Sustainable McMillan

Comment by Larry Chang on November 22, 2009 at 9:45am

To build public awareness around McMillan Park, i am proposing a visual art competition for works inspired by the park, its history and significance, in any medium. In addition to category winners, selected entries would be published in a book to augment the scant documentary record of this unique place in the middle of our urban environment. Art, architectural, engineering, historical preservation and planning organizations will be invited to co-sponsor this with Our McMillan, the park's advocacy group.

Comment by Ecolocitizen on November 30, 2009 at 2:37pm

What sacrifices are you prepared to make for culture and civilization? Please list the monuments, shrines and works of art you would willingly destroy.
~ Wendell Berry, reading from his poem "Questionnaire" on the Diane Rehm Show, Monday November 30 2009.

Comment by Ecolocitizen on December 15, 2009 at 11:12am

Different cheeses have varying environmental impacts. Concerning the idea of grazing herbivores on the surface and making cheese in the catacombs, this article is instructive:

It turns out that cheese may do as much harm to the environment as some kinds of meat. Based on figures from Sweden, making a 1.5-ounce serving of cheese might be expected to produce about 16 ounces of carbon dioxide equivalent ... raising a milk-bearing animal generates a significant amount of greenhouse gases, thanks in large part to the methane those ruminants emit ... provenance is becoming more important in the cheese world, at least on the fancy end of the spectrum. And while artisanal cheeses aren't necessarily going to be greener than the mass-produced kind -- particularly given that small cheese plants tend to be less energy-efficient than large ones ... Generally speaking, sheep cheese is going to be worse for the planet than cow or goat varieties ... Cattle emit much more methane but make up for it with their increased milk yields. A sheep, however, might emit twice the methane of a cow or a goat per unit of milk produced ... Finally, the less processing a cheese undergoes, the easier it'll be on the planet. All things being equal, younger cheeses are more energy-efficient than older ones, because of the electricity required to keep cheeses at a cool, steady temperature as they age. (That's true in the United States, at least. In Europe, they make greater use of cool underground caves.)

That's where the McMillan caverns come in.
Full article ...

Comment by Ecolocitizen on January 1, 2010 at 10:53am

Of course, the greenest building strategy is to not construct a new building at all. And countless aging buildings, embodying enormous investments of energy and material resources, are worth saving and retrofitting. Preserving, modernizing and adaptively reusing existing structures will represent a growing share of all construction in this decade.
- Roger K. Lewis in "Shaping the City," Washington Post, Saturday, January 2, 2010

Roger K. Lewis is a practicing architect and a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland.

Comment by Larry Chang on February 28, 2010 at 8:34pm

Courtesy of Robin Buck and Wordle

title="Wordle: OurMcMillan_1"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/1720831/OurMcMillan_1"
alt="...

Comment by Ecolocitizen on March 31, 2010 at 2:02pm

Download SustainableMcMillan.pptSustainable McMillan Powerpoint presentation here.

Comment by Ecolocitizen on April 9, 2010 at 10:46pm

Watch DCTV piece on McMillan Park:

04/16/10 Fri 03:30 PM Channel 1
04/17/10 Sat 12:00 PM Channel 1
04/18/10 Sun 10:04 PM Channel 1
04/19/10 Mon 10:00 PM Channel 1
04/20/10 Tue 05:00 PM Channel 1
04/23/10 Fri 12:31 PM Channel 1
04/24/10 Sat 02:00 PM Channel 1
04/25/10 Sun 04:00 PM Channel 1
04/26/10 Mon 10:00 PM Channel 1
04/28/10 Wed 02:30 PM Channel 1
04/30/10 Fri 05:00 PM Channel 1
05/01/10 Sat 06:30 PM Channel 1
05/01/10 Sat 12:30 PM Channel 1

Thanks to producer Sharon Wise

Comment by Ecolocitizen on May 31, 2010 at 10:09pm

Sign and circulate our petition to save McMillan Park. Our goal is 10,000 signatures to send a message to Mayor Fenty and his administration.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Save-McMillan-Park

Comment by Larry Chang on January 8, 2012 at 1:58pm

With the demise of Harry Thomas, Jr., the Ward 5 Council seat is now vacant and John Salatti, currently ANC Commissioner and avid sustainable McMillan Park supporter, is throwing his hat in the ring. I have pledged my personal support and encourage you and everyone else you can persuade, to do so. This may give us some leverage to affect the balance of power as it affects one of the last remaining open spaces in the city.

Email salattiw5@gmail.com if you would like to join John's campaign or offer other support.

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