#MotivationMonday – Meet Andrew! Andrew Wright is a GreenATLien increasing awareness around sustainability by organizing community education workshops and tours. Andrew is the founder of Green Done Wright, where he applies his background in Environmental Science to educating the public on a range of topics including but not limited to vertical hydroponic farming and zero waste cleaning.
Andrew has always been a mover and shaker. As an undergraduate Andrew spearheaded a student-led effort to start a community garden on his college campus, and as an alumnus he continues to provide technical support to its current student leadership. As a Master Composter, an LEED Green Associate, and a Sustainability Ambassador of Atlanta, Andrew has a wealth of knowledge and expertise he is excited to share with others.
Andrew recommends taking a look at the daily waste you produce and finding low or zero waste replacements. Everything from food waste, clothes, household utilities, dryer sheets, and even recyclables are made from precious resources. The things we consume take a lot of time, energy and labor to produce and transport to you, the consumer.
Share in the comments what waste you’re struggling to reduce right now, Andrew is here to help!
Did you know there are four unlined coal ash ponds that have been a source of groundwater contamination in Atlanta? See below an interactive map of coal ash contaminated sites in the U.S. Two of the four in Atlanta (ITP) have been closed, the other two have a notice of intent to close thanks to the implementation of 2015 federal coal ash regulations -the Coal Combustion Residuals Rule.
The toxins in coal ash are linked to cancer, heart disease, reproductive failure, stroke, and can cause lasting brain damage in children. See a full infographic on the harm to human health from breathing and ingesting coal ash intoxicants here.
If you have another 5-10 minutes to take your activism one step further, use the message template below to voice your concerns to Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue.
The 2015 coal ash rule is currently protecting more than 10 million people across Georgia. Despite some weaknesses in the current rule, coal plant owners have already established publicly-accessible websites, completed hundreds of inspections, published critical groundwater quality data, identified over a hundred sites where cleanup of contaminated groundwater must soon begin, and disclosed the identity of leaking and dangerous coal ash ponds that must close. The standards of the 2015 rule — which received more than a half-million supporting comments from the public — are helping to protect clean water and safeguard public health and should be strengthened, not weakened. For this reason, I ask you to oppose the EPA’s proposal to allow polluters to delay the closure of dangerous coal ash ponds. Furthermore, I ask that you to strongly oppose the EPA’s failure to hold even one in-person public hearing on this proposal. This is a violation of law. By refusing to hold an in-person public hearing, the current presidential administration is failing to encourage meaningful participation in rulemaking and is removing a critical right of the public to directly address EPA representatives.
Meet Stephanie! Stephanie Simmons is a GreenATLien empowering youth and families through food justice, sharing economies, and entrepreneurship education! At the homeschool collective Stephanie co-founded Imagimatics youth learn more than just the core subjects, learning about food systems and where their food comes from, how to grow their own food, and how to turn the fruits of their labors into money at local farmers’ markets.
Stephanie got her start in urban agriculture with The Food Project in Boston, Massachusetts. Serving two years as FoodCorps member Stephanie led youth education workshops on gardening, cooking, and food justice, as well as hands-on projects installing raised garden beds with teens. Since then, Stephanie has served as a FoodCorps Fellow with Georgia Organics, Community Ag Program Director at Athens Land Trust, and provided resource developing consulting to the Georgia Farmer’s Market Association and the International Rescue Committee.
Prior to serving in the FoodCorps, Stephanie’s background primarily centered on youth and early childhood education, and at-risk youth advocacy. Today, Stephanie marries her passions for youth empowerment and food justice through her work at Imagimatics. Not stopping at Pre-K through 12 education, Stephanie and her co-founder Anjel also organize community events for parents to pursue personal and professional growth as well as strengthen community ties- like the Community Clothing Swap she’s organizing at Gallery 992 ! Donations of clothing, home goods, and dry pantry goods are welcome!
Stephanie’s Call to Action
Stephanie recommends GreenATLiens plant pollinator-friendly plants around their homes, or if you’re ready to take some BIG action, replace your lawn with native groundcover! Stephanie shares the Atlanta and DeKalb public libraries have free seeds to “check out” for this purpose .
Do you have any questions for your fellow GreenATLien Stephanie? If not, say hi!🖖
Greetings #GreenATLiens! And a happy #fridaysforfuture to you! This Friday we’d like to show you how the future of renewable energy is shaping up in our state! .
According to local nonprofit GreenPower EMC, their members have 33 active renewable energy projects in the state and 11 more under construction.By 2021, Georgia is projected to have ~10,200 acres of solar farms, up from ~3,200 in 2018.
According to the Consumer Energy Alliance, Georgia’s “solar boom” ranks third in the Southeast after Florida and North Carolina, and tied with Virginia. Despite this growth, less than 5% of Georgia’s energy comes from renewable sources. Georgia Beyond Coal was able to bump that up to 15% locally in Athens Clarke County through student activism efforts.
According to a UC Berkeley study, solar energy creates over seven times more jobs than coal or oil per mega watt hour (MWh) produced (source).
You can support the development of renewable energy in Georgia by contacting your senators, representatives, and city council members to express your full support of 100% renewable energy by 2035.
Senator David Perdue Email(404) 865-0087 (ATL) (202) 224-3521 (DC)
Senator Johnny Isakson Email(770) 661-0999 (ATL) (202) 224-3643 (DC)
As Climate Changes, Southern States Will Suffer More Than Others.
Arguably Georgia is already suffering, as we are in our fifth drought of the past two decades, a record breaking frequency for droughts in Georgia’s natural history.
This information extracted from lecture and slides shown at the #GeorgiaClimateConference that convened November 6-8 at Emory University.
At the beginning of this month, the Earthlings of Georgia’s academia, government, media, and business came together for the Georgia Climate Conference held at Emory University. This ATLien watched all 8 hours of live streamed footage, took 25 pages of notes, and whittled it down to 8 points that may be of interest to other GreenATLiens. I hope you find this sum-up informative.
8 Facts from the Georgia Climate Conference
1) Climate change is caused by human activity.
Dr. Marshall Shepherd of Emory University made this very clear. He used the following data to prove this point:
How do we know it’s us? Line graphs from Dr. Shepherd’s presentation showing the relationship between human influence (in red) with the observed average temperature difference from average (in black)
Bar graph from Dr. Shepherd’s presentation, “Radiative Forcing Caused by Human Activities Since 1750” showing human activities’ warming effects on the climate.
Bar graph from Dr. Shepherd’ presentation showing the recent rapid rise in global Earth surface temperatures and their correlation with natural disasters.
2) Climate change is hurting Georgia’s economy.
Climate Change Affecting Georgia’s Ag Economy
Dick Byne of Byne Blueberry farms shares how climate change has affected his crops.
Blueberry farmers are seeing lower yields due to climate fluctuations throwing off the growing season. Warmer winters start the bloom seasons earlier and then freeze, killing the crop. Additionally, Georgia is experiencing a drought. To give some reference, from 1945-2000 Georgia experienced 3 droughts. From 2000-2019 Georgia has experienced 5 droughts, the fifth of which we are still in (see Doug Hooker’s presentation). With rising temperatures affecting Southern states more than others (see figure above), intense heat requires more frequent watering of crops. This depletes the local water table more quickly that the water cycle can naturally replace it. The drought also results in lower crop yields. The drought is effectively shriveling the agricultural economy of the state.
More Frequent Extreme Weather Events are Costly to Governments, Agriculture, and Coastal Tourism
Five severe weather incidents have occurred in Georgia in the past three years, some only months apart.
The American Red Cross response to Hurricane Michael in Florida and Georgia resulted in over 44K climate shelter stays, over 2 million meals and snacks distributed, over 270K relief items distributed, 4.5K families receiving recovery casework, and over 36K health contacts.
Hurricane Dorian (2019) became one of the Atlantic’s longest-lasting named storms and most destructive to strike the northern Bahamas.
Extreme weather has wreaked havoc on infrastructure and local economies. In the aftermath of more intense and frequent hurricanes, city governments shoulder mounting costs to rebuild lost infrastructure. 100 mph winds have hurt valuable agricultural crops in Southwest Georgia. Extreme weather also hurts Georgia’s tourism economy, most famously Tybee that was devastated by Hurricane Michael in 2018. Learn more about coastal Georgia’s struggle against climate change in this 27 m documentary, The Rising Sea.
3) Renewable energy in Georgia is growing, especially solar.
In Georgia, less than 5% of our energy comes from renewable sources (source). There are pockets -Athens, for example- where activism has resulted in higher rates of renewable energy use. Beyond Coal UGA was successful in shutting down a coal burning power plant and now the city of Athens supplies 15% of its energy from renewable sources. Both Athens and Atlanta have put in writing plans to reach 100% renewable energy by 2035. Small cities like Oxford are incentivizing solar panel installation on private homes, and The Ray has installed 18 miles of solar pavement on highway I-85and a solar-powered EV station in LaGrange, Georgia (see below).
In 2010 solar energy made up only 1% of Georgia’s available renewable energy. In 2018 solar had grown to 87% of Georgia’s renewable energy, and is projected to continue to grow significantly in the near future. Slide from GreenPower EMC’s presentation at the Georgia Climate Conference.
Georgia currently has 24 solar projects operating and 11 more under construction. Many peanut farmers in Southwest Georgia are converting their land into solar farms. Slide from GreenPower EMC’s presentation at the Georgia Climate Conference.
In 2019 Southwest Georgia peanut farmer Steve Singletary sold 1400 acres to the solar provider Silicon Ranch. The 1400 acres will hold 355,000 solar panels. And he’s not the only peanut farmer in Southwest Georgia converting land into solar farms (see above).
Georgia’s solar industry growth is third in the southeast behind Florida and North Carolina.
Solar pavement is being installed in LaGrange, Georgia
Athens is at 15% renewable energy with the goal to reach 100% by 2035, and they’ve calculated it will save them $12 million in 10 years!
EV sales have been on the rise in Georgia.
4) Georgia’s GHG emissions are falling.
According to the Consumer Energy Alliance, Georgia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are falling in response to statewide efforts, in spite of population and GDP growth (below).
Graph showing Georgia’s population growth (blue) and economic growth (orange) since 1990.
Local governments in Atlanta, Savannah, Athens, and Oxford are making efforts to couple their commitments to renewable energy with effort to reduce energy consumption. Organizations, enterprises, and student groups are retrofitting homes to reduce energy use and help families save money on utility bills. Beyond Coal was successful in shutting down a coal-burning power plant in Athens. The growth in the solar sector has also helped reduce emissions. Additionally, for-profit companies like Interface have examined their environmental impact and worked to reduce it (see below).
Interface has improved their company footprint impressively in the last 25 years.
5) Georgia has 24.6 MILLION acres of forests.
Georgia is apparently a massive carbon sink. You’re welcome, America!
And get this: Georgia has a carbon registry that compensates landowners for sequestering carbon (via forests), paid for by corporations looking to offset their carbon emissions.
6) Georgia is #1…. in a lot of things.
One thing the speakers at the Georgia Climate Conference made clear was that Georgia was #1 in a lot of things. What things? Not peaches, in case you were wondering. South Carolina actually holds that title.
Georgia is the U.S.’s #1 producer of peanuts, and has more blueberry farms than any other state in the U.S. Georgia is also the #1 forestry state according to Andres Villegas of the Georgia Forestry Association (see #5).
Georgia ranks #6 in the U.S. for biodiversity (source). Not #1, but still note-worthy, and likely owing to our large acreage of forests as well as coastal regions and wetlands.
7) Georgia is addressing its current drought with infrastructural changes.
As mentioned above, Georgia has experienced a record frequency of droughts since the year 2000. 1945-2000 Georgia experienced 3 droughts, and 2000-2019 Georgia has experienced five, including the current one. To address this, the Atlanta Regional Commission has replaced over 125,000 toilets in seniors’ homes with water efficient models. Since 2000, with over 1.3 million new people in Georgia, our water withdrawals have decreased by 10%.
Cox, Georgia’s largest private company, is funding efforts to reduce water use in farming. They’re promoting the use of more sustainable, water-independent fertilizers that don’t require water to melt a coating and release nutrients into the soil. They’re also supporting efforts for controlled environment agriculture in city centers that reportedly uses 80% less water than traditional farming methods.
Donald Chase of Chase Farms, a peanut farmer from Macon, GA, reported that he and other farmers like him in Georgia have started using sensors to verify when crops need water, and with the use of the sensors farmers have been able to increase crop yields while increasing their water efficiency as well.
8) Georgia has many groups and individuals dedicated to climate action.
Here are links to all the people and groups mentioned in the 8 hour live footage of the Georgia Climate Conference:
Interface – flooring company taking big strides in reducing their waste and resource use (see #4).
Byne Blueberry Farms – first organic blueberry farm in Georgia and the Southeast
Atlanta Regional Commission – The agency also serves as a regional convener, bringing diverse stakeholders to the table to address the most important issues facing metro Atlanta, including transportation, livability, water resource management, and more.
Atlanta Youth Energy Corps – A Metro Atlanta-based, youth-led team committed to implementing energy equity programs that center youth leadership, racial and social justice, and local collaboration.
Beyond Coal Georgia – Shut down a coal-fired power plant in Athens to propel Athens towards current rates of 15% renewable energy use, 10% more than the state average.
Georgia Climate Change Coalition – increases awareness about climate change and its projected impacts through education, advocacy and action
Athens for Everyone – civic engagement group for improved livability in Athens
Clean Energy Atlanta – Planning for an equitable 100% clean energy transition in Atlanta
Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge – Building owners and managers who join the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge pledge to save energy and water 20% by 2020 in their selected buildings.
Consumer Energy Alliance – advocates for energy policies by providing unbiased information on energy issues
Cox Conserves – driving positive environmental change — inside our company and within the communities we serve
Want to support this work? Share this article with a friend on Facebook, Instagram, or wherever your people are at! We also have a Ko-Fi page if you’d like to endorse our work monetarily. All funds raised will be used to supplement the costs of organizing events that promote sustainability and climate action in Atlanta.
If you have notes for the sessions that were NOT recorded in the live footage, please send them to greenatliens at gmail dot com.
Happy #MotivationMonday ATLiens! See what these four Georgia Earthlings are doing to save the biosphere:
👽 A preacher educates his congregation on why climate change is a civil rights issue.
👽 A peanut farmer in southwest Georgia converts 1,400 acres of his farmland into a solar farm.
👽 An executive director of a solar tech company sets up the first solar road pilot in the country and the first solar powered EV charger in the Southeast in LaGrange, GA.
👽 The community in Tybee creates a climate change adaptation plan and starts building dunes to protect the city from future climate events.
Green ATLiens 