The City has applied for a $5 million grant to work with Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV) to turn the 600 block of Northampton into a "green business district." "Green businesses" will be considered those who are either green in their practices, or in the services they offer.
Express Times Article by Ed Sieger on $5million Grant To Turn 600 Block of Northampton Into Green Business District
While this is exciting news (and I hope that a "green business district" will include a green jobs training office) what I wonder is--how the armory fits into this plan, since it is located on the 600 block of Northampton?
Posts
3 comments:
"those who are either green in their practices, or in the services they offer."
sort of a non sequitur? To be "green" would not a business have to be both? that is in practice AND in offerings?
What do you think?
well, this question reminds me of a conversation i had with my uncle who was visiting recently from alaska. he's been a construction worker and fine carpenter for decades, and recently has educated himself on green construction and rehab. we were walking through Washington Square in NYC (before driving out to Easton) and he stopped in front of the stone arch there. he pointed down at the giant stone blocks that were used to create the plaza floor, and said, "this is my issue with the term 'green.' 'green materials' do not include large chunks of stone like this because of the energy required to cut and ship them. and yet, if you build with these materials, you never have to rehab it again. there is no additional consumption to maintain it. this plaza has been here for 150 years and will be here for 150 more. so what exactly IS meant by GREEN?"
"green" generally is thought of to mean "sustainable," meaning something that does not pollute the environment, does not require constant consumption to maintain, and something that in fact REDUCES consumption. but it also gets used for just about anything focusing on environmental issues.
"green washing" is a new term being used to describe people tacking on the label "green" to anything that may have one green attribute, while still have many other attributes that are not sustainable, such as calling a building a "green building" because it uses occupancy sensors on the lighting and some recycled materials in the construction, but is still using fossil fuels to create all of its electricity and heat. Another example is a term like "clean coal."
so what i mean to say, is that you never know, when it comes to "green" things, unless you ask for specifics, which i'm glad this reporter did, but the answer still isn't very clear. i wonder if the determination is according to specific criteria, or if it is at the discretion of CACLV?
there are some CACLV folks that read the blog, so hopefully one of them will see your question and post with some details.
CACLV, if you're out there, please let us know!
"green" is the hot term right now so it was only a matter of time before green grants would be offered. I'm sure the 600 block was chosen because it's so dilapidated and new money for it could be a good thing if it isn't squandered trying to figure out what "green" is.
I wonder too about Jacob's and the Armory, and Northampton glass (great people at the glass place, but the appearance leaves a lot to be desired).
I'd like to give a mention to Dyke's Lumber, because they are a great business in the neighborhood who spent A LOT of money rehabbing the block of Walnut and and 6th. they also operate a real millwork shop across the street. they sell sustainable lumber and are a real asset to the neighborhood.
Jacob's, Zingales, ACJC's and N'hampton glass would do well to pay attention to what Dyke's has done.
Post a Comment