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Local & Regional Policy

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http://www.warren.kyschools.us/~gemsacademy/GEMS_ACADEMY/Sustainability_files/sustainability_venn.jpgSASCO is engaged in policy work at the local and regional levels, including monitoring and participating in major community policy initiatives such as:

CLEAN (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now) Campaign • Durango Bag It Campaign • La Plata Local Food Policy Council • Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP) • La Plata County Comprehensive Plan update • City of Durango Land Use and Development Code update 

We also seek to develop sustainability metrics, particularly with a view to having them included in the Region 9 biennial Community Indicators report.

Past activities have included: hosting the La Plata Sustainability Dialogue series, which aims to engage local policymakers and the wider community on issues such as sustainability policy, green jobs, local food, and the local economy.

For more information or to get involved, please contact us.

Support Steps Toward Zero Waste in Our Community!

Submitted by Erich Bussian on Sat, 12/17/2011 - 12:35pm
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Dear Friends,

Now is the time to get involved in the community movement towards Zero Waste. Durango Bag It is about more than just banning single-use plastic bags in the City of Durango, but about smarter resource use and resource consumption as well as a step towards zero waste in our community.

Bottom line, City Council pays attention to Letters to the Editor, and though I believe the majority of Councillors probably support the idea of Durango moving towards Zero Waste, there must still be visible support from the surrounding community that 'we' support it!

If you agree that this campaign can make a relevant difference towards a more sustainable Durango, please speak up and write a letter to the editor to both:

  • Durango Herald (http://www.durangoherald.com/section/Opinion/) and
  • The Durango Telegraph (http://www.durangotelegraph.com/contact/letters/)

Durango's Bag It Campaign - Bolstering Leadership in Durango

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Durango Bag It aims for a plastic bag-free City of Durango!

The Durango Bag It Campaign is pushing the City of Durango to consider banning single-use plastic bags. The bag ban is expected to go before the City Council for a vote sometime in early 2012. Our community and environment need your participation.

Sign our petition! We have over 1,000 signatures in support of such a ban, and we need to continue to grow this momentum.

Durango Bag It is thinking globally and acting locally.

We Need to Ensure 'Sustainability' in Our Long Term Planning

Submitted by Elsa Jagniecki on Fri, 11/11/2011 - 10:02am
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Planning Commission Halts Master Plan

The recent efforts of Common Sense La Plata and community members have paid off in halting the county's "Master Plan" from going forward.

Common Sense La Plata is a community group that formed in response to the recent gutting of the La Plata County Comprehensive Plan, which was reduced from a 346-page inclusive community-driven plan that incorporated a vision of community and sustainable development to a very limited and lacking 30-page "Master Plan."

The Comprehensive Plan was intended to be: "A policy document that describes what the county residents want the community to be in the future. It serves as the foundation for decisions about community services and land use." The process may start all over again to incorporate previous community input, strategic direction, and goals.

Support Sustainability in La Plata County

Submitted by Elsa Jagniecki on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 10:25am
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Help ensure sustainability in the La Plata County Comprehensive Plan

Help remind and continue to guide our Board of County Commissioners in planning for resiliency in La Plata County by maintaining the sustainability elements in our County's Comprehensive Plan.

Community members, county commissioners, and county planners have worked for three years, on a budget and with hundreds of volunteer hours, on making this plan inclusive, fair, and comprehensive. The result of all this work has crafted a well thought-out and tested long-term plan and roadmap for sustainability in our community. 

Help Our Community Go Beyond Bags

Submitted by Elsa Jagniecki on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 11:41am
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Imagine not witnessing plastic bags drift across parking lots or float down the river, not having to hoard and create little plastic bag mounds under your sink and feeling guilty (or not) using and collecting bag after plastic bag. It is possible not to have to see or do any of these drudgeries here in Durango.
 
Did you know that, on average, we all contribute 8.8 million bags to landfills each year? I wasn't aware of this obscene amount of waste until I read it in a Durango Telegraph article on local community member Zahra Lightway, who is spearheading a volunteer committee to steer Durango toward being a “Bag-free” community.
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