The Summit on Sustainability: A Final Report

Granted, I may be a little biased, but yesterday’s Summit on Sustainability in Downtown Alexandria exceeded my expectations. Around 200 people from all walks of life and from all corners of the State (though, obviously, the majority of participants were from the Central Louisiana area) gathered to discuss a wide range of issues related to the concept of sustainability.

Commissioner Foster Campbell said that this may have been the very first time that the public, along with elected officials, gathered to learn and talk about this particular set of issues. (To be fair, the good people at CPEX held a Summit on Smart Growth last year and are planning a similar event this August. Notably, however, their event does not include panels on renewable energy opportunities). Hopefully, this is only the beginning of a much longer conversation, and hopefully, people are beginning to recognize the way in which all of these diverse issues are interrelated.

During her keynote address, Senator Mary Landrieu spoke about the importance of smart growth planning as well as the role of Louisiana in the burgeoning renewable energy market, suggesting that Louisiana is in a position to become a global leader in the research and development of biofuels and other forms of green energy.

We heard from a panel of experts on renewable energy, an expert on rural planning and development, an expert on expropriation and eminent domain, and a panel of impassioned and accomplished historic preservationists.

It was a long and busy day, but it was worth it: These are the issues we will be talking about for the next twenty years, and if we don’t recognize their importance right now, we’ll be left behind.

Thank you to all of the volunteers, to the men and women in the Planning Division, and to Matt Henry of the Arts Council.

Responses

Nigel

July 4, 2008

zzzzzzzzzz

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Drew Ward

July 4, 2008

Hi Lamar and Daniel,

Congrats on a great conference. Sorry I missed it. The wiring in my jeep went nuts and I was unable to get it fixed in time (imagine that, if a Jeep Wrangler gets wet it doesn’t work…and why is our auto industry lagging?).

I hope this can be just the first of a series of events that places Alexandria at the forefront of such planning and progress defining us as the green capital of the gulf coast.

Just curious, was there any discussion on sugar cane based ethanol?

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Daniel T. Smith

July 4, 2008

Drew,

Sorry you couldn’t make it. I know you would have especially enjoyed hearing the latest update from Darrell Dubroc about his biofuels business plan out at the Port of Alexandria.

I believe that there was some discussion of sugarcane ethanol. We are working on preparing videos from the conference, and the presentations will be uploaded soon. We’ll let you know how to review the material you missed.

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Michael D. Smith

July 5, 2008

Congratulations guys! I’m also rather sorry that I missed the summit. You truly have your priorities straight. Keep up the badass work!

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therockthevultureandthechain

July 6, 2008

Sadly, I was unable to attend the summit. I do, however, have a few questions…

1. Who were the above referenced ‘experts’?

2. Was there any discussion of the important correlation of recycling programs and sustainability? Any discussion regarding the fact that Alexandria does not have one? Any discussion about Alexandria getting one?

3. Instead of a city bus, couldn’t a ‘greener’ form of transportation have been used to shuttle the “Summit on Sustainability” luncheon guests for the from Coughlin-Saunders (1202 Third Street)to The Diamond Grill (924 Third Street)? I’m thinking that Red River Cyclery would have made bicycles available, Walker Honda and hybrids…?

I mean, if we are going to talk the talk (so to speak) we need to walk the walk as well (all 2.5 blocks?)…

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Lamar White, Jr

July 6, 2008

I understand your criticism, though I think it is misplaced. I will elaborate later.

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Daniel T. Smith

July 6, 2008

1. The renewable energy panel opened with a detailed farm commodities outlook from Dr. Kurt Guidry, an agricultural economist at LSU. Next we heard from the State Coordinator of 25 x ’25, a national organization pushing for twenty-five percent of energy production to be renewable by 2025. We recruited two regional leaders in private industry: Darrell Dubroc, whose company makes high grade biodiesel in CenLa, and Tom Spies, whose group generates electricity from rice hulls near Lake Charles, to be a part of our panel. Buck Vandersteen, Director of the Louisiana Forestry Association, outlined possible roles for our local logging industry, and Kevin Boone discussed energy programs offered by USDA.

The expert speaking on rural planning and development was Bret Keast, who was highlighted as the keynote speaker of last year’s Smart Growth Summit in Baton Rouge. He has done extensive work in Tangipahoa Parish and Zachary, Louisiana.

Stephen Villavaso, an attorney who specializes in planning and President of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Planning Association, explained the role of expropriation and eminent domain in Louisiana.

2. Waste-to-energy projects, which utilize recycling, were discussed during the renewable energy panel. A group of citizens provided information on how to recycle plastic, cardboard, and metals in the City of Alexandria, and recycling bins for plastic bottles and soda cans were available all day.

I agree that recycling is an important component of “sustainability,” which is an umbrella term covering many ideas and practices. We were only able to scratch the surface, to further the conversation. Conferences on green building techniques alone can easily span a week.

3. The bus was available to accommodate older and disabled participants. It was full, and was more efficient than a fraction of those individuals’ cars. Many people, myself included, did walk.

I appreciate you offering your sincere concerns and suggestions, and we’ll consider them when planning similar events.

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Lamar White, Jr

July 6, 2008

Never mind.

Ditto, Daniel.

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