Last year Charlotte City Council approved a plan that aims to make Charlotte a low carbon city by 2050. And last week 75 people gathered with us at Triple C Brewing to hear more about how this plan is getting off the ground.

“You can’t talk about sustainability without talking about equity,” according to Ray McKinnon, the pastor of South Tryon Community United Methodist Church, and keynote speaker at our Charlotte Sustainability Summit.

This is the fifth article in our series of weekly blog posts called "The Good, the Bad, the Possibilities". For this series, we are asking local experts three questions to give you a quick overview of recent local trends and solutions with respect to a range of important issues that affect our community's sustainability. This week’s topic is air quality, and our featured experts are June Blotnick, Executive Director of Clean Air Carolina, and Terry Lansdell, Executive Director of BikeWalk NC.

Summer in North Carolina is in full swing: long sunny days, temperatures in the ‘80s, and humidity even higher… oh, and for those of us at Sustain Charlotte, the chance to go back to summer camp! On Thursday, July 19th, we hosted a Sustainable Transportation Fair in partnership with the Progressive Baptist Church’s summer camp, YouthQuake!. We invited governmental departments and nonprofits from all over the city to Arbor Glen Outreach Center, to teach the campers about how transportation choices affect their health, safety, and community.

On June 25th, the Charlotte City Council unanimously passed the resolution for a “Sustainable and Resilient” Charlotte. This is a comprehensive resolution that calls for the city government to source 100% of its energy used in its own buildings and fleet from zero-carbon sources by 2030. It also creates an action plan for dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors by 2050.

With this move, Charlotte has taken a major step in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and significantly increase the quality of life for residents by investing in our air quality and growing our economy with green jobs.

We need your help! On June 25th, the Charlotte City Council will be voting on a comprehensive resolution that calls for the city to source 100% of its energy used in its buildings and fleet from zero-carbon sources by 2030. It also creates an action plan for dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors.

This is great news, and if implemented, would truly make Charlotte a leading city in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It would significantly increase the quality of life for residents through environmental improvements like air quality and prepare our economy for the jobs of the future. You can read more about the resolution and action plan in our recent blog post.

We need your help to get this passed! Please contact Councilmembers and the Mayor and tell them you support the “Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte” resolution and ask for their support!

Please come out to the June 25th City Council meeting to show your support! We will be meeting in the lobby of the Government Center at 6 pm.

Address: 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte NC 28202

Read on for contact info and resolution text.

At their June 4 meeting, the Charlotte City Council Environment Committee passed a comprehensive resolution that, among many things, calls for the city to source 100% of its energy used in its buildings and fleet from zero carbon sources by 2030.

At our May Grow Smart CLT event, attendees were focused on air quality, and what they can do to improve the air we all breathe. We were excited to have staff from Mecklenburg County Air Quality Division at the event, collecting public input on the Division’s priorities for air quality. During the networking time before the program, attendees were able to provide input by dropping marbles into glass jars, each labelled with a different potential priority. The potential focus areas included transit expansion, complete streets, airport shuttle electrification, and much more. Air Quality Division will take that input and use it to help inform the initiatives they pursue next to improve our air quality.

We were also thrilled to have Sun Raised Farms at the event, handing out delicious food samples! Huge thanks to all the staff and owners for being part of the event!

The Charlotte City Council Environment Committee is working on a plan to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Charlotte.

Solar panels atop IKEA in Charlotte (Photo credit: https://www.businesswire.com)

Did you know that the average American household spends $1,500 on food that ends up uneaten? Sustain Charlotte recently partnered with Livable Meck to co-host a workshop on the topic of food waste and sustainability.

Our program director Meg Fencil explains the connection between food waste, sustainability, and equity.

Household expenses, health, and environment

The median Charlotte household spends 29% of their income on housing and another 22% on transportation. For many households, food is their third-highest expense. When a large percentage of that food is wasted, it places an extra financial strain on the household. That means less money is available for other household needs.

Denada Jackson from Solid Waste Services and David Valder from Crown Town Compost educated the audience about the environmental and health impacts of excessive food waste. When food and other organic material decomposes in the landfill, it generates methane, which is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. However, when food is composted and decomposes in the presence of oxygen, it generates carbon dioxide instead of methane. In other words: a composted banana has a much smaller carbon footprint than a landfilled banana.