Tuesday, April 10, 2007
News Mayor to name green team
Posted by Ken Edelstein on Tue, Apr 10, 2007 at 4:25 PM
Mayor Shirley Franklin is expected to name an "environmental steering committee" April 18 with its aim to place Atlanta in the front ranks of the nation's green cities, according to sources who've spoken to city officials about the project.
The announcement, timed to make a splash just before Earth Day (April 22), is being kept under wraps by the mayor's office. But a couple of little birdies told me Interface carpets CEO Ray Anderson and former Georgia Conservancy John Sibley III will co-chair the panel, which is being billed as a major initiative during Franklin's last two years in office.
The city's taken an unfair hit sometimes for its environmental performance. For example, the Earth Day Network recently ranked Atlanta 64th out of 72 U.S. cities in environmental performance. But many of the stats used in that ranking were metrowide figures — Atlanta shouldn't be blamed for sprawl in Forsyth County.
Franklin does deserve credit for two steps in the right direction: The sewer cleanup that she managed to push through during her first year in office and, of course, the Beltline project, which includes a huge park expansion along with public transit. At the same time, Atlanta could do a hell of a lot better when it comes to recycling and reducing sold waste.
Pushing environmental issues has become a popular crusade among big-city mayors, most notably Chicago's Richard Daley. He's pushed for things such as green roofs on commercial buildings and aid programs to help make Chicago's housing stock better environmentally.
Anderson — who's won national notoriety as an environmental visionary at Interface — confirmed to me today that the mayor asked him to serve as a chairman but said it would be premature to comment further. I was unable to reach either Sibley or Franklin press secretary Beverly Isom.
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