CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS RISE * MERCURY CLIMBS * OCEANS WARM * GLACIERS MELT * SEA LEVELS RISE * SEA ICE THINS *

PERMAFROST THAWS * WILDFIRES INCREASE * LAKES SHRINK * LAKES FREEZE UP LATER * ICE SHELVES COLLAPSE * DROUGHTS LINGER * PERCIPITATION INCREASES * MOUNTAIN STREAMS RUN

DRY * WINTER LOSES ITS BITE * SPRING ARRIVES EARLIER *

AUTUMN COMES LATER * PLANTS FLOWER SOONER * MIGRATION TIMES VARY * HABITS CHANGE * BIRDS NEST EARLIER * DISEASES SPREAD * CORAL REEFS BLEACH * SNOWPACKS DECLINE * EXOTIC SPECIES INVADE * AMPHIBIANS DISAPPEAR * COASTLINES ERODE * CLOUD FORESTS DRY * TEMPERATURES SPIKE AT HIGH ALTITUDES

**WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?

Progress, not PerfectionTunnell-Spangler-Walsh

&

Associates

Global Warming

• More than 2,500 of the world's leading climate scientists, economists, and risk experts contributed to the panel's (IPCC) most recent report, Climate Change 2001: The Third Assessment Report.

--------------------------------------------------------http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science/global-

warming-faq.html

The science textbooks had to be rewritten in 2004. They used to say “ It's impossible to have hurricanes in the South Atlantic.” But that year, for the first time ever, a hurricane hit Brazil.

Predictable Consequence

s

Old Habits +

New Technology

= Dramatically Altered

Consequences

Old Habits+

Old Technology

=

Questions to Think About

• How many of you commute alone

in a private vehicle?

• How many of you walk to various

locations throughout the

day (i.e. the grocery store, the

bank, etc.)?

•How many of your children can walk to school?•How many of

your children can walk to a park?

•How many of you pay more than $300 a month for utilities?

•How many of you spend 35

minutes or more driving to

work?

•How many of you drive

your children to school?•Who uses

mass transit when making

local trips?

Georgia Facts

• Population: 8,829,383 people• Per Capita Income: $30,051• Energy Consumption: 2.9 Quadrillion

BTU• Petroleum Consumption: 22 Million

gallons per day• Gasoline Consumption: 13.4 Million

gallons

Georgia Facts

• Rapid loss of trees in Atlanta• Atlanta’s natural tree coverage is being

removed• The impact of 1acre of trees

Georgia Tree Facts

Atlanta Transportation

• 86.1% of drivers in Fulton County drive private vehicles to work.– Dekalb – 82%– Gwinnett – 85%– Cherokee – 87.3%

• In 1990, 25% of commuters in Fulton County took public transportation to work, in 2000 the statistic dropped to 18.1%

Atlanta Transportation Facts

Atlanta Transportation Facts

• Average commuting distance – 29.2 miles

• Individuals that travel alone and do not carpool spend $16.38 per day; $360 a month

Sprawl

• Economically–Forces the government

to provide new infrastructure for a dispersed population

–FACT: the average American family spends 14%-18% of its total budget on transportation

Effects of Sprawl

Possible Solution

• Economically– Compact development

arrange new homes together so services can be provided efficiently

– Compact development provides people with the choices, instead of driving, decreasing the amount of money spent on gas. City Hall East

Downtown Woodstock

Effects of Sprawl• Environmentally

– Longer distance driving = increase in air pollution• FACT: air pollutants from

cars are responsible for 20,000 – 40,000 annual cases of chronic respiratory illnesses.

• FACT: The World Health Organization estimates that 4.6 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution

Possible Solution

• Environmentally– Compact

developments provide opportunities to walk, bike, or take public transit, therefore reducing air pollution Wade Green

Norcross

Effects of Sprawl• Socially

– Traffic congestion takes away time from everyday life• FACT: the average

American driver spends 443 hours per year behind the wheel.

– An increase in driving means and increase in auto fatality rates

– Absence of pedestrian friendly routes decreases the opportunity for exercise

Possible Solutions

• Socially– Getting to know

neighbors increases the feeling of security

– A town center will increase civic engagement, quality of life, and community solidarity

Vickery

Norcross

Walking DistanceLegend:¼ Mile

½ Mile

1 Mile

RURALURBAN

What You Can Do• Buy Organic Food • Put on a Sweater • Use a Push Mower • Plant a Tree • Carpool When You Can • Fill the Dishwasher • Inflate Your Tireshttp://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_actionitems.asp

What You Can DoFluorescent Lighting• Payoff Time : ± 3 years• Benefits• Lower watts result in lower cooling costs• $10 more for fixtures, but quickly recouped in yearly energy savings

Photovoltaic Panels (solar energy)• Payoff Time : 10 +Years• $6.50 - $8.00 per watt to install• Benefits – Reduces utility bills

What You Can DoGreen Roofs • Payoff Time : 4 to 13 years• Benefits• Reduction in noise• Prolonged life of the underlying roof membrane by protecting it from ultra-violet rays

• Extra insulation for building• Reduces air conditioning costs as much as 25%

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER