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EcoBits by Brandi

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For the second time, Austin will host the Formula Sun Grand Prix out at the Circuit of the Americas track. This year 23 college teams from around the world (some heavily sponsored by the auto industry) are competing in this three-day solar-powered endurance race. The vehicles are designed and built by the students and "fueled" entirely by the sun.  The public is invited ou for the final day of the race on Saturday, from 8:30am – 5pm.
Solar-powered RC-vehicles as well as solar car kits for children to build and race will be available as well. It's all day Saturday July 19th out at COTA.

See Scott Burton's blog about the UT car and the race track and rules here >>
Read more about the racehere >>
And get event details and directions here >>
 

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Back, by popular demand, in anew format…the consistent crowd-pleaser, the informative and even funny course that usually sells out known asGreen By Design. Taught over the course of three evenings (versus all daySaturday) by the pros from the Austin Energy Green Building Program will show you how to build, remodel or buy green homes that improve energy and water efficiency, increase comfort, and reduce maintenance. 
The workshop is now designed to provide a choice of topics based on your green building needs. Sessions are paired with Austin Energy Green Building team members who are available to provide insight and experience on sustainable building practices.

• Identifying home design priorities with sustainability concepts in mind
• Understanding how sustainability applies to home design
• Learning how location, site and climate affect the design of a sustainable home
• Exploring zero-energy capable home features and strategies

• Designing homes that are material and resource efficient
• Selecting material choices that are healthier and safer
• Making informed decisions when choosing materials
• Understanding responsible landscaping features and strategies

• Designing and right-sizing mechanical systems for comfort and efficiency
• Understanding the role of mechanical performance in humidity control and indoor air quality
• Comparing high efficiency lighting and appliances
• Selecting venting, water heating, and plumbing systems

 

After an initial planning meeting a group of us have come up with a multi-pronged approach to making sure enviro issues are well represented in the upcoming local 10-1 election season. Our suggestions take into account the fact that we have some track record with forums and questionnaires AND we have 11 simultaneous races, no paid staff, and some cool opportunities to build on other efforts. The plan is:

1. Compile a great list of questions on a wide range of environmental and broader sustainability themes. 
2. Submit some questions to the League of Women Voters which is not only publishing their voter guide but collaborating with the City of Austin to produce a series of 7 candidate forums for all ten districts and the mayor's race.
3. Distribute a multi-sustainability-issue questionnaire to all candidates and publish their responses on Austin EcoNetwork, the forthcoming Imagine One Austin and perhaps promote via the Austin Chronicle.
4. Book a series of video recording sessiondays where we invite all the candidates for all races to come to a location to be recorded answering questions on sustainability subjects, perhaps following up on some of their questionnaire answers. Publish those on YouTube and hopefully ATXN in a way that it's easy to see all the candidates for one race sequentially.
5. Hold a Mayoral candidate forum covering multiple environmental issues. 
6. Hold candidate forums during the run-offs for the remaining candidates. 

I/we welcome your feedback. It's also not too late to get involved!

Individuals and groups interested in planning, co-sponsoring, and financially supporting these efforts can email me.

Read more about the other resources available for getting on top of local elections in my 2014 Local Election Help Guide>>
 

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The Austin City Council's passage of the Net Zero Community-wide Greenhouse Gas Emissionshas set into motion a bunch of groups working to figure out how exactly we might actually do that. There is a steering committee and four Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) evaluating strategies and targets in the areas of Energy, Transportation, Waste and Industrial Processes. The Industrial Processes is a small group of folks from the local semiconductor industry that are the only local users of certain potent GHGs. The Energy Group will no doubt build on the recent work by the Energy Generation Planning Task Force. I am serving on two TAGs and within the last week have participated in the first meetings of the Transportation and Waste/Materials Management/Stuff (we haven't picked a name yet). It's clear we need and will have briefings on things like GHG measurement protocols and reviews of other cities' plans, as well as sometechnology scans and systems diagramming to help us figure out all the levers for change in these complicated systems. It's also clear that defining ourscope/boundaries is important, as are conversations with surrounding communities to bring them along as much as possible.
I will happily serve as a conduit of messages to any of the committees. If you have suggestions in any of the areas just email me. I have mentally put myself "back in college" to study up on all this material so together we can make some ground-breaking plans. Stay tuned!