| Go see a green roof at Courthouse |
| * Maintain a backyard habitat for wildlife.
* Walk to stores and other places rather than using a car.
* Take public transportation to stores and other places, rather than using a car.
* Use native, rather than exotic, plants
* Make and use compost.
* Mulch plants.
* Plant shade trees and other vegetation.
* Set good examples of how to be a good environmental neighbor rather than excess preaching on the subject.
* Seek common ground with those who give development a much higher priority than utilziing good environmental practices.
* Maintain household pets in an environmentally friendly manner. |
| Attend
meetings of County Board and advisory groups to express objections to
new development and paving projects, especially when they would destroy
or adversely affect a natural or green area. (The North Tract project
is an excellent example of people's failure to do this. Arlington
County now plans to destroy one of its largest meadow areas and
wildlife habitats to create a largely paved active recreation center.
No environmental assessment was performed because few people bothered
to complain about this classic example of publicly funded destruction
of a diverse natural environment that had developed on a long-vacant
former industrial site.) |
| Organize local hikes;
sponsor clinics (perhaps at REI in Bailey's Crossroads) on outdoor
activities (kayaking, hiking, biking); organize picnics or activities
to showcase Arlington parks |
| steps to reduce erosion from homeowner yards |
| Enjoy
and appreciate the available green space/parks; Invest in energy
efficient household purchases; Volunteer with local organizations; Buy
green electricity or carbon offsets; Turn off lights and appliances;
Plant a tree; Work where you live/live where you work; Try the bus; |
| Model
planting of shrubs and trees, including fruit trees for fresh fruit, to
maximize the yield of organic materials for soil enrichment, protection
from winter winds, reducing the summer sun, while minimizing the
hazards to power and phone lines and buildings. Also model lawns that
can look good (but not with cut down to golf putting area height) with
minimal or no chemical treatments and that can be cared for with
minimal (ideally no) use of power equipment (minimize noise and
pullution). |
| Pick up trash in gutters while taking walks for exercise. |
| Remind
people to make the connection! The first R among the trio is REDUCE! I
think they got the order right when that was introduced and REDUCE
comes 1st. Reducing our dependence on oil is fantastic. Reducing our
dependence on coal would be too. And how do we generate most of our
electricity?... |
| Partner with regional organizations so that more impact can be made on issues, especially air and water quality. |
| Hire an eco-friendly landscaping company
Participate in nature-based/active recreation |
| Encourage
your County Govt to measure and report on energy use in all County
buildings and to conduct an Energy Fair in Arlington again (done until
late 1990s). |
| Reducing grass in people's yard or not fertilizing grass. |
| Activities that keep my family and me connected with nature--Visit Arlington's nature centers and parks, and community gardening |
| volunteer in local organizations
green remodeling
native landscaping
retain stormwater on-site
go to the library
go to the farmers market
go to flea markets
support locally-owned shops (and walk there)
enjoy the parks (and cleanup along the way)
teach your children 'reduce, reuse, buy green, recycle'
compost kitchen scrap
utilize the county's free compost
"if it's yellow it's mellow"
clean with baking soda, lemons, and vinegar
vote |
| Addition
of solar energy options to our homes. We should take advantage of
Virginia's property tax rebate for solar users. Arlington hasn't signed
up. |
| Picking up street trash one sees as their
walking along public streets; living a frugal lifestyle; raking leaves
at home, not using leaf blowers. |
| "Take care of your own property, and don't go sticking your nose into your neighbors' business." |
| Community Supported Agriculture
Composting
Rain barrels on down spouts
Green building
Wind Energy selection from Pepco |
| encouraging
less consumption, with slogans like "more fun, less stuff", Buy Nothing
day, alternative gift fairs (all ideas from newdream.org). I have kids
and the amount of waste at parties, etc. is unbeleivable, and I'd love
more support in trying to curb it! |
| carpool, conserve energy by turning off lights/appliances when not in use |
| Shop at Arlington's farmers' markets |
| Provide
better information about recycling - especially for category 3 through
7 plastic products, making more information available regarding "green
architecture" and homeowners' activities. |
| Larger Arlington County recycling Bins for home use, the little yellow Bins are not big enough for a family of four. |
| Proper lawn care without dependence on environment harming chemicals. |
| Lawn care issues, better water stewardship |
| Include info on where to go to recycle products that are not picked up by Arlington County from our bins. Best practices etc. |
| We need to be able to recycle all plastic containers.
We also need to do a better jobe with educating citizens re environmentally friendly practices around our homes. |
| Yes. Include ways to become a Tree Steward, RIP and even getting involved on the various commissions such as Parks |
| Purchase organic foods
Plant native species/remove invasives in common or community areas |
| picking up garbage in your neighborhood |
| Remove all English Ivy and Chinese Wisteria that is not regularly pruined or otherwise controlled. |
| 1. If you live close to your child's school, walk, don't drive!
2. Use your car less: walk, run or bike for do errands close to home.
3. Compost your produce peelings
4. Remember the storm drain feeds into the river so keep pollution off the street |
| More information on green building. |
| teach environmental lessons to children, students and adult citizens |
| Be sure to include Arlington Gov't's efforts to remove invasive plant species. |
| To keep useful things out of the dump: Freecycle.org, Habitat ReStore, AMEN Furniture Bank, etc. |
| - Walk to shops and restaurants
- Insulate, weatherstrip home and use efficient appliances
- Landscaping/gardening to reduce water runoff |
| (1)
backyard stormwater management (rain gardens, French drains)(2) rescue
and recycling of building materials & house parts (3) tree
preservation & planting (run a challenge for neighborhoods like the
habitat effort)(4) gardening etc specifically for kids |
| Install
diverters or rain barrels; plant a neighborhood garden; work with
county to replace electric poles with buried electric, enforce
crosswalk violations and noise ordinance, uncover and improve access to
buried streams (e.g., Spout Run upstream from Lee Hwy). |
| Green Remodeling and renovation |
| What's
the story with the contract trash trucks, now? (What happened to the
ones the county seemed to own?)I hear a lot of scepticism that
recycling is really happening. |
| Play basketball on the tree-encircled court at Potomac Overlook Park |
| Replace concrete, asphalt with permeable pavers.
Carpool for groceries and errands |
| stormwater pollution prevention activities; stream monitoring |
| walk to school
encourage "green" activities and education in Arlington Public Schools |
| property tax incentives for planting/maintaining trees? |
| Biggest
is not the best in a community. Build in the context of the existing
community. We are in danger of blocking out the sun by replacing our
single family one and two story houses with MacMansions that either
house the same size family or are used as boarding houses and exeed the
discharges and infrastructure limits of the communnity |
| buy organic
support local farms |
| plant a tree
install/use solar energy |
| ORGANIC
GARDENING, AWARENESS OF TOXICITY OF FERTILIZERS, CAR PRODUCTS (OIL
LEAKS, ANTI-FREEZE, ETYC.), ARLINGTON FREECYCLE (YAY!) |
| Improve
education on things like safe storm water management practices, rain
gardens, improved recycling program (i have been requesting a recycling
bin for a few months and have not received one. i usually leave my
recyclables in a plastic bin but they are not always picked up because
its not the yello bin) |
| Better maintain our many
parks. They have been somewhat neglected in the past few years. This is
a good place to spend the large amounts of real estate taxes the county
has been raking in. |
| 1. Plant species endemic to northern Virginia, 2. Reduce water consumption, 3. Use environmentally friendly household products. |
| Volunteer at local parks like Potomac Overlook |
| Pick up litter |
| COULD
ARLINGTON START A "TRASH TO TREASURE" PROGRAM? THIS MEANS HAVING A
COMMUNITY-BASED LOCATION(S)
WHERE PEOPLE CAN a) BRING STUFF THEY DON'T WANT and b) TAKE STUFF THEY
NEED/WANT? THIS IS A GREAT IDEA FOR INCREASING REUSE AND REDUCING WASTE
DISPOSAL COSTS FOR THE COUNTY!
Ideas for the list:
Walk to get groceries or run errands, if possible.
Figure out where your closest bus stops are and where the buses go.
Click on...
Shop at thrift shops.
Donate to thrift shops. Donate used bicylces, glasses, computers, (fill
in other items that have special REUSE programs) at the following
program pick-up locations: .... |
| green homes - energey efficiency, material choices, design |
| minimize lawn size and reduce use of fertilizers and pesticides. |
| 1.
Build/buy shelters for bats, native birds or flying squirrels. 2. Build
rain garden or barrel reservoir, and feed your house's rain gutters
into them. This reduces runoff and produces mini-wetlands which are
likely to beautify lawns and backyards and promote native wildlife
habitat. |
| Learn
about integrated pest management - and use pesticides only when
necessary. Limit pests access, food, water, and shelter first. If you
need to use pesticides make sure you read the label.
Also make sure to carefully protect from exposure to ticks and
mosquitos. Read labelson those products, and wear extra clothing to
protect from mosquitos and ticks |
| Stormwater
management: LID practices, raingardens, etc., all in service of the
health of Four Mile Run, and promotion of the linkage between home
stormwater runoff practices and the Four Mile Run restoration project. |
| USE
the wonderful services and options available in the county. Too many
people aren't aware of or don't take advantage of the wonderful things
the County already has to offer. |
| More tree planting, especially on median dividers |
| Community/Neighborhood Yard Sales
Plant a tree |
| rain
barrels, rain gardens, compost, don't buy bottled water unless the
bottles are cleaned and reused.take cloth grocery bag to grocer instead
of new plastic bags. do not use insecticies or pesticides.buy less of
everything. |
| Not just now, but if I come up with something I'll send it in. |
| Join a County enviro. commission such as E2C2, Urban Forestry, the solid Waste Committee, Pedestrian Advisory Committee, etc. |
| more comprehensive invasive species eradication programs |
| Recycling rainwater |
| None |
| Yes,
I do...I strongly believe students in every Arlington School should
police their outside school grounds...this is not currently done. They
have the "student power" to do environmental cleanup activities in
Arlington and on school grounds; actual time per school year in doing
grounds cleanup would probably amount to two classroom hours per
student per school year. These students are frequently the ones who
spoil the school grounds by litering and they should be expected to
clean these grounds us not we Arlington taxpayers! |
| no |
| What incentives are available to encourage people to "go green"
What incentives could be availabe to encourage people to "go green" |
| Plant native shade trees, reduce impervious pavement in driveways and other areas |
| Plant
more trees; protect existing street trees; provide incentives to
private landowners to plant trees; develop a tree pool, like they have
in Chevy Chase, where trees doomed by destruction can be donated and
moved to other sites. |
| Roof top gardening/ water
saving devices, hints, suggestion- Worm Lady- Jeanette Stewart and her
water conservation measures-should be on going and readers and resident
offer monthly hints and tips- |
| Have a 'buy products
made from recycled materials" campaign. Collecting materials won't do
any good if there is not a demand for the products made from recycled
materials. Encourage retailers to stock recycled goods, e.g. furniture
and boards made by Polywood from recycled plastic jugs. |
| Buy compact flourescent lightbulbs - the easiest way to start down the energy saving path. |
| Getting schools to recycle |
| Educate oneself. Read, talk, share, listen. |
| Composting |
| Do
whatever can be done to increase a feeling of community here. Arlington
has acquired a cachet of being a cool place to live -- the more people
feel that they have ownership of that, the more they will take pride in
keeping things green & clean. Also: tax the hell out of SUVs. |
| Walk to the store. |
| Walk for some errands to combine exercise with env. savings.
Join Freecycle.org
Call to stop unwanted catalogs
(I do all these things too) |
| home insulation, solar energy |
| Participate
in the activities of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment and other
organizations working work to enhance the natural environment.
Organize neighborhood environmental or watershed groups.
Help to remove invasive plants from Arlington's parks.
Support efforts by the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust to use
conservation easements for preserving wooded properties. |
| In
addition to mentioning the things to do, tell us what the positive
results are and put it in perspective; ie leaving one light on for an
hour uses one pound of coal...also, name companies who are taking
environmental initiatives; we want to know who to do business with. |
| one
thing we could recycle more is textiles--especially cotton, for stuff
you know Goodwill doesn't want, house hold linens, curtains etc. there
should be a way to recycle those. Crane which makes US bank notes,
which is "rag bond" paper, buys fabric to recycle. |
| Don't use throwaway diapers
Bring your own canvas bags to grocery store |
| 1.
Encourage green designs to reduce heat islands, which promotes walking,
which promotes local retail, which reduces traffic. There should be a
county-wide law requiring green roofing on all new commercial and
multifamily projects and providing a substantial tax break for green
roofing on single family homes. 2. Plant zone-appropriate vegetation. I
own a farm and can tell you that Virginia is a paradise for plants; if
people are using fertilizer or needing to water often, they have the
wrong plants. Moreover, native and zone-appropriate plants are more
likely to provide wildlife food and habitat.
3. Courthouse/Clarendon certainly has a lot of rights, but there are a
significant number of wrongs - the new condo buildings could be a lot
more friendly to light, water, and vegetation. To get their zoning,
developers will do what the county requires them to do - require it.
4. Bus service won't have much impact unless it looks and feels more
like train service -- cleaner, more reliable, and longer distance.
Devoting a lot of your lobbying effort to buses in Virginia ignores the
cultural reality that Virginians of middle and upper income don't like
and won't take buses. I'd be careful about using all your bullets on
that fight. |
| Organize community event to plant young trees on Earth Day |
| Homeowners
need to plant trees, avoid paving over yards with patios and long
driveways, work to retain stormwater on site with garden areas and rain
barrels, use natural products as much as possible for fertilizing
purposes and avoid or use the mildest of pesticides and herbicides, use
diverse native plants and trees for bird and wildlife habitat, etc. |
| Yes,
allow us to have sink water go out into our yards, maybe in a special
trickle or holding system, esp during drought. Seel grass that stays
short |
| Maybe some water quality/quantity things. Energy conservation in the home. |
| Don't go to Tysons. You can find what you need close to home. Shop Arlington. Better for you, better for the environment. |
| Arlington
needs more parks and green space - this will become more and more of
problem. Country must commit to this now. More sport complex - located
near schools for maximum use. ART bus system is good idea that is not
working. It is not fully utilized and the money needs to be better
spent. Metro in the Columbia Pike corridore should be top priority.
Encourage more backyard habitat, reduction of lawns - and use of rain
gardens. Provide area where individuals can change there own oil and
collect the oil for free. Find a location to take sewage sludge to be
used in compost operation. |
| planting *shade* trees on private property. |
| reduce consumption;
compost
reuse |
| Hike
the river front, with a trash bag. Volunteer twice a year during river
front trash cleanups. Stream clean ups. Stream monitor |
| Bringing your own reusable bags to the grocery store. |
| Ask dog owners to clean up after their dogs. |
| Start additional community gardens - like the one at Barton and 10th. |
| Recycle water from dehumidifiers, collected rain water (covered to keep out mosquitoes), etc. |
| Less building of monster size homes |
| discouraging non-native flora to overtake the existing habitats |
| Specify specific volunteer opportunities that help the environment |
| Organizations/individuals/groups,
etc. adopt a park or green or open area like the adopt-a highway
program (to keep clean, free from invasives, etc) |
| organize earth day clean-ups in neighborhood parks |
| Distribute
information about how to have your trash bin repaired or replaced. Ask
local newspapers to stop delivering unsolicited newspapers that then
rot in the street. Work on laws to forbid sticking papers under parkled
cars wipers. |
| Take five minutes a week to pick up trash along the street or in public places. |
| Plant native trees, shrubs, plants.
Remove invasives exotic plants.
Make your yard attractive to birds and other wildlife.
Don't drive, unless you must.
Take kids on wildlife walks.
Buy and eat organically grown food.
Conserve water, conserve electricity, conserve gas.
Use recycled products. |
| Pick up trash in neighborhood streets |
| The county should take old electronic/computer equipment without a fee and more times a year. |
