SierraScape August - September 2009
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by Becky Denney
Cool Cities Mobilizer

In June, 2008 some of us were invited to a meeting with a representative of ICLEI, environmental leaders, and a number of other St. Louis leaders interested in the St. Louis region becoming more sustainable. The meeting was called together by a committee who had taken up the name and website of Sustainable St. Louis. Henry Robertson was involved in early meetings and that early effort as early as Fall of 2007. The idea of bringing together the whole region was first mentioned to the public at our Climate Action Summit given March 8, 2008 at the Ethical Society.

The basic tool that is being developed by ICLEI and the steering committee is called the STAR Community Index which is a consensus-based framework that can be used to "gauge the sustainability and livability of U.S. communities" and is slated to be introduced in 2010. Such a sustainable effort is meant to integrate and plan for long-term environmental, social, and economic actions so this encompasses a more holistic approach than the ICLEI climate mitigation program that drives our Cool Cities campaign. The underlying steps are the same. Cities and counties still need to complete greenhouse gas emission inventories and still need to write a plan with actions to lower their total community energy use. For more on either the ICLEI Climate mitigation program or the Sustainability program check here: www.icleiusa.org/programs/.

Incidently, if you dig into the STAR info on the ICLEI website you will find that Kansas City, St. Louis, and the Sierra Club are all on the steering committee for the STAR Community Index.

The excitement today is that I received my first e-newsletter from Sustainable St. Louis! And, it does a great job of telling me about Green events in St. Louis that I want to attend. And, the website is active: sustainstl.org/.

I am hopeful that it will make it easier for all of us in the St. Louis region to fight Climate Change!