Thursday, November 03, 2005

New Orleans Residents Want to 'Rebuild Green'

Treehugger points us to Rebuild Green, a young organization/movement in hurricane-devastated New Orleans that's working "to ensure that social justice and environmental sustainability take a prominent place on the rebuilding agenda."
The disaster that has struck New Orleans should be turned into an opportunity to REBUILD GREEN. By focusing on green building technology, renewable energy, mass transit systems, and green community development that empowers local people to take control of their local resources, the rebuilding of New Orleans can take our city from being a symbol of disaster to being a prototype sustainable city of the future.

REBUILD GREEN is an effort that has sprung up from the ashes of this once vibrant and beautiful city. We have community support and talented activists on the ground who are committed to this historic task, but we need your help.

Right now we are running health clinics, a food distribution center, clean up teams, and a radio station. We want to start a transportation service, tent cities to temporarily lodge people who are returning, and construction co-ops. We want to promote solar energy, green building techniques, and urban gardens.
For a new grassroots organization, Rebuild Green has not only set a very ambitious agenda, but has already demonstrated an impressive ability to organize needed services. While New Orleans will never be a blank slate (too much history and culture for that), there is an opportunity here to rethink the city as a "built environment" and look at possibilities for making that environment more sustainable. I wish Rebuild Green luck...

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