Environment

A national organization focused on more sustainable neighborhoods is giving advice to the city of Lafayette.

Global Green USA met with community leaders and residents of the Historic Centennial Neighborhood on how to make the area more environmentally responsible.

Members of the organization spent the past two days assessing what improvements are needed and what that part of the city is doing well.

Green Urbanism Program Director Walker Wells says the goal is to initiate change by using resources already in the area.

The analysis is based on a rating system from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design which examines a community’s green infrastructure, design, and transportation.

An organization focused on a cleaner environment and sustainability is in Lafayette this week outlining ways to improve one of the city’s neighborhoods.

Global Green USA is conducting consultations on how to make the Historic Centennial Neighborhood more efficient and eco-friendly.

Lafayette is one of eight communities in the country picked to participate and received grant funds from the Environmental Protection Agency to help finance the initiative.

City officials say doing this analysis now is important because of ongoing updates to Master Plans for the Historic Centennial Neighborhood and the Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission.

Tuesady, the public will get a chance to look at some of the findings and ideas.

New lights and two charging stations are part of a Green makeover of a Lafayette parking garage.

The City installed two electric vehicle charging stations and nearly 150 LED lights on the Fifth Street structure downtown.

John Christodoulakis is a member of the Lafayette Parking Commission and owner of Red Seven Bar and Grill.

He says the green technology shows the city’s commitment to a cleaner community, which benefits both residents and businesses.

The U.S Department of Energy is paying for the LED fixtures through an Energy Efficient Block Grant totaling more than $121,000.

Both efforts are expected to save the city about $4,000 annually.

Duke Energy is covering the expense of the charging stations for the first two years.

According to new research, 3.7 million Americans who live at elevations close to high tide could face more frequent flooding because of the sea rise caused by global warming.

The New York Times reports:

"If the pace of the rise accelerates as much as expected, researchers found, coastal flooding at levels that were once exceedingly rare could become an every-few-years occurrence by the middle of this century.

Rising gas prices have been the big energy story of the past several weeks. But many energy experts say that's a sideshow compared with the really big energy event — the huge boom in oil and natural gas production in the U.S. that could help the nation reach the elusive goal of energy independence.

Since the Arab oil embargo of 1973, energy independence has been a Holy Grail for virtually every American president from Richard Nixon to Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama.

But now, it might just be within reach.

The Shale Gale

"Energy self-sufficiency is now in sight," says energy economist Phil Verleger. He believes that within a decade, the U.S. will no longer need to import crude oil and will be a natural gas exporter.

January was a record month for processing food waste at West Lafayette's waste water treatment plant.

Utility director Dave Henderson says 36-tons was collected from the Purdue Memorial Union and dining courts on campus.

He says along with the 26,000 pounds of fats, oils, and grease that were processed in January, the plant was able to generate 20% of the electricity needed for its operation.

Henderson says that saved the city more than $5,000.

He says the utility will continue to look for ways to increase the amount of power the plant produces in-house.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Lawyers for BP, and thousands of people affected by the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill, had been expected, for a long time, to be in a New Orleans courtroom this morning for a civil trial. Instead, they're reviewing a deal to settle the case.

BP estimates it would pay nearly $8 billion in the settlement. In exchange, the company would avoid revisiting, in a courtroom, what led up to the drilling rig explosion that killed 11 men and poured massive amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

NPR's Jeff Brady is following the story and joins us now. And Jeff, what is in this agreement?