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The Center for Sustainable Systems at the UM School of Natural Resources and Environment annually invites an internationally recognized leader to deliver the Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability. Achim Steiner, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, will deliver this year's lecture titled "The Imperative of Change: Environmentalism in the 21st Century." The lecture begins at 5pm at Rackham Auditorium.

DTE Energy’s SolarCurrents customer-owned incentive program is now in its second phase. Joining DTE Energy’s SolarCurrents program is a great way to reduce the costs of installing a solar photovoltaic system, lower your monthly electricity bills, and do your part to safeguard the Earth’s future. Visit the SolarCurrents website to learn more or apply. 

The second event in the 2013 Sustainable Ann Arbor Forum series will take place on Wednesday, February 13th, 7:00pm-8:30pm, at the Downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. This forum, with the theme of Economic Vitality, will feature speakers including Mary Jo Callan, Director, Washtenaw County Community and Economic Development; Dan Gilmartin, Executive Director and CEO, Michigan Municipal League; Paul Krutko, President and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK; Ingrid Ault, Executive Director, Think Local First; and Paul Saginaw, Founding Partner, Zingerman's Deli. 

The program will include a series of short presentations, followed by a question and answer session. Learn more about the event here, or join in a follow-up, conversation-based discussion at the AADL Pittsfield Branch on Wednesday February 20th.

The Detroit Regional Chapter of the US Green Building Council and the Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy have joined forces with Emagine Theatre in Royal Oak to raise awareness and participation in conserving the region’s natural resources. Paul Gantz, the theater owner, is providing a pre-screening reception and facility tours prior to screening “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic For Our Time” -- a documentary showcasing the life Aldo Leopold, of one of America’s great visionaries and conservationists. Learn more and register to attend.

Andrew J. Hoffman, Director, UM Erb Institute, will provide a free lecture open to the public on the social side of the climate change discussion – moving beyond carbon dioxide and climate models to focus on values, culture, worldviews, and ideology. Hoffman’s talk will address the problems of using increasing amounts of data without attending to social values of the people or groups being addressed. The lecture will take place at Matthaei Botanical Gardens on Jan. 15, 2013, beginning at 7:30pm, and is presented by the Sierra Club Huron Valley Group.

In spring 2012, the City of Ann Arbor received a grant to increase energy efficiency in rental housing units within Washtenaw County as part of the HUD Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant.

To start this project, the City of Ann Arbor will be holding a series of focus groups to learn more about energy efficiency in rental units. The focus groups will be held in January and February, and each focus group will last one hour. If you are a renter, landlord, or contractor and would like to participate in a focus group, contact the City by email or call (734) 794-6430 ext. 43720 for more information.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently awarded LEED Gold status to the City of Ann Arbor’s Municipal Center. The internationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold designation from the USGBC requires a construction project to achieve certain standards in site design, construction, and operations. In pursuit of the LEED standard, the Municipal Center’s building materials were regionally sourced and made from recycled contents where possible. Construction debris was recycled onsite and certified sustainably harvested wood was used throughout. More than 40 percent of the Municipal Center site’s surface is covered with rain gardens or porous pavement. An open-grid pedestrian bridge allows rainwater to enter directly into the largest rain garden. Read more about how the Municipal Center’s design and construction achieved LEED Gold.

This spring, the City of Ann Arbor received a grant to increase energy efficiency in rental housing units within Washtenaw County as part of a HUD Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant. The three-year project aims to increase energy efficiency in the community by targeting renters and landlords in an attempt to help get past the “split incentive” barrier, most commonly when landlords pass utility costs to tenants and so have less incentive to make improvements. This project will bring together several partners, including University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw County, and the City of Ypsilanti. Since rental properties make up approximately 50 percent of the housing stock in Ann Arbor, targeting energy efficiency has the potential to greatly reduce community-wide energy consumption and help the City strive for the Energy Challenge goal of reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 8 percent by 2015.

A program website is coming soon; in the meantime, contact Jamie Kidwell for more information.

The City of Ann Arbor recently launched a comprehensive online information hub to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy to city residents and businesses. Developed jointly by the City’s Energy Office and local nonprofit Clean Energy Coalition, www.a2energy.org will serve as the primary source of energy-related information for local homeowners, landlords and renters, as well as commercial property owners.
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Ann Arbor City Council unanimously supported the establishment of a Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (PACE) at last night’s session.
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