Environmental efforts earn city national recognition
Saturday, April 15, 2006
After years of praise for its welcoming business climate, Huntsville is now getting major props from the environmental community.
The Green Guide, which bills itself as the "go-to source" for information about earth-friendly living, has named Huntsville one of America's Top 10 "Green Cities." The only Southern town to make the cut, the Rocket City finished ninth - ahead of outdoorsy Denver, Anchorage, Alaska, and Seattle.
"This is huge," Joy McKee, director of Huntsville's Operation Green Team anti-litter program, said Friday. "There are so many things going on in this town that are environmentally sound, and it's only going to get better."
Ethan Hadley, the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce's vice president for economic development, said he is not surprised Huntsville fared so well in the study.
"When I drive through my neighborhood, there are solar panels on top of homes and greenways nearby," Hadley said Friday. "To have outside validation in a study like this will help us get the message across that we are not only naturally verdant but also environmentally conscious."
Based in New York City, The Green Guide set out to find the U.S. cities with over 100,000 residents that are doing the best job providing clean, healthy, energy-efficient living. Eugene, Ore., home to the University of Oregon and birthplace of Nike athletic shoes, nabbed the top spot, followed by Austin, Texas, and Portland.
Paul McRandle, who co-authored the study with Yale University graduate student Sara Smiley Smith, said Huntsville's efforts to preserve nature made it stand out from the crowd. Large chunks of several local mountains - Monte Sano, Huntsville, Green, Wade and Chapman - are permanently off-limits to development.
Other factors that put Huntsville in the green: numerous city parks and gardens; clean air and water; curbside recycling; Operation Green Team; good public transportation; and affordable housing.
McRandle also cited the Rocket City's efforts to create an environmentally-friendly industrial park off Pulaski Pike. The 250-acre site, near Toyota's engine plant, will have walking trails and features to reduce pollution and runoff.
Huntsville Hospital's futuristic tram, which lets employees and visitors cross the campus without driving, was also a plus.
"Our real goal for this list is not to match cities off against each other," McRandle said Friday. "It's just so cities can see what other cities are doing and to spark ideas."
Cities were awarded points for air and water quality, electricity use and production, the importance of environmental concerns to local residents, efforts to improve the environment, green building design, green space, recycling, public health, public transportation and socioeconomic factors such as the percentage of families living below the poverty line.
The study was based heavily on information supplied by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Building Council and the cities themselves. McRandle said the written survey sent by Operation Green Team's McKee was one of the best they received.
"When they called with the news, I was just jumping up and down," McKee said. "We're good and we know it. And now we have proof."
"This can be a real catalyst," she added, "for us to do more and more" green projects.
The Green Guide, which released the study to coincide with Earth Day on April 22, produces a bi-monthly newsletter for about 25,000 mostly female subscribers. Its Web site, www.thegreenguide.com, attracts roughly 250,000 visitors each month.
Huntsville is getting accustomed to glowing national press. Since early 2005, the city has earned kudos from more than a dozen magazines including Popular Science (Top 50 Technology Hotspot), Forbes (No. 6 among U.S. cities for business) and Inc. (Highest Concentration of Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Companies).
10 greenest
The Green Guide's Top 10 Green Cities
1. Eugene, Ore.
2. Austin, Texas
3. Portland
4. St. Paul, Minn.
5. Santa Rosa, Calif.
6. Oakland, Calif.
7. Berkeley, Calif.
8. Honolulu
9. Huntsville
10. Denver
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