Tag: GreenAtlanta

Fridays for Future #10: Food Deserts & Fresh Food Access

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The City of Atlanta 2020 Fresh Food Access Report just dropped this week. The report outlines how in the past five years the City has increased fresh food access for residents living in food deserts. By 2022, the City aims to reach 85% of Atlantans with fresh food access within a half mile of their homes. But first, some key terms….

Fresh food access points refers to supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets, and farmer’s markets, and farmstands.

LILA stands for Low Income Low Access. Low income is defined in this case as areas where over half of residential household income is at or below 80% of the area’s median income. Low access is defined here as an area were at least a third of the population or more live more than a half mile from the nearest fresh food access point.

Food deserts are residential areas where there is not reasonable access to fresh and affordable food. The city of Atlanta defines that as areas where there is no fresh food access within a half mile of one’s home.

Then and Now

In 2015, 59% of the City of Atlanta’s total area were LILA food desert areas, with 52% of Atlanta residents affected (241,314 residents). How has the city improved fresh food access since then?

Supercenters

10 supercenters have opened in or near LILA areas since 2015, increasing fresh food access to 12,732 Atlantans living in LILA areas, or 5% of the total residents affected in 2015. All 10 supercenters accept SNAP.

Grocery Stores

44 grocery stores have opened in or near LILA areas since 2015, increasing fresh food access to 26,942 LILA-residing Atlantans. That’s 11% of the community affected by food deserts in 2015.

Neighborhood Markets

39 neighborhood markets have opened since 2015, just over half accept SNAP (what gives?). The expansion of neighborhood markets has provided fresh food access to 40,236 more Atlantans, or 17% of the residents originally affected by LILA food deserts in 2015.

Farmers Markets

19 farmers markets have opened in Atlanta since 2015, 68% accept SNAP/EBT. These farmers markets have increased fresh food access to 16,533 residents during half of the year, and 2,830 residents year-round

The Bottom Line

In five years, 96,443 Atlantans have gained proximity to fresh food access points for half of the year, 82,740 have gained access to fresh food year-round. Roughly 34-40% of the original affected population are better off in terms of food access than five years ago. To reach its ultimate goal, Atlanta will have to reach 70,000 more residents with fresh food access by 2022. Continuing at its current rate, averaging fresh food access gains of under 20K residents per year, Atlanta will have to push back its deadline to 2024 to reach 85% of Atlanta residents. But, the City has one more trick up its sleeve that might prevent a deadline pushback: urban agriculture. In the last page of the report the City identifies that by updating urban ag ordinances to allow on-site sales at urban farms, 32,714 residents would benefit and 17,579 residents would gain fresh food access from Atlanta’s 18 existing urban farms. Contact your city council member to voice your support for updating this ordinance!

Download the full report here:

freshfoodaccessreport_2020_final-Download

Stay green, ATLiens ✌️👽

Motivation Monday #8 – Jordan Herring

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Meet local green ATLien Jordan Herring 👽

Time to #GetMotivated ATLiens!

Meet Jordan Herring, a local #GreenATLien making the world greener through soybean genetic lab research at UGA. Soy as a crop is often derided by environmental conservationists because of the deforestation caused by soybean farming, particularly in rainforest regions in South America. Jordan is working with a team of scientists at UGA to increase soybean crop yields and improve disease resistance so that soy crops may take a smaller acreage to produce the same yield needed to supply global food chains.

Originally from Decatur, Jordan was first inspired to pursue conservation work during a high school summer internship led by The Nature Conservancy where he and other students learned how to identify and remove invasive species at St. Simons. As an undergraduate at UGA Jordan became a Doris Duke Conservation scholar, spending his first summer internship studying the effects of dams on fish ecology along the Colorado River and then the following summer engrossed in research on the effects of the BP oil spill on sea turtles in Miami. In case you weren’t sure whether or not Jordan is a friend of the fishes, he’s also dedicated time to on-site research of the effects of tourism on fish migration in the Great Salt Pond of Bainbridge Island, Rhode Island.


Through his studies Jordan became increasingly interested in the impacts of environmental conditions on human health. To pursue this interest further, Jordan completed an Environmental Health and Safety internship where he monitored the impacts of a Georgia aluminum manufacturer on local water and air quality, as well as worker health. Not long after Jordan graduated with his bachelor’s in Environmental Health at UGA.


In the future, Jordan envisions opening a nonprofit organization that will educate and mobilize low-income Atlanta youth to improve local air and water quality, greenspace access, and food security.


Jordan’s #calltoaction is to learn more about what your local recycling service does and doesn’t accept to prevent recycling contamination. Be sure also to check out Jordan’s eco-travel blog Jordan and the Traveling Peach @_jtpjourneys 🖖👽

Fridays for Future #9: The Buy Nothing Project

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Map of Buy Nothing groups in Atlanta, GA

Happy #FridaysforFuture, GreenATLiens! The map above shows the phenomenon that has been steadily gaining momentum in Atlanta, the Buy Nothing Project. These are neighborhood-based, “gifting economies” where we can ask our neighbors for what we need, give freely to our neighbors without expecting anything in return, and express gratitude. Every day people in Atlanta are giving and receiving with their neighbors through this platform. So why not you?

Some of Atlanta’s Buy Nothing groups have been around since 2015. Others are much newer, cropping up in 2018 and 2019. One of the newest Buy Nothing groups is located in West End, which just started December 2019!

How do you imagine participation in the Buy Nothing Project could shape the future of Atlanta? Click here to find your Buy Nothing group, or start your own if there isn’t already one in your area yet. Stay green, ATLiens!

✌️👽

Motivation Monday #7 – Taylor Howard

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Happy #MotivationMonday GreenATLiens! Meet Taylor, a local wildlife conservation educator and leader in sustainability in Atlanta! Taylor currently spends her days educating the next generation about wildlife conservation at Zoo Atlanta, and actively dedicates her free time as a Climate Reality Atlanta member and Browns Mill Food Forest volunteer

Born and raised in Decatur, Taylor first became interested in wildlife after watching an Animal Planet special on dolphins. In high school Taylor gained hands-on experience in conservation in North Dakota via The Nature Conservancy’s Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF) program. This experience as well as Arabia Mountain High School’s environmental integrated curriculum piqued her interest in pursuing conservation further as a biology student in college.

As an undergraduate at the University of West Georgia Taylor became a Doris Duke Conservation Scholar, spending two consecutive summers in service to conservation work in the Colorado Plateau with the U.S. Geological Survey and Northern Arizona University and with the University of Maryland studying the effects of sea level rise on salt marsh migration, respectively.

Taylor’s experience as a Mayor’s Office of Resilience Sustainability Ambassador further inspired Taylor to make connections between sustainability and other areas such as environmental justice, workers’ rights, and how our consumption habits can influence the systems at work in our daily lives.

Taylor’s #calltoaction is to watch the documentary The True Cost on the fast fashion industry’s environmental and human impacts and consider boycotting fast fashion.

Fridays for Future #8: PFAS Water Contamination

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Happy #FridaysForFuture GreenATLiens! The blue dots on the map above show PFAS “forever chemicals” detected in the drinking water. See any where you or your loved ones live?

PFAS can interfere with the body’s natural hormones, increase cholesterol levels, affect the immune system, and increase the risk of some cancers (source). A regular water filter won’t filter it out. So what can we do about it?

Click here to tell Congress to stop toxic PFAS manufacturing & start cleanup now.

To view the interactive map of PFAS contamination sites and to learn more about PFAS, click here.

Motivation Monday #6 – Parul Srivastava

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Meet Parul Srivastava! @parul.s.srivastava is a GreenATLien making Atlanta greener by mobilizing her classmates to climate strikes on and off campus! An ambitious Georgia Tech Math major + CS minor from outside Des Moines, Iowa, Parul has always taken an interest in political advocacy.

As a high school student, she founded the Community of Racial Equality (CORE) to build solidarity between students of color and provide opportunities for internships and college preparation. From there, Parul organized CORE members’ participation in #ClimateStrikes and @marchforourlives in Des Moines. As an undergraduate in Atlanta, Parul continues to advocate for climate justice, starting with organic conversations with peers and organizing her network to show up at climate strikes at the GA State Capitol and on Georgia Tech’s campus.


Parul’s #calltoaction: Try reducing red meat consumption and learn more about the meat industry. If the amount of energy it takes to produce one burger is equivalent to running an A/C for 24 hours, something is wrong!

Fridays for Future #7: Support City Council Legislation to Make the City Responsible for Sidewalk Repair

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Did you know that the City of Atlanta is not currently responsible for sidewalk repairs in Atlanta? Under current policy, the property owners adjacent to existing sidewalk are responsible for sidewalk maintenance. The policy is ill-enforced, which explains why so many sidewalks across Atlanta are in poor shape. But the future of walkability in Atlanta could be changing soon. City council member Farokhi tweeted Wednesday:

View the original tweet here.

2020 could be the year that Atlanta City Council takes back the City’s role in sidewalk repair and maintenance. More functional sidewalks will make Atlanta safer for seniors, wheelchair-bound residents, parents and caregivers equipped with strollers, residents walking their pets, and just about everyone else who might use a sidewalk to get from A to B in Atlanta.

The popular @atlanta_meme Instagram account frequently cracks jokes at Atlanta’s unbearable traffic. Perhaps if Atlanta sidewalks became safer and more functional, more ATLiens would choose to walk and bike to work. More walking and biking commutes mean less cars on the road, less traffic, less air pollution, and generally happier people.

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Above: Atlanta holiday wishlist from the @atlanta_meme, note “Helicopter to fly over traffic” and numerous other wishes to improve traffic conditions such as filling potholes and improving access to MARTA.

It’s important that we ATLiens raise our voices to support this legislation in order for it to be passed this year. This is not the first time this legislation has come to the city council floor. With engagement from the community, we could help make it the last.

Find your council member.

Sample message:

Dear ________,

My name is <name> and I live on <street> in <neighborhood>. I’ve lived here since <year> and intend to continue living in District <#> for the foreseeable future. I’m writing because I would like voice my strong support for passing legislation that will put the City of Atlanta in charge of sidewalk maintenance and repair.

<Write a sentence or two about your personal experience, or the experience of a family member, with the sidewalks in Atlanta>. I believe complete streets with safe sidewalks will encourage more Atlantans to walk instead of drive, reducing car traffic and air pollution in Atlanta. Thinning out motor vehicle traffic will promote improved public health outcomes by encouraging more active lifestyles, reducing stress for daily commuters, and even reducing asthma rates for Atlanta’s most vulnerable populations.

As your constituent, I strongly urge you to take action so that the City of Atlanta can begin improving mobility and livability for its residents as soon as possible.

Thank you,

<Your Name>

Stay green, ATLiens!

Learn more:

Fridays for Future #6: How will the Beltline Southside Trail affect Atlanta’s future?

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  • PC: The Atlanta Beltline

Happy #fridaysforfuture GreenATLiens! At the start of the New Year the @atlantabeltline continues construction of the Southside Trail, connecting the Eastside and Westside trails in a “U” shape. This ATLien observed while 🚲levitating🚲 down the BeltLine segment on Bill Kennedy that a new segment of BeltLine path has been completed since two weeks ago.

Newly constructed Beltline

What will a completed Southside Trail mean for Atlanta’s future?

Reduced traffic as more residents choose the BeltLine over driving to commute?

Increased property values, rent increases, displacement of low income families, and gentrification spreading Southward? The @atlantabeltline is aware of this possibility and will be providing a renter’s rights workshop 1/27 at @thekenekt to empower renters…

Opening of more grocery stores near the Southside BeltLine, furthering @keishabottoms’s vision of eliminating all food deserts in Atlanta by 2022?

The fight of a lifetime to preserve and create new affordable housing in Atlanta (that’s actually affordable)?

How do you envision the completed Southside trail will affect Atlanta’s future? What precautions can the @cityofatlantaga take to prevent the worst outcomes and encourage equity and inclusivity for all?

Learn more:

Atlanta Magazine. The future of the Atlanta Beltline: 4 benchmarks to watch for

Beltline Fourth Quarterly Briefing Slideshow: beltline-fourth-quarterly-briefing-2019-12-03-Download

Fridays for Future #5: EPA Will Begin Lead Decontamination of West Atlanta Soil in 2020

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What You Need to Know

After an Emory University team found unsafe concentrations of lead in Westside Atlanta’s soil, the EPA launched an investigation to test the soil of 368 Atlanta properties for lead contamination. Having received results for 124 properties, 64 were found to contain elevated levels of lead in the soil. The EPA has found lead contamination levels as high as 3,400 parts per million (ppm) in Atlanta, more than 800% the EPA threshold of 400 ppm. The EPA plans to begin decontaminating properties in the first quarter of 2020.

An estimated 160 families in West Atlanta grow food in personal gardens, making lead contamination of soil in the area especially concerning. The source of the lead is believed to have come predominantly from “slag” used to fill in low-lying areas over a century ago. $2 million will be spent over 12 months to restore the soil to meet EPA guidelines. Homes with children under age 6 and pregnant women will be given priority, as lead poisoning in children can have serious effects on cognitive and physiological development. Lead poisoning can also affect adults, contributing to high blood pressure, nerve and kidney damage, among other ailments.

West Atlanta has approximately 1,600 households and 4,000 residents. Roughly 42% of West Atlanta households are living below the federal poverty line. 45.5% of children under age five live below the federal poverty line in West Atlanta. Decontaminating lead from the soil in Atlanta’s westside is not only a public health issue, but an environmental justice issue.

What Can You Do?

Contact the EPA to get lead out of drinking water.

If you’re a CompostNow member, donate your compost to local urban agriculture initiatives active in West Atlanta, such as Aglanta or Soul Spirit Farmers. See the “Share Your Compost” button below. Compost helps to dilute lead levels and remediate soil health. If you’re not already a CompostNow member, try it for two weeks free.

Sources:

Miller, Andy. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Danger in the ground: Lead contaminates Westside Atlanta neighborhood. Dec 5, 2019.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Westside Lead Investigation. July 2019.

Motivation Monday #3 – Andrew Wright of Green Done Wright

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#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!

#GreenATLiens #SustainableAtlanta #GreenATL #Atlannuh #Sustainability #ZeroWasteAtlanta #Hydroponics #UrbanAg #Aglanta #MasterComposter #Composting #EnvironmentalScience #LEED #SustainabilityAmbassadors #ProBiosphere #ActOnClimate #LeadOnClimate #ClimateAction #WasteAudit #EcoConsumerism #DIY #DIYTilIDie #SustainableLiving #ZeroWasteLiving #GreenLiving