Fresh AIRE

Community Energy Plan Town Hall -- October 21st -- 6-9pm

I'm sure you saw our recent post about our Community Energy Plan project  and heard about the first Energy Plan Town Hall back in April. The Community Energy Plan process is now more than half over and NOW is your time to get involved!

It's easy as 1,2,3 to get involved:

1.    Visit the Arlington Community Energy Plan website  
2.    Review the Summary of Preliminary Recommendations 
3.    Attend the October 21st Community Energy Forum  

Mark you calender now and plan to attend this event which will help shape Arlington's energy future.  Do you have an opinion on energy intensity of local food, how your condo can go green,  how sustainable redevelopment can occur in Crystal City or Columbia Pike? If so, then we want to hear from you.

 

If you aren't familiar with Arlington's Community Energy Plan, this project will establish energy goals and strategies for the entire County over the next 40 years. This project will ultimately result in an energy plan that addresses the places where we use energy in our community – in homes, shops, offices, public buildings and other institutions – and offer strategies to:

• Enhance Arlington’s economic competitiveness
• Ensure reliable and affordable energy supplies
• Demonstrate the County’s long-term commitment to environmental responsibility  

 

 Mark you calender and join us on October 21st!

 

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Resources:

Arlington Community Energy Plan Website

October 21, 2010 - Community Energy Forum, 6pm-9pm.
Wakefield High School, 4901 S Chesterfield Road, Arlington, VA 22206

 

Read some of the buzz below to see what the community is saying.

Washington Post    Urban Trekker     Vimeo     TBD    ArlNow   Sun Gazette

 

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Stream Clean-Up Opportunity!

 

What:  Four Mile Run Stream Cleanup 
When:  September 25. 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Where: Barcroft Park, 4200 S. Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington 

Please join ACE's fall cleanup, held in conjunction with the International Coastal Cleanup, Clean Virginia Waterways Day, and National Public Lands Day. ACE volunteers will be collecting and tallying trash. 

This is a great opportunity to meet other folks in the community and clean our waterways. Also, you never know what cool things you might find along the stream!

For more information and to register, email volunteer@arlingtonenvironment.org or call 703-228-6427.

See you on September 25th!

 

Got Drugs?

 

DEA Heads First-Ever Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

Saturday, September 25, 2010  |  10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Federal officials are  taking a new step to reduce the spread of pharmaceuticals such as pain killers and depression medicine on our environment that cause inter-sex fish in the Potomac River to frog mutations in Wisconsin.  These drugs have turned up in our drinking water and the cumulative effect of these drugs in our waterways isn’t known on humans, but they have already been linked to behavioral and sexual mutations in fish, amphibians and birds, according to EPA studies.

Kudos to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for taking preventative measures to address this issue.

A few general tips on pharmaceutical drug disposal:

·     DO NOT flush old prescription drugs, this goes right back to our waterways and our water pollution control plant can’t remove the drugs.

·     DO wrap them up and place them in your trash bin if you can’t make it to the take-back day drop spots.  Arlington’s trash is taken to the waste to energy facility in Alexandria where it is incinerated to create electricity, rather than the Potomac to create hermaphroditic fish.

As for the take-back event, the DEA and government, community, public health, and law enforcement partners are holding a nationwide prescription drug "take-back" day. On September 25, 2010, collection sites around the country will take any expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for safe, legal, and environmentally friendly disposal.

More information on how to take action on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day:

• Visit the DEA Web site: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/takeback/
• View Collection Sites in Your Local Community
• Fire Station #9 – 1900 S. Walter Reed Drive, Arlington VA 22204
• Fire Station #8 – 4845 Lee Highway, Arlington VA 22207
• Fire Station #1 – 500 S. Glebe, Arlington VA 22207
• DEA                  - 600-700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington VA 22202