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Fayetteville-Center of Environmental Sustainability


RemusCal

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CaseStack believes that Northwest Arkansas is becoming the global hub for the next generation of ideas in sustainability, supply chain and consumer packaged goods; much like the way Detroit created the auto industry or Silicon Valley dominates technology.
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I'm trying to be an optimist because all I really ever hear from people outside NWA is positive comments, so whatever negative aspects there are of NWA must not be so bad. Only good can come from Sanker's vision. Whether it proves successful and whether sustainability proves legitimate or not doesn't matter. What matters is that important people all over the country see Fayetteville and NWA as more than just some rural area of Arkansas. If one plan fails another will succeed.

The most important factor in NWA's future is Wal-Mart. Nothing good has happened in NWA or could possibly happen in NWA without the generosity of Wal-Mart and the Walton Family Foundation.

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Here is another interesting find that maybe some of you did not see. Environmental Defense is opening an office across from Walmart Headquarters to advise the company on sustainability best practices. This sustainability movement is really coming to fruition pretty fast considering all the events that just happened in the last couple of months about sustainability.

Link to the article

Pioneering Environmental Group settles in Wal-Mart's Hometown

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Another version of the same article about Walmart donating 1.5 million to the U of A for the Applied Sustainability Center. It is from the Washington Post and highlights the University of Arkansas really well. Fayetteville could definitely be on the verge of being the next boomtown if technology starts moving in. Truly Amazing!

Link to the article:

Wal-Mart Backs Eco-Friendly Center

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The bad: I hope this isn't just a shallow victory. The Financial Times of London ran an article on carbon credits earlier saying the perception that to this point, it seems like a scam. (I don't think former VP Al Gore has helped matters much by his off-screen behavior in terms of energy usage.) I think there could be some very good things "sustainability" practices and technology could bring about, though I question who will use such technology worldwide, i.e. China and Russia. I'm just not yet sure "sustainability" and "auto industry" / "technology" are yet in the same class.
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...and with Wal-Mart's $1.5 mil donation we're well on our way, apparently.

The good: Just another piece of the puzzle that is NWA, but again, we don't know what we have on our hands here yet. However, "sustainability" is a beautiful word in our culture nowadays and if this happens NWA will get a lot of positive recognition.

The bad: I hope this isn't just a shallow victory. The Financial Times of London ran an article on carbon credits earlier saying the perception that to this point, it seems like a scam. (I don't think former VP Al Gore has helped matters much by his off-screen behavior in terms of energy usage.) I think there could be some very good things "sustainability" practices and technology could bring about, though I question who will use such technology worldwide, i.e. China and Russia. I'm just not yet sure "sustainability" and "auto industry" / "technology" are yet in the same class.

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  • 1 month later...
I'd expect to see more "green" buildings in Rogers and Bentonville in the coming years. Rogers' PB2 director, James Zachry, is a member of the NWA branch of the Arkansas chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Bentonville also has members on the steering committee; Four Frogs, LLC of Bentonville is a member and is building a green office building in downtown Bentonville and has plans for a mixed use around the office.
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  • 2 weeks later...

I read an article on CNN about Ann Arbor going LED with all of its lights. I wish we could consider something like this considering we want to be a hub of sustainability. Or at least they can start with a burned out street light down the street from me. Ann Arbor Switches to LED Lights

Speaking of this, I wonder if it is like our walking trails around here where they are getting recognition long before they do all of the light changes.

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I read an article on CNN about Ann Arbor going LED with all of its lights. I wish we could consider something like this considering we want to be a hub of sustainability. Or at least they can start with a burned out street light down the street from me. Ann Arbor Switches to LED Lights

Speaking of this, I wonder if it is like our walking trails around here where they are getting recognition long before they do all of the light changes.

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I read an article on CNN about Ann Arbor going LED with all of its lights. I wish we could consider something like this considering we want to be a hub of sustainability. Or at least they can start with a burned out street light down the street from me. Ann Arbor Switches to LED Lights

Speaking of this, I wonder if it is like our walking trails around here where they are getting recognition long before they do all of the light changes.

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I'd really like to see Fayetteville do something like this as well. I'd also like to see developers jump on board as well. Although the city would probably have to find some sort of incentive to get some on board. I'm sure some would see them as eyesores but I'd like to see more small windmills out on some of lights in the parking lots scattered all over the city.
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They're not any more of an eyesore than a regular light depending on how their done. LEDs are wonderful, you can incorporate them into anything, or update old systems with the lights in the old housing as long as you have the power supply set up properly (since they don't run at the regular 120v). I think it's a great idea, they could use tiny solar panels at every intersection to power the LED lights for that block, or update the power system to include a line that runs at the proper voltage. I really think it's only a matter of time before houses go to LED lighting (considering the life of the bulbs and the tiny amount of power they use), I see no reason that a city trying to come to the forefront as sustainable area wouldn't look into some partnership to promote LED technology.
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  • 2 months later...

Looks like Mayor Coody was meeting with the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce (South Central US) about environmental sustainability. Very good move, Europe is way ahead of the US on this. There are laws there making companies deal with this. Scandinavia probably leads to pack over there so some possible ties to Sweden and Swedish companies would work out well. Swedish companies are looking to invest what they've already been doing to other locations and they sound rather interested in NWA. So hopefully soon some of those Swedish companies will soon have some offices over here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ironically the convention was held in Ft Smith and not Fayetteville. But there was someone speaking this past weekend about wind power in NWA. Sounded like he was trying to get more people to consider it for NWA. I believe our area is probably the best spot for it. While there are a few other areas that have more consistent winds, like some areas of the Ozarks and Ouchitas. Most are in remote areas. NWA isn't too far behind on potential and we have the customer base right here.

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  • 4 months later...

I think there is certainly some potential in "Green Valley" Fayetteville -- especially with Wal-Mart bringing national focus to the area and the sustainability movement. There was an article that highlighted the idea.

What would be better than NWA representing this movement? In response to earlier comments.. I don't see NWA taking quite the economic hit as the rest of the country may. Green industry jobs could be a great way to buffer the effects of a long recession.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7090602689.html

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As it's been pointed out earlier, there isn't any center yet that focuses on this. Yes it will be hard work as was also mentioned earlier. But even if Fayetteville isn't THE center, it can still be one of the major sites for this. There are also a lot of misconceptions about going green. It doesn't mean having to totally change the entire world and US economy. While there are some who would want that I think most of us realize it's not realistic. We can all make 'green' decisions that don't make huge changes in our lives but does make a difference to the environment. Lots of small things can quickly add up. Is Wal-mart doing this for their image. Sure, but at the same time Wal-mart has been at the cutting edge of other things as well. I think Wal-mart isn't just doing this to clean up it's image. This is going to be a bigger movement and Wal-mart is smart enough to get onboard early.
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I think there is certainly some potential in "Green Valley" Fayetteville -- especially with Wal-Mart bringing national focus to the area and the sustainability movement. There was a Washington Post article that highlighted the idea.

What would be better than NWA representing this movement? In response to earlier comments.. I don't see NWA taking quite the economic hit as the rest of the country may. Green industry jobs could be a great way to buffer the effects of a long recession.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7090602689.html

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