http://www.pennenvironment.org/in-the-news/more-issues/local-issues http://www.pennenvironment.org/in-the-news/more-issues/local-issues/nutter-has-a-chat-with-environmental-group2 Josh Cornfield, Metro Philadelphia CENTER CITY. The young canvassers were headed out on their daily journey to convince people of the need to press for better environmental regulations, a door-knocking adventure that takes them to both friend and foes of “green” issues. But first, they got a visit from someone they readily assume will be a friend. The city’s likely next mayor — Democratic nominee Michael Nutter — spoke to the group of 20-something volunteers from PennEnvironment, laying out his plans to attempt to plant more trees, boost recycling and get filters on SEPTA’s diesel buses. “It’s really refreshing and really exciting at the same time,” said Moira Bieg, 25. “It’s really something to look forward to and it gives us the opportunity to make the changes that the city needs.” Nutter said that aside from the “sustainability cabinet” he plans, he would also make sure that every city agency works toward reaching a set of environmental benchmarks. He would also push for all buildings to become Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified. “I think compared to a lot of big cities, Philadelphia probably hasn’t made the leaps and bounds to be seen as a leader on environmental issues,” said David Masur, director of PennEnvironment. “Other cities are willing to take risks to get out front.” According to Bieg, the city and agencies like Penn­Environment need to work toward educating the public about environmentalism. She said city government has to show more of a willingness to cooperate with green agencies and work toward compromises. http://www.pennenvironment.org/in-the-news/more-issues/local-issues/nutter-has-a-chat-with-environmental-group2 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:36:27 -0500 http://www.pennenvironment.org/in-the-news/more-issues/local-issues/nutter-city-recycling-is-one-of-worst Jim McCaffrey, the Bulletin Democratic Mayoral Candidate Michael Nutter conceded to a group of environmental activists yesterday that Philadelphia has "one of the worst recycling programs" in the country. He promised his administration will work to increase the city's recycling from 6 percent of the garbage stream to "30 or 40" percent of the garbage stream. Nutter spent about a half-hour talking to and answering questions from canvassers and staff at PennEnvironment, a statewide, nonpartisan, citizen-based, environmental group with headquarters here in Center City. Nutter knows recycling is not just an environmental necessity but also an economic necessity here as well. Dumping in landfills is becoming more and more expensive. City trucks have to drive further and further to find dumps that will take the city's waste. In 2006, Philadelphia was paying $58 a ton to dump in landfills with 94 percent (approximately 700,000 tons) of the city's trash going there. That amounts to close to $40 million a year in landfill costs. These costs are increased by the cost of gas, equipment, salaries and benefits to pickup and transport city trash. If recycling could remove 30 to 40 percent of that waste stream, the savings would be enormous. Finding costs savings like these will be a major task facing the next mayor, and recycling is not a trick likely to be missed. Actually all Nutter is proposing to do is comply with city law. A city ordinance, passed in 1986, requires the city to recycle 35 to 40 percent of its waste stream. Philadelphia has never come close to complying. In 2004, City Controller Jonathan Saidel produced a study demonstrating if Philadelphia would recycle 37.5 percent of its trash it would save $17.2 million in waste disposal fees. The city's 44,000 tons of recycled material that year saved only $1.5 million, he calculated. Saidel estimated every 1 percent of trash diverted to recycling would save the City $540,000. Philadelphia's recycling rate ranks eighth among the nine major cities in the United States with populations of more than 1 million. Despite lagging behind other large cities, PennEnvironment Director David Masur points out that people are willing to support the effort to improve. He offers overwhelming voter support for open space bonds as his proof. Nutter made essentially the same point when he mentioned it was environmental groups that sponsored the largest number of mayoral primary forums. "All candidates had a stance on sustainability," he pointed out. "They all had a green, sustainable environmental plan." The candidate promised to create a sustainability cabinet with a coordinator to oversee the work and report on the sustainability efforts. Sustainability, as Nutter used the word, means developing systems that meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. He complimented the grassroots organization by comparing the dedication of PennEnvironment workers to his own campaign. "When we started our campaign nobody thought we'd be able to create a citywide network. They didn't think we'd be able to raise the money. We ended up surprising them with our organization and getting a tremendous amount of small dollar donations. We take great pride in our staff and our thousands of volunteers. "If we are going to have a sustainable environment we have to have a group of young people who are actually engaged in it and know something about it. We need to get new and different people into government." The candidate offered support for applying emissions filters on buses using money from a court settlement Sunoco negotiated. He also advocates complying with the international greenhouse gas emission protocols established in Kyoto, Japan, in 2006, changing city zoning and building codes to promote green buildings, and consider tax incentives and rebates for environmentally friendly improvements to local buildings. "I'm not a tree hugger, but I am a tree supporter," Nutter explained to the group. He added, "I want to take down dead, diseased and dying trees and replace them with multiples. There's and economic benefit to trees. Studies show property values are significantly higher on tree lined streets." Nutter also stressed the importance of working with neighboring counties on storm water management issues. He underscored the importance of installing energy-saving light bulbs and creating more light in offices estimating it could save as much as $100 million a year in the city. "It's been shown more natural light in classrooms improve math and reading scores," he noted, almost as an aside. He finally urged the group not to go away after the election. "Hold us accountable," he urged. http://www.pennenvironment.org/in-the-news/more-issues/local-issues/nutter-city-recycling-is-one-of-worst Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:51:13 -0500