Bean & Kale Soup with Meatless Chorizo Sausage (7 Weight Watchers Points)
With January safely in the rear-view mirror, perhaps it's not too risky to mention how those New Year's resolutions are going.  I'm referring to the sustainability actions I committed to at the end of last year, along with my fellow Sustainable Newton board members.

For me, the focus was reducing my carbon footprint by driving more fuel-efficiently and adopting a plant-based diet one day a week.  Overall, I'm happy with results so far, but neither resolution has been without challenges.  (As it should be for any changes worth making.)

Today is my fifth "Meatless Monday."  I was traveling in early January, so I elected to start my new regimen on Monday, January 13.  But, since then, I've opened every week with a vegetarian (but not always vegan) diet.  I'm allowing myself eggs and dairy products, but no beef, poultry, seafood, or other meats.


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