Finding a Green Way to Govern

From an environmental perspective, Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (or CFLs) are better than old, incandescent bulbs. They use less energy - switching five old bulbs to CFLs reduces carbon emissions by 530 lbs/year and saves $50/year. CFLs are an integral part of the energy challenge and the Climate Change grants the City has given to community organizations to reduce CO2 and save residents money. They have one achilles heel: each bulb contains a small amount of mercury. But the City and County are working with Xcel Energy and local hardware stores to make disposing of CFLs easy and safe. The County has some Household Hazardous Waste collection dates and locations coming up: August 9-11, 9am to 4pm Pillsbury Elementary SchoolTeacher Parking Lot 2231 Garfield St. NE, Minneapolis September 20-22, 9am to 4pm Snelling Avenue Garage 3607 E. 44th Street, Minneapolis Local hardware stores also accept CFLs back for a reasonable fee ($.75 - $1.25, depending on the size of the bulb). Residents ca...

The City has awarded five grants of up to $10,000 each to help local neighborhoods and organizations fund creative ways to engage residents to fight global warming. This follows up on the twenty $1000 grants the City gave out in June. These dollars come out of the $120,000 that Mayor Rybak put in the 2007 budget, which I and my environmental allies on the Council had to defend against moves to reallocate for other purposes. My office has been deeply involved in this process, from the initial conversations with CM Benson and Mayor Rybak in the Health Energy and Environment Policy Meetings early this year to my Aide Robin's participation on the grant application review committee. The grants will not only energize Minneapolis groups, residents, and businesses to take action, but each of the efforts funded by the grants is a learning opportunity. The grant awardees and the City will all benefit by learning how different approaches work to engage the community to combat global climate c...

My proposed "unpaid judgments" ordinance amendments hit an unexpected snag in committee this Council cycle. After the public hearing last week in Public Safety and Regulatory Services (PS & RS) Committee, where two people, both representing landlords a (one being the staff from the Minnesota Multi Housing Association), expressed same concerns, the proposal was referred to the Rental Property Owners Advisory Committee for review. Here's a little history on this issue. An article in the Minnesota Daily (“Landlords Ignore Suits,” 3-20-07, http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2007/03/30/71344 ) brought to my attention the fact that at least one landlord with multiple holdings in my ward is dealing with legal judgments against him by simply not paying them. As a result of that article I heard form many constituents that this has been a problem for them and others, especially younger and lower income renters. Based on this, I asked staff if there was anything we could do as a...

Today, the Council passed an ordinance and a resolution I authored on the subject of Lead Safe Work Practices. It requires that in situations where City inspectors have charged a property owner for having chipping and peeling interior paint in a pre-1978 home, the person doing the work must prove to the City that he/she has attended a lead safe work practices training. These are available at low or no cost to contractors and policy owners. The point is that when the City tells someone they have to fix their paint, and it's likely to contain lead, they have to at least know how to do the work safely. Sanding lead paint, for instance, can create a large amount of very hazardous lead dust, which is easier to ingest than paint chips and therefore can pose a greater health risk. This ordinance is a very small step in the right direction. I look forward to building on it, through the good work of the City/County Lead Task Force on which I serve, to develop requirements that will even bet...