News
June 25 - Hampton Roads Climate Leadership Workshop
Elected officials, local and state government officials, and representatives from Hampton Roads area environmental organizations gathered for the Hampton Roads Climate Leadership Workshop.
Fifteen localities were represented including Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Poquoson, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Franklin, James City County, Hampton, Newport News, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, New Kent, Franklin, Smithfield and York. Also attending were representatives from the College of William and Mary and Christopher Newport University.
Speakers for the workshop included:- Diana Christopulos, Ph.D., Director, Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition
- Joe Lerch, Director, Virginia Municipal League Go Green Government Challenge
- Glen Besa, Virginia Chapter Sierra Club
Click here to view photo stream from the HR Climate Leadership Workshop.
Presentations made by Dr. Christopulos and Mr. Lerch are available in the Useful Cool Stuff section of our Cool Stuff! page.
From THE DAILY PRESS:
‘Cool’ coalition works to lower local emissions
- By Matthew SturdevantJune 26, 2009 HAMPTON — A new regional environmental group held a summit Thursday to encourage local governments to measure and reduce their communities' greenhouse gas emissions. “We want cities to measure because you can't conserve what you don't measure”, said Randie Trestrail, co-chair of the Hampton Roads Cool Communities Coalition. (Click here to read on...)
The primary goal of the workshop was to help our local communities move forward in measuring, reducing, and monitoring Municipal and Community greenhouse gas emissions. According to NOAA, Hampton Roads, in terms of urban centers at greatest risk from sea-level rise, is one of the 10 most vulnerable areas in the world, and in the U.S. second only to New Orleans .
While some Hampton Roads communities have committed to measuring and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, none have actually completed an inventory let alone set emissions target reductions, create - and then implement - a plan, and then monitor their results. On the other hand, many local communities have made significant strides toward conserving energy and encouraging sustainability. By attending the Climate Leadership Conference, most of our neighboring communities demonstrated their desire to do be active participants in the climate change solution.
Elected Officials in Attendance:
- Joseph Barlow - City Council Member, City of Suffolk
- Al Casteen - Board of Supervisors, Isle of Wight County
- James Burrell - Board of Supervisors, New Kent County
- Traci-Dale Crawford - City Council Member, City of Poquoson
Other Attendees:
- Brian Ballard, AICP - Principal Planner, Dept. of Planning, City of Chesapeake
- Jim Beach - Superintendent, Facilities and Grounds, City of Poquoson
- Barbara S. Brumbaugh - Environmental Quality Coordinator, City of Chesapeake
- John Deuel - Exec. Dir., Norfolk Environmental Commission, City of Norfolk
- Mark Fowler, Ph.D. - Prof. of Environmental Studies, College of William & Mary
- Reed Fowler - Dir. of Public Works, Newport News
- Donald Goodwin - Dir. of Community Development, City of Franklin
- Lori J. Herrick, MBA, LEED AP - Asst. Bus. Mgr., Convention Center, Virginia Beach
- John Horne - Mgr., General Services, James City County
- Christine Llewellyn, MD - Dir., Williamsburg Climate Action Network
- Jodi Miller - Asst. City Mgr., City of Williamsburg
- Bob Peterson - Dir. of General Services, York County
- Jennifer Privette - Environmental Coordinator, James City County
- Amy Ring - Asst. Dir. of Planning and Zoning, Isle of Wight County
- Jacqueline Roquemore - Asst. Dir., Center for Wetland Conservation, Christopher Newport University
- John Swaddle, Ph.D. - Dir. of Environmental Science and Policy, College of William & Mary
- Eric Walberg - Principal Physical & Environmental Planner, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC)
- Ping Yip - Facilities Environmental Mgr., Dept. of Public Works, City of Newport News
- Phil Zapfel - Fellow, Sustainability Program, College of William & Mary