greemsburg, ks, greenest town in america

[niyad]

I just caught something about this on tv last night--what an amazing group, and what an amazing rebuild--my hat is off to these forward-thinking citizens (would that the people in my community were this committed)

Greensburg: Greenest Town in America
By Eric Mack
Greensburg, Kansas
29 February 2008

Mack report - Download (MP3) audio clip
Mack report - Listen (MP3) audio clip

On May 4, 2007 a gigantic tornado measuring more than 2.5 kilometers wide with winds over 325 kilometers per hour destroyed almost all of Greensburg in southern Kansas, leaving the small town's 1500 residents devastated and wondering what to do next. They came up with a revolutionary idea. Reporter Eric Mack visited the town nine months after the tornado to learn more about the plan to remake Greensburg as the 'greenest town in America.'

All that's left of most homes is a crumbling foundation
All that's left of most homes is a crumbling foundation
Greensburg looks like it was hit by a bomb. The streets are lined with empty foundations. A set of steps leads to where a house once was, but there's nothing there. Trees are just stumps, with no branches on them. All the residents have been relocated to rows of emergency government trailers on the far side of town.

Greensburg City Manager Steve Hewitt recalls the week after the storm, when he had a number of conversations with officials about how to rebuild. " 'This is the opportunity now to make this town the way it needs to be. We can start fresh - new buildings, new parks. We can do everything like we never could before.'" When Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius visited in the wake of the tornado, she said 'going green' was perfect for a town called Greensburg.


So Hewitt and other city leaders decided to seize the opportunity and rebuild Greensburg as a model green community: energy-efficient, low carbon-emitting, sustainable, and powered, at least in part, by the forces of nature that once reduced it to rubble.

. . . . . .

http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-02/2008-02-29-voa71.cfm?CFID=226734080&CFTOKEN=23963599

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. I live in Kansas and have chosen to believe it when I see it

Several pieces of information you might want to know:

1. This is one of the reddest, anti-progressive areas of a very red state. Remember the battles over evolution and the state school board? Greensburg is in the heart of anti-creationist territory. So it is certainly not a very progressive town.

2. Several groups of workers wanting to help with clean up were turned away at the city limits when they traveled to Greensburg to help with the cleanup. One group I am very familiar with had gone to Greensburg at the request of the local Mennonite Church. In spite of the Mennonites telling law enforcement to let them into town to help, they were told to go away or get arrested.

3. W is speaking at the high school graduation this weekend. So the timing of this press release is mighty convenient.

[niyad]

2. it wasn't a press release, it was something I saw on tv last night during programs

about earth week. I don't even remember which station--either the weather channel or one of the home channels. so it wasn't a press release.


thanks for the additional information. will do lots more checking about this. the concept, at least, is wonderful

[SoCalDem]

3. And, given a choice of a "green" house vs NO help-no house

and endless wrangling with hiding insurance agents, I'm guessing that most people might just get onboard with the idea.. a whole town "converting" from scratch..with the governor's support, might just happen...and if they can save money on utility bills, I don;t see why they would object..right wingers or not

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. And our governor is a wonderful Democrat

Her involvement is really the only thing that gives me hope about this project. Generally, if she says do it, it gets done.

[SoCalDem]

7. It would go a long way to helping those folks see the "error of their ways"

and could help them realize that empty promises of a rightwinger are NOTHING compared to real action in helping you get back on your feet after a disaster:)

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. They have been pumping this all week

and I just can't help but think the timing is convenient, considering W is coming to town.

[KamaAina]

4. 4. The source is VOA News, that is, official Bushista propaganda.

So the timing of this press release is mighty convenient.

Indeed.

I'd rather see New Orleans rebuilt green (or rebuilt at all, for that matter), anyway: it may not be called "Greensburg", but it does at least have a Green Street in my old neighborhood. :-)