This is a fascinating Grist Magazine interview. Sustainability, smart growth, economic opportunity, stewardship - it's all here. School of Rocky: An interview with Salt Lake City mayor and green innovator Rocky Anderson.
Mayor Anderson cut greenhouse emissions (with lighting retrofits and methane capture at the waste treatment plant and landfill), he enticed businesses to go greener (sending trained staff and volunteers to recommend efficiencies), he made the city more friendly for walkers and cyclists. He had a lot of opposition--but now he's more popular than ever. See what sustainability will do for you?
Some of these solutions are so readily in reach and so economically beneficial, yet still not being embraced by so many governmental entities, at all levels. It is a remnant of this thinking that good environmental practices somehow run counter to good business practices, or economic development interests. But people are starting to understand that good environmental practices, good business practices, and good long-term, sustainable economic development go hand in hand.
Mayor Anderson understands that green practices are economical (some more long-term than others). If it's economical, it's going to be popular across the political spectrum.
