Economy preventing cities from going greener and more tidbits

With all of the focus on the stock market lately, the news seems to be covering three things over and over again: the presidential race, the economy and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So for this blog I've decided to do two things. First I'll talk about a local issue or two with the economy affecting something around Tucson. And secondly I'll finish up with some links and descriptions to stories about the crisis we are in. It's better to be informed about an issue that I myself have much to learn about so hopefully this links will provide details that are interesting and informative.

One story I found that will affect Tucsonans is how the economy is preventing the city from reaching goals set back in 2006 that involve slowing the growth of emissions and greenhouse gases. The Arizona Daily Star has a Q&A describing some main details such as how much greenhouse gases have risen along with the increasing population and how using types of transportation such as carpooling and buses help reduce emissions.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit community of leaders that according to their site "work to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation." The site lists links to things such as learning how to certify your building as being green and where to find more information on helping make buildings greener. Just last month the USGBC announced that 13 people are receiving grants that total $2 million. The grants people received money for include a green roof energy calculator, transportation energy intensity index and quantifying the impact of daylight and electric lighting on student alertness, performance, and well-being in K-12 schools.

So another question to ask is how you as a person contribute to increasing greenhouse gases. Do you drive a car everyday or do you carpool or ride the bus? Do you use a lot of items that require electricity such as computers, televisions, home lighting, etc? Do you recycle or just throw everything in the garbage can? These are just some of the questions needed to be asked if you want to make an impact on a personal basis. After that other changes can be made on a larger scale such as to you home or office building which can also help take down emissions in your area.

Other tidbits:



Check out this story on the national debt clock in New York. On Saturday the debt was listed at $10,150,603,734,720. Yikes! Think about you and your family for a second when you hear this: every family in America has a share of the debt at over $86,000. The worst part about the clock is that it ran out of digits on the display. But don't worry because a new one should be put in by next year that can count up to a quadrillion dollars!

Interested in where all of the lost money on the stock market went? Check this out. This article gives a good insight for those who don't know what exactly happens to the money on the stock market when it drops, such as in the past week or two.

Wonder how much of an impact you as a person have on the economy? Read this. In it is a section detailing some interesting facts and information about the U.S. and world economy. One interesting fact is that consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity and that if it continues to be weak, the economy would dip deeper into recession. So tough choices lie ahead. Spend your paycheck or save and just pay the necessary bills. Or should there be a spend-like-crazy weekend where people go out and spend helping the economy for all. With Christmas just a little over two months away it'll be interesting to see how much people spend for family and others with the current state of the economy.

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK (Courtesy of this site here)

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 13 Oct 2008 at 06:13:38 PM GMT is:
$ 1 0 , 2 7 9 , 2 1 3 , 0 0 7 , 3 4 1 . 2 3

The estimated population of the United States is 304,901,479
so each citizen's share of this debt is $33,713.23.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.34 billion per day since September 28, 2007!
Concerned? Then tell Congress and the White House!