Keep Irvine Great 2008

Sukhee Kang is running for Mayor to ensure that the “quality of life “ priorities that have helped make Irvine a world-class city will be maintained and enhanced in the years to come. Twice elected to the City Council, he led the effort to expand City support for local schools, is a strong environmental advocate and works throughout the community on behalf of children, families and seniors. A Korean-American who has realized the “American Dream,” Sukhee Kang works closely with all of Irvine’s culturally diverse communities to encourage their active civic participation. Actively involved with the business, education and non-profit communities, Sukhee is recognized as a “can-do” community leader who dedicates himself full-time to his work on behalf of the citizens and businesses in Irvine. He is proud to have the endorsement of Mayor Beth Krom, as well as other key endorsements.

Beth Krom cannot run for a third term as Mayor, but having dedicated herself for the past eight years to advancing important initiatives for the benefit of the citizens and businesses in Irvine, she is running for City Council to ensure that all the progress that has been made during her term as Mayor continues. As a City Councilmember, Beth Krom worked side-by-side with then Mayor Larry Agran to draft and pass Measure W, the countywide initiative that killed the El Toro Airport plan. She has worked to ensure that the vision for the Orange County Great Park is fully realized. Mayor Krom is recognized for her commitment to civic participation throughout the community. Under her leadership, Irvine adopted a comprehensive Ethics Ordinance, Orange County’s first municipal Greenbuilding Ordinance, the Irvine Community Land Trust was established, a Comprehensive Housing Strategy was adopted, City reserves were increased from 5.5% to 15% ($20.8 million) and Irvine was named “Safest Big City in America” for 3 years in a row.

Larry Agran has a legacy of leadership in the City of Irvine that is unmatched. He has led strategic initiatives to preserve and protect our local Open Space, ensure balanced planning throughout our city, advance the Strategic Plan for Children, Youth and Families and, as both a Councilmember and Mayor, led the effort to defeat the El Toro Airport Plan and advance the vision for the Orange County Great Park. In addition to his leadership on the Orange County Great Park project, Larry Agran is committed to environmental, economic and social sustainability to ensure a bright future for the City of Irvine.

Todd Gallinger

Candidate for Irvine City Counci
KeepIrvineGreat2008.com

ToddGallinger.com



I am running for Irvine City Council as Irvine's first "homegrown" candidate. I grew up in Irvine, attending its excellent public school and exploring our magnificent open spaces. I represent a new generation of leaders who were fortunate to be raised in Irvine and who are now dedicated to serving the Irvine community that has given us so much.



Thanks to good planning, Irvine enjoys 16,000 acres of natural open space. As a hiker and mountain biker, I love our open spaces and trail systems – as your councilmember I'll make sure they are protected and expanded.



The Orange County Great Parks offers a unique opportunity – to build the first truly sustainable metropolitan park. I'll do everything I can to see that this exciting project moves forward and that we reuse building materials, power it renewable resources, and preserve surrounding wilderness areas.



I pledge to work with this committee to examine all of Irvine's practices and procedures to make sure that we are working to reduce urban runoff, promote conservation, build green, and utilize alternative energy when available.



I am honored to receive your endorsement and will continue to strive to preserve our precious natural resources and open spaces.

Pleae check the web site: http://keepirvinegreat2008.org/

Lammas Eco Village in UK

Lammas Eco Village in UK

Overview

The proposal is for a new settlement of 9 eco-smallholdings, a campsite and a community hub building.
It will be sited on 74 acres of mixed pasture and woodland next to the village of Glandwr, Pembrokeshire.
Construction is planned to start in the autumn of 2008.

The Houses

Low-impact architecture uses a combination of recycled and natural materials. The project is essentially a self-build affair. The first phase will see the construction of five detached dwellings and one terrace of four dwellings. There will be a combination of building styles including straw bale, earth sheltered, timber frame and cob. The houses will feature the latest environmental technologies and design techniques. The dwellings will blend into the landscape. Indeed they will be largely made from elements of the landscape (for example turf roofs, cob walls, timber cladding).

Location

The proposed site is on land currently belonging to Pont-y-gafel farm, next to the village of Glandwr, North Pembrokeshire. The site is currently used as farmland.

Services

The Ecovillage will be completely independent of all mains services. All water will be sourced from the site using a combination of an existing spring for drinking water and rainwater harvesting from rooftops. All electricity will be produced on site using renewables. Fortunately there is an existing water turbine system on site which Lammas plans to renovate. All organic waste will be composted on site using a combination of compost toilets, wormeries and compost heaps. Fuel, in the form of coppiced willow and elephant grass, will be grown on site.

Livelihood

In accordance with Pembrokeshire Planning Policy for Low Impact Development, residents will need to demonstrate that they are substantially meeting their household needs directly from the land. In practice this means that the people involved will need to be working the land to good effect. Lammas residents are proposing a range of livelihoods from the land including woodland crafts, horticulture, tree nurseries, livestock and woollen crafts.

Transport

The settlement will monitor and manage all vehicles using the site. There will be car sharing schemes and restrictions on private car ownership in place. All deliveries will be co-ordinated to minimise traffic. Visitors will be encouraged to use public transport and Lammas will finance a minibus service to and from the local towns.

Structure

The project will be managed by Lammas Low Impact Initiatives Ltd, a cooperative registered under the Industrial and Provident Society Act. A comprehensive management plan has been compiled which sets out how the project will be established and run.

The smallholdings will essentially be agricultural leaseholds which are conditionally tied to requirements as set out in the management plan. Thus the objectives of the project will be assured in the long term. The requirements will cover issues such as livelihood, transport, services and monitoring.


The Community Hub and Campsite

The community hub building will act as an administrative and social centre for the development. It will house the office, meeting room and cafe. The various employed staff will be based here. The building will also act as a service hub for the adjacent seasonal campsite. The campsite’s primary role is to provide accommodation for working guests and people attending courses.

The Community Hub has been designed by architect Robin Campbell from Air_Architecture. The building is a sophisticated living structure which will showcase low-impact building technologies at their best.

Research

Lammas has already commissioned a number of reports exploring the site and locality as it is. These include a habitat and species surveys, a geology report, soil surveys, a local economic analysis and historical essays. It is with this background that Lammas aims to quantify the progress of the project in terms of its environmental, economic and social contribution.
Monitoring

The project will produce an annual report in which it will evaluate its progress using performance indicators such as ecological footprint assessments, vehicle trip generation numbers, soil health and agricultural productivity calculations.
The Vision

Lammas aims to establish a thriving example of low-impact development, providing an educational resource pointing the way for truly sustainable rural developments of the future. The project has been designed to run on permaculture principles. The land will be developed to improve the synergy of the different habitats across the site, simultaneously enhancing bio-diversity and leading to an increased but sustainable yield from the land. Where there is currently degraded agricultural pasture, Lammas plans to create a landscape of vitality and abundance.

Interested in living low-impact?

If you are interested in living in this settlement, or creating your own low-impact project, the best place to start is to join Lammas. In that way you will be able to access information and advice about planning, research, logistics and you will recieve regular updates and news about Lammas projects.

For More: http://www.lammas.org.uk/ecovillage/index.htm

Top Three Environment Issues Concern You the Most.

Top Three Environment Issues Concern You the Most.

Environment issue is a resource issue. Young people and future generations would have to suffer greatly if the reserved natural resources were used up and the Planet Earth were in such a bad condition that it will no longer produce natural resources efficiently. That is why the environment issues are so important to young people and future generations.

Please tell us the top three Environment issues concern you the most.

Here are some examples:

Climate Change –Global Warming
Loss of tropical rainforest
Pollution in the air and water space
Fast depletion of reserved resources such as the fossil fuels, minerals and etc
Loss of forest and natural open space
Desertification
Loss of land due to development, such as suburban sprawl
Over population
Increase of waste, such as trash and sewage
Loss of habitat which leads to the loss of living species

Used batteries disposal

We should not put the used batteries into the trash bin or the recycle bin. They should be sent to special locations for proper disposable. However, it is not efficient if each family has to take small quantity of used batteries to those locations. Therefore, some companies and schools ask the people to bring their used batteries from home. This poll is to find out if we need to do more about this