Join Commissioner Terry, his team, and guest speakers to discuss Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency for a DeKalb Green New Deal. Learn about what DeKalb County has already done to mitigate climate change, and join us in visioning a green, just future.
oin Commissioner Terry, his team, and guest speakers for a discussion on Conservation and Access to Nature for a DeKalb Green New Deal. Learn about what DeKalb County has already done to mitigate climate change and join us in visioning a green, just future.
From Decaturish
DeKalb County, GA — DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry hosted an event at the Maloof Auditorium to kick off a “DeKalb Green New Deal” initiative on April 17.
Additional events during Earth Week include webinars on clean energy, environmental justice, and green jobs from April 18-20. Terry will speak at Decatur’s Earth Day celebration on April 22.
In addition, Terry plans to introduce a resolution to allocate $100,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for a Green New Deal development fund at the Board of Commissioners meeting on April 18.
“As we know, climate change is already here,” Terry said while explaining why he feels DeKalb needs the initiative to address climate change. “Georgia is one of the fastest warming states in the country.”
Storms are increasing in frequency and severity, causing more frequent flooding, which puts lives and property at risk and strains emergency services, Terry said. Heat waves, flooding, and erosion will affect agriculture in many parts of the state and strain the power grid and other infrastructure.
Terry says that the goal of a DeKalb Green New Deal is to simultaneously address the effects of climate change on the county while creating new jobs through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green infrastructure.
A Federal Green New Deal introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2019 did not pass. Still, some of the same policies were incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Terry said that hundreds of millions of dollars are available through grants from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the US Department of Agriculture.
“This really is the best time to act,” Terry said.
Terry said that less than 2% of DeKalb County remains undeveloped, including 3000 acres of the South River Forest. Most of the forest is currently zoned industrial, therefore, not protected. The South River Forest also includes the proposed site of the controversial police training facility called “Cop City” by activists.
Dr. Jacqueline Echols, Board President of the South River Watershed Alliance (SWRA), said that she got involved in conservation because of a 1999 consent decree between the EPA and the City of Atlanta, which came about because the city was dumping raw sewage into the Chattahoochee and South Rivers. She began work related to the consent decree after receiving her doctorate in Political Science from Clark Atlanta in 1999.
Echols said that the South River is a headwater of the Ocmulgee-Altamaha River Basin, which drains about one-quarter of the state of Georgia, and is one of the three largest river basins in the Eastern Seaboard.
Echols said that DeKalb has been the major source of sewage pollution in that river system since 1961, and in 2010, five decades of violations resulted in an EPA-enforced consent decree.
Echols said that 76% of residents along the upper South River corridor from south Atlanta to south DeKalb County are Black. Eighty-six percent are non-white people of color. Pollution contributes to significantly higher rates of health problems such as asthma among those populations, who are 80-100% more likely to live near wastewater discharge.
“What’s going on with the Atlanta forest is probably one of the most horrific environmental injustices that is taking place in this country today,” Echols said.
Echols explained that despite some improvements, Atlanta and DeKalb wastewater still pollutes the South River water system, affecting everything downstream, including places like Macon that take drinking water from the Ocmulgee watershed.
“The system operates by overflowing. So, you need the green space along the creek and the river to clean the water as it moves downstream,” Echols said.
Increased stormwater due to climate change, along with any development that will increase runoff, is likely to worsen existing erosion and pollution problems, which will cost taxpayers money to fix.
“The city of Stonecrest has committed over a million dollars to dealing with the stormwater at Panola Shoals. It comes from Atlanta. It comes from upstream,” Echols said.
Echols said that SRWA does cleanups, water sampling, and advocacy. The organization is currently working on encouraging recreational use of the river, which is key to dismantling what Echols calls a “culture of avoidance” and improving water quality. Echols said that since the Georgia Environmental Protection Department prioritizes recreational areas, encouraging recreational use is part of protecting the river.
Terry said that in addition to offering information, part of the purpose of the events this week is to seek input about the community’s priorities. Terry said that the resolution he presents to the Board of Commissioners on April 18 only sets aside money and that specific projects will be brought back before the board for a vote.
“For instance, last year, we did $10,000 to the Decatur Greenway to build a bioswale,” Terry said. At least 40% of the fund will go to communities impacted the most by climate change and environmental injustice, including those along the upper South River corridor described by Echols.
Terry said that Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funding could be used in addition to the ARPA funds for some of this work. Terry said that the legislature has passed a new “clean” SPLOST for DeKalb, and the Board of Commissioners will meet next Thursday at 10 am to discuss projects.
Terry said that he hopes to build on past successes and plans to hold a DeKalb Green New Deal summit on Oct. 14 of this year to discuss what has been accomplished up to that point.
“We can lead for ourselves and encourage others by doing so,” Terry said.
From the Georgia Sun
The “DeKalb Green New Deal” kickoff event is set to take place on April 17 as part of Earth Week celebrations in DeKalb County.
Hosted by Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry, the initiative aims to engage the community in local climate action and advocate for greener public policy.
The Maloof Auditorium in Decatur will house the event from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Terry emphasized the need for transformative investments to address ongoing health, economic, racial justice, and climate crises.
“The time is now to advocate, innovate and execute transformative investments that address the interconnected and ongoing health, economic, racial justice and climate crises we are facing today,” said Commissioner Terry. “The DeKalb Green New Deal initiatives that I seek to initiate will focus on strategies that DeKalb County can implement to help meet President Biden’s ambitious climate and environmental justice goals and build an equitable, pollution-free future.”
Following the launch, Earth Week will feature town halls, webinars, and educational opportunities for county residents. The Zoom Webinar Series includes discussions on a Just and Equitable Green New Deal (April 18), Clean and Efficient Energy (April 19), and Conservation and Access to Nature (April 20), all taking place from 7 to 8 p.m.
Those interested in attending the kickoff event can register at https://actionnetwork.org/events/dekalb-gnd-kick-off. For webinar registration, visit the respective links provided in the press release. For more information, contact Miranda Rupkey, DeKalb County Super District 6 Project Administrator, at 404-371-6353 or msrupkey@dekalbcountyga.gov.
Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry, elected in 2020, represents about 350,000 residents from South, Central, and North DeKalb. His platform focuses on affordable housing, transit equity, the DeKalb Green New Deal, DeKalb voting rights, and criminal justice reform. For more information about Commissioner Terry and his platforms, visit www.commissionertedterry.com.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with WABE and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
As long as it works, a lot of people don’t think much about electricity beyond paying the bill. Plug something in, flip a switch, it turns on. But how that power is generated can have big consequences — for people’s power bills and for the planet.
There are lots of ways to make electricity: burning coal, gas, oil or wood; harnessing the power of the sun, the wind or running water; or using nuclear reactions.
Georgia Power, the state’s largest utility, uses all of them. And beginning next week, state regulators will hold a series of hearings to decide which of those sources to increase and which to phase out, laying out where most Georgians will get their electricity for the next 20 years.
“We have a diversified generation system in Georgia that gives us reliable, affordable and clean energy down the road,” said Bubba McDonald, one of the five Public Service Commissioners that will have the final say over Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP.
The utility plans for the future
The biggest changes Georgia Power wants to make are shutting down coal and adding solar. By 2030, the company plans to get nearly a third of its electricity from the sun, up from just 11% this year.
“We are showing how we are growing the level of renewable energy in our state and responding to the fast-changing needs of our customers while also protecting the environment and the communities we serve,” said Georgia Power President and CEO Chris Womack.
Renewable energy — like solar and wind — is key, because burning coal, gas or oil creates the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change. Scientists say people everywhere have to quickly and sharply cut down on those energy sources to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Despite the new solar, Bryan Jacob of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy [SACE] said this plan isn’t good enough.
“The bad news is that Georgia Power has proposed as much fossil gas resource in this IRP as they did renewables,” he said.
While the proportion of renewables is going up, the company still plans to get a lot of its power from gas in 2030 — just as it does now. Jacob’s group is one of several hoping to change that.
Georgia Power’s plan is essentially a first draft. Before the Public Service Commission approves it, they’ll hear from environmental and clean energy organizations, consumer groups, companies that use a lot of energy and even a gas company.
Advocates push for changes
Along with calling for more energy from renewable sources, groups intervening in the IRP process plan to push for more energy efficiency programs and to raise other questions, not just about environmental concerns, but also about the costs to Georgia Power customers.
“While energy efficiency continues to be a least-cost resource, the utility is failing to pursue energy saving opportunities at levels that would bring the greatest value to customers,” said Forest Bradley-Wright of SACE.
The idea is that it’s cheaper to save energy than it is to make it. Georgia Power customers can lower their power bills by making changes that help them use less electricity: better insulation, more efficient heating and cooling systems, smart thermostats.
The utility’s proposal does call energy efficiency “a priority resource” and seeks to extend current energy efficiency pilot programs, but advocates said the company should do more.
“Georgia Power continues to lag national and regional peers in annual efficiency savings, which average two to three times higher than Georgia Power’s delivery,” Bradley-Wright said.
The power company’s plan also calls for more energy storage, which is vital for using more renewables. Solar farms, for instance, only generate electricity when the sun is shining, so it’s important to store the extra energy for use when it’s dark or cloudy.
According to the proposal, Georgia Power aims to own and operate 1,000 megawatts of storage capacity by 2030.
“Georgia Power wants to do it all themselves. So the question is, if you do need all of this storage, how much is that going to cost? And would the cost for doing that be cheaper if you allow third party non-incumbents to develop that?” said Katie Southworth of Southface Institute, a sustainability organization that’s intervening in the IRP.
Southworth also raised questions beyond climate concerns about Georgia Power’s plans to keep relying heavily on gas. She pointed to volatile natural gas prices on the global market — a concern in the headlines lately due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and to problems with gas-powered electricity in Texas following a devastating winter storm.
“Continuing to beat the drum that [gas] is reliable and affordable, will always show up, you know, we’re seeing in real time that in the last few years, that has not been the case,” Southworth said.
Local governments get involved
For the first time this year, cities and counties that have made their own clean energy commitments are getting involved in the IRP process, too. Atlanta, Savannah, Athens, Decatur and DeKalb, and Fulton Counties are all intervening together.
“There’s only so much that the government, the local governments can do,” said DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry. He said local governments like his have the power to make some changes, like adding “our own electric vehicles, solar installations on government property, on fire stations, on libraries, on wastewater treatment plant lands.”
But Georgia Power is the only electricity provider in most of the state. If cities and counties can’t buy enough renewable energy from the utility, they can’t reach their goals.
Terry is optimistic about the process, because Georgia Power’s parent company, Southern Company, has announced the same clean energy goal as DeKalb County: net zero emissions by 2050.
“We all agree on the goal. Now we now need to get to the plan,” Terry said.
The PSC has a lot of power to shape that plan, which is updated every three years. Much of Georgia Power’s explosive increase in solar in recent years happened because the commission called for it.
Several rounds of hearings are scheduled on Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Plan over the next few months. The PSC will make its final decision at the end of July.
Originally published in Decaturish
DeKalb County, GA –– On Monday, April 12, Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry announced the launch of a new initiative aimed at transforming public spaces into regenerative, productive urban landscapes, a press release said.
The project, called Fruitful Communities, will address food insecurity, food deserts and developing policies that combat climate change at the local level. Commissioner Terry first piloted this program in Clarkston, where he previously served as Mayor, with a community-designed micro-food forest and meadow system and a first-of-its-kind urban grower training program for public works staff.
“Conventional landscaping has destroyed so many of our edible native plant species,” Terry said. “Often, the focus is on mowing, blowing, and spraying pesticides and herbicides on our public and private spaces. The bioaccumulation of these chemicals in our local environment impacts the overall health of our communities. The Fruitful Communities Initiative is an opportunity for us to move away from this inefficient and wasteful system.
“I envision a future DeKalb with communities full of urban growers tending and harvesting tens of thousands of pounds of fresh produce each year and putting much of it back into our local food system. We can reduce our carbon footprint and create localized, higher-paying green jobs.”
Fruitful Communities will kicked off with a Community Forum on April 14.
“Our philosophy at Roots Down has three main components: food, ecology, and community,” said Roots Down founder Jamie Rosenthal. “Most landscapes don’t prioritize any of these things, which is why they are underutilized and unproductive despite the millions of dollars DeKalb County spends every year to mow grass and spray synthetic chemicals. Fruitful Communities is a framework for government officials and residents to reimagine public and private spaces and get a return on their investment.”
Partners for Fruitful Communities include Compost Now, Servescape, The Audubon Society, Multiply Monarch, and Be Compostable. Goals for the Fruitful Communities initiative include installing Productive Urban Landscapes, green education for young people, and policy recommendations to help urban agriculture and edible landscaping thrive.
For updates regarding the Fruitful Communities initiative, visit https://www.rootsdownga.com/fruitful-communities