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Pictured left to right: Ernest Scheyder, author of The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives, and Sumedha Rao, Executive Director of the OS. Picture credit: World Afairs Council
Last week, the World Affairs Council (WAC) of Kentucky and Southern Indiana welcomed author Ernest Scheyder for an important conversation, titled The Power of Power: A Look at the Global Battle for Energy Resources. Ernest Schneyder is a Senior Correspondent at Reuters and the author of the new book, The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives, which explores the implications of the increasing demand of critical minerals used in various everyday items and technologies that we rely on, including smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, and renewable energy systems.
As the demand for these technologies continues to rise, so does the demand for lithium and copper, making their mining crucial for sustaining modern lifestyles and advancing technological innovation. While these resources are essential for modern technology, their extraction can have significant environmental and social implications. The event was moderated by Sumedha Rao, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability (OS), and attendance completely sold out, making for an engaging conversation on the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future.
See more photos from the event on the WAC's online Flikr album.
Thank you to the WAC and Filson Historical Society for hosting this important conversation! Picture credit: World Affairs Council
Liz Beardsley, the Senior Policy Counsel for the US Green Building Council, a national non-profit that administers building certifications such as LEED, visited Louisville in early August. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability convened a group of building industry professionals to discuss green building strategies and policies that could benefit our community. The Office of Sustainability is also engaged in ongoing multi-city collaborative partnerships to explore best practices in advancing building benchmarking and building performance standards.
Pictured: an asphalt roof installed on a Louisville home
To mitigate urban heat island, Louisville Metro Government offers an incentive of $1 per square foot through the Cool Roof Incentive Program to any residential or non-residential property that has installed a certified Cool Roof within the last 3 years.
A majority of the funding is allocated to high heat districts, which include Council Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 14, and 15, but funding is currently available in all Council District across Louisville/Jefferson County. Louisville Metro encourages property owners to apply!
Please visit Cool Roof Incentive Program | LouisvilleKY.gov to learn more and apply using Cool Roof Incentive Program – Application Form.
Brownfields for Bankers and Developers Info Session
Louisville Metro Government's Office of Planning is hosting a Brownfields for Bankers and Developers Info Session event on Thursday, September 5th from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the UofL Urban Design Studio on 427 W Muhammad Ali Blvd Suite 200, Louisville, KY 40202. This session will provide information to small developers, community development financial institutions, and lenders on programming available for brownfield redevelopment.
Register to attend the Brownfields for Bankers and Developers Info Session!
Join the kNOw Waste Louisville team!
The kNOw Waste Education team is seeking part-time employees for the Recycle Right Program and other educational initiatives. Examples of duties include:
- Reports to office for assigned routes and supplies from education coordinator
- Travels with team members to assigned area in Metro vehicle
- Walks or drives along assigned area looking inside waste/recycling containers to determine contamination levels
- Assigns a score of green, yellow, or red based on contamination levels criteria
- Documents information on tag and attaches it to the resident's container
- Reports to office when assigned routes are complete
- Performs related work
Applicants should be able to spend prolonged periods standing and walking and will work weekday mornings.
Apply to the Solid Waste Education Spec P/T position now!
Almost one year has passed since Louisville's bike share program, LouVelo, permanently shut down (click to read the WAVE3 story). Ever since the decision to not renew the program was made, Bike Louisville and Louisville Metro Government have been working hard to find a new home for the LouVelo equipment. Simply scrapping the bikes or letting them rust away in storage was not an option. Because of this, Bike Louisville is happy to report that 150 LouVelo bikes have been donated to the University of Louisville's bike share program!
The bikes will be rebranded and lent out to students, faculty, and staff in need of active, reliable, and sustainable transportation. Bike Louisville gives a special thanks to the team at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Works for their help loading and delivering the bikes as well as all the volunteers who came out to help.
Click to see a video of the 150 bikes being delivered!
Pictured: Public Works employees and volunteers distribute donated bikes to UofL
In other bike news, Louisville could see its first bike bus hitting the streets this upcoming school year. Duck Duck Goose is a group with a mission to empower parents and teachers to create safe, active, and engaging bike bus programs for students in Louisville, promoting heath and sustainability. On Friday, September 13, Duck Duck Goose plans on launching their first bike bus at Lincoln Elementary.
Follow @duckduckgoosebikebus on Instagram or visit their website to learn how you can get involved!
Duck Duck Goose Info Flyer
September is National Preparedness Month
September marks National Preparedness Month, the annual campaign to remind residents that preparing for emergencies and disasters can keep them, their families, and their communities safe. Jody Meiman, Executive Director of Louisville Metro Emergency Services, provides these tips and resources:
Make a plan
- Whether it’s at home or work, develop an emergency plan involving each person so you’ll know how and where to meet, how to contact each other and what to do in different situations, and include instructions on how to safely turn off electricity, gas and water.
Stock up on emergency items
- Gather enough essentials for at least 72 hours and include items such as necessary medicines, water, nonperishable food, a manual can opener, a flashlight, first aid items, spare clothing, phone chargers, battery-operated radio and extra batteries.
Make a kit now — before an emergency
- Store stock-piled emergency supplies in one location, preferably in air-tight storage. Evacuations may happen at a moment’s notice, so it’s important to have all items prepared. Make sure each member of the household or work location knows where the emergency preparedness kit will be stored.
Take your emergency planning on the go
- Whether short- or long-distance traveling, it’s always a good idea to make a similar preparedness kit to store in a vehicle. Include items like jumper cables, flashlights, extra batteries, first aid items, necessary medicines, nonperishable food, water, battery-operated radio, cell phone chargers, ice scraper, spare clothing, flares and blankets.
Stay informed
- Residents can stay informed of emergency situations in their area by signing up for LENSAlert, the Louisville Emergency Notification System. Residents can also create a safety profile through Smart911 to make first responders aware of important information that can help Police, Fire and EMS respond quickly in an emergency.
Emergency Services, along with other agencies, will partner with the Louisville Free Public Library to offer Emergency Preparedness Week, a week of educational workshops to teach residents how to prepare, protect, and recover from unexpected emergencies. Workshops will be held Monday, September 9 – Saturday, September 14 at the Bon Air Library, 2816 Del Rio Place, (502) 574-1795.
For more information, visit Ready.gov.
Stock image of a mosquito with "Oropouche virus facts" in text
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) in partnership with the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed a Jefferson County resident who recently traveled from Cuba was diagnosed with the Oropouche virus infection. The infected person had mild symptoms and is recovering. Oropouche virus is spread to people through the bite of infected biting midges (also known as "no-see-ums") and some mosquitoes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at this time, there is no evidence that Oropouche virus has been spread in the United States. The virus has been reported in parts of South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Symptoms of Oropouche virus infection may be like those of dengue, Zika, malaria or chikungunya and can include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Chills
- Body aches
- Joint paint
For more information and for regular public health news, visit the Louisville Metro Public Health & Wellness website and subscribe for updates.
Did you know that weatherizing your home can lower your energy usage by 15% to 45%? Lowering energy usage results in affordable housing, improved health, and increased safety. The Metropolitan Housing Coalition's EveryHome program will be hosting a webinar on home weatherization on Tuesday, September 24th, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM featuring guest speaker, Project Warm.
Affordable housing includes affordable energy. Together, we can advocate for clean, efficient energy and make every home safe, healthy, and affordable.
During this webinar, you will learn about
- Benefits of home weatherization
- Energy saving techniques according to budget
- Additional client referral services
- The 2024 Project Warm Winter Blitz.
Register for the webinar here.
Learn about weatherizing your home during the Project Warm webinar.
- See the world without leaving the city at WorldFest this weekend! The 22nd annual WorldFest, Louisville's premier international festival hosted by the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Affairs, attracts more than 150,000 attendees over the four-day Labor Day weekend. WorldFest celebrates and showcases the international cultures and communities that make up the city of Louisville and neighboring areas. WorldFest is free to attend and open to all ages, featuring entertainment stages, Parade of Cultures, Global Village, and more! WorldFest will take place at the Belvedere on 500 West Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202 on the following dates:
- Friday, August 30 from 10:30 AM - 11:00 PM
- Saturday, August 31 from 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM
- Sunday, September 1 from 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
- Monday, September 2 from 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
- Change Today, Change Tomorrow is holding the Second Annual 5k for Food Justice on Saturday, September 7. Participants will meet at Baxter Park at 301 South 12th Street Louisville, KY 40203 at 8:00 AM to walk and raise awareness for food justice.
- Change Today, Change Tomorrow will also hold the final West End Farmer's Market of the season on Sunday, September 8 starting at 4:00 PM at 946 South 25th Street Louisville, KY 40210.
- The Renewable Energy Alliance of Louisville (REAL) will host the next monthly meeting in person on Monday, September 9 at 7:00 PM. The tentative location is the First Unitarian Church located on Spaulding University's campus at 809 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40203.
- On Friday, September 13 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Food In Neighborhoods (FIN) will host The People’s Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture: Food Vision 2030, sponsored by Kentucky State University. The People’s Summit culminates in a full day of participatory conference proceedings which will entail general plenary sessions, a variety of thematic workshops, and informal spaces for art and dialogue with sponsors. The Summit venue is Louisville Central Community Center (LCCC) at 1300 W Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville 40203.
- Brightside's next Sip & Sweep community litter pick-up will be on Saturday, September 7th from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Shippingport Brewing Co. at 1221 W Main St, Louisville, KY 40203. Sign up for this or an upcoming Sweep & Sip at Brightside Louisville Sweep & Sip.
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Louisville Metro Government is hosting a Career Fair on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at Louisville Slugger Field, 501 East Main Street from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Register for the career fair and learn about over 150 job opportunities!
- LSC's next Green Drinks event on Wednesday, September 18 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM will feature guest speaker Taylor Ryan, Executive Director of Change Today, Change Tomorrow, and will be held at the Black Jockey's Lounge at 630 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202.
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Canopy KY will host the Building Your Environmental Impact Plan: Full Day Workshop on Friday, September 27 from 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM at Bernheim Forest. Join Canopy staff and a slate of topical experts for a practical, results-based process to build your policies and programs. From assessing your starting point to selecting metrics to measuring and reporting your impact, you and your staff can learn how to run a better business by taking care of Kentucky's natural resources. No matter what industry you are in or what degree of sophistication you already possess, you can leave this day-long workshop equipped to build a meaningful environmental impact plan at your company.
- Saturday, September 28 kicks of National Drive Electric Week. On this day from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Evolve KY is hosting a celebration at the North Village Town Square in Norton Commons at 6320 Rosebay St, Prospect, KY 40059.
- Save the date: the Kentucky Governor's Conference on Energy and the Environment will be hosted in Lexington from Monday, October 21 to Tuesday, October 22.
- Save the date: LSC's Annual Sustainability Summit on Friday, November 8 at Sullivan University. This year's topic will be Climate, Equity & the Future of Food.
- Cities Helping Homeowners Go Solar (KET - features Solarize Louisville)
- Kentucky launches 1st dedicated glass recycling program in west Louisville (WDRB)
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Actors Theatre of Louisville holding costume, prop sale just in time for Halloween (WDRB)
- Kentucky mosquito season is getting longer with climate change (Courier Journal)
- Louisville tree planting could reduce inflammation, heart disease (Courier Journal)
- You know about flash floods, but what do you know about a flash drought? (LPM)
- Clean to Coal Success Stories (RMI)
- West Broadway Kroger to undergo $1.25 million remodel (Courier Journal)
- Michelin invests $50M at American Synthetic Rubber Co. facility upgrades (Louisville Business Journals)
- Louisville: Service Concepts for a Financial Crisis — Human Transit (Human Transit)
- EU Ambassador on European industry and sustainability in Kentucky (LPM)
- Louisville explores forming public electric utility, apart from LG&E (Courier Journal)
- Why State Climate Plans Prioritize Upgrades to Homes and Buildings (RMI)
- One in 11 people went hungry last year. Climate change is a big reason why. (Investigate Midwest)
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