Did you know Americans collectively use an average of 26 billion gallons of water each day or that almost one-third of the residential waste generated in the United States is packaging? Environment Omaha is striving to reverse those trends locally, and a new draft document lays out a plan for making that happen.
Community feedback is sought on the Resource Conservation final draft of Environment Omaha, a new policy development initiative that’s creating a comprehensive environmental section for the City of Omaha Master Plan. The initiative covers five areas – the natural environment, urban form and transportation, building construction, resource conservation and community health.
The document was developed by the Environment Omaha Resource Conservation Advisory Committee, which is chaired by Marcella Thompson, director of sustainability at ConAgra Foods Inc.
The committee, a group of 27 volunteers representing a diversity of professions and perspectives, included suggestions from the public in developing the content. The document was then reviewed by the Environment Omaha Core and Working Committees. It begins with an overall vision statement: Omaha will be a thriving community that provides an exceptional quality of life centered on an unwavering dedication to resource conservation. Its areas of focus:
• Conserving and protecting the high quality and adequate supply of water resources
• Improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the risks of climate change
• Improving energy efficiency and encouraging the supply of renewable and sustainable energy systems
• Working aggressively toward becoming a zero-waste-to-landfill community by maximizing the use and reuse of material resources
• Becoming a leader in green economies by using the creativity, productivity and ingenuity of the community’s human capital
The draft establishes a number of measurements that will be used to chart progress toward the achievement of long-term goals. Among the targets is reducing total water use per capita by 20 percent by 2020 and continually reducing consumption by 20 percent every 10 years thereafter.
“We want to grow and prosper as a city, but we want to do so in a responsible way, one that respects the planet’s finite resources,” Thompson said. “Thinking about what we use and how we use it is not only responsible but could jumpstart a local green economy that provides jobs and taps into our population’s ingenuity and productivity."
Members of the public can post their questions and comments about the draft on www.environmentomaha.com/discussion.
Funding for Environment Omaha, which is receiving significant city staff and resource support, is provided by grants from the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency and the City of Omaha’s Stormwater Management Plan Program Grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. Omaha by Design serves as the project manager. For more information, call 402.554.4010 or email info@omahabydesign.org.
-Contributed by Omaha by Design
Community feedback is sought on the Resource Conservation final draft of Environment Omaha, a new policy development initiative that’s creating a comprehensive environmental section for the City of Omaha Master Plan. The initiative covers five areas – the natural environment, urban form and transportation, building construction, resource conservation and community health.
The document was developed by the Environment Omaha Resource Conservation Advisory Committee, which is chaired by Marcella Thompson, director of sustainability at ConAgra Foods Inc.
The committee, a group of 27 volunteers representing a diversity of professions and perspectives, included suggestions from the public in developing the content. The document was then reviewed by the Environment Omaha Core and Working Committees. It begins with an overall vision statement: Omaha will be a thriving community that provides an exceptional quality of life centered on an unwavering dedication to resource conservation. Its areas of focus:
• Conserving and protecting the high quality and adequate supply of water resources
• Improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the risks of climate change
• Improving energy efficiency and encouraging the supply of renewable and sustainable energy systems
• Working aggressively toward becoming a zero-waste-to-landfill community by maximizing the use and reuse of material resources
• Becoming a leader in green economies by using the creativity, productivity and ingenuity of the community’s human capital
The draft establishes a number of measurements that will be used to chart progress toward the achievement of long-term goals. Among the targets is reducing total water use per capita by 20 percent by 2020 and continually reducing consumption by 20 percent every 10 years thereafter.
“We want to grow and prosper as a city, but we want to do so in a responsible way, one that respects the planet’s finite resources,” Thompson said. “Thinking about what we use and how we use it is not only responsible but could jumpstart a local green economy that provides jobs and taps into our population’s ingenuity and productivity."
Members of the public can post their questions and comments about the draft on www.environmentomaha.com/discussion.
Funding for Environment Omaha, which is receiving significant city staff and resource support, is provided by grants from the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency and the City of Omaha’s Stormwater Management Plan Program Grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. Omaha by Design serves as the project manager. For more information, call 402.554.4010 or email info@omahabydesign.org.
-Contributed by Omaha by Design
posted by ktorpy @ 9:40 AM
