| The Greening of New Orleans |
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| Written by Rob Howard | |
| Wednesday, 09 April 2008 | |
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If you haven’t been to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, you might not know that many parts of the city outside the French Quarter look as bad today as they did after the flood waters retreated. Entire blocks are deserted. Houses have collapsed on them themselves and their owners may not ever be coming back or simply can’t afford repairs. And, not surprisingly, most of the remaining problems are in low-income areas. However, much like New York City did after 9/11, New Orleans is rebuilding one brick at a time. Some of the projects even have a green twist to them. On a recent visit, we checked out a few and heard about some others. The Green Project has been salvaging and deconstructing old houses around New Orleans and selling reusable building materials and fixtures to do-it-yourselfers for years. The organization also sells old paint that it remixes on site, and serves as a drop off for recyclables and unwanted electronics. According to the group’s director, business has picked up since the hurricane, but that included a major hurdle. After the storm, the project’s warehouse headquarters and store was without power for a stretch. Rather than try to secure the building and fight possible looters, the staff let people take what they needed and pay if they pleased. You’ve got to hand it to Brad Pitt, he doesn’t take his celebrity lying down. Mr. Jolie has played a hands-on role—at least for someone like him—in two sustainable housing projects in New Orleans. The Holy Cross Project, sponsored by Global Green, Pitt and the Home Depot Foundation, comprises five single-family homes, an 18-unit apartment building and a greenway in one of the areas wiped out by a levee break during Katrina. The buildings will be certified LEED Platinum and use 75 percent less energy than conventional homes, and will be sold to local residents at below-cost prices. We checked out one of these homes while it was being built and it was something—all the appliances were Energy Star and hurricane-force wind-proof window. Pitt’s other project, donation-driven Make It Right, aims to build 150 homes in the New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, the same neighborhood where the Holy Cross Project is being built. To date, funds have been raised for 81 of the 150 homes, and anyone can donate through the project’s website. A third green redevelopment in the Lower 9th Ward is the ”SOLA in NOLA” solar panel installation effort sponsored by Sharp Electronics’ solar division and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Ten 1.5 kilowatt photovoltaic systems have been installed on houses in the neighborhood. Check out some pictures from the dedication and first installation here. New Orleans will clearly never be the same city it was before Hurricane Katrina, but at least the next New Orleans will be a little greener.
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Yeah, OK, we can be the change that we want to see in the world. But unless powerful people in powerful positions want to be that change as well, nothing's going to change.
So now, finally, there's a place where you can go for news and analysis of politics from an environmental perspective.
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