34 Cool Cities

It's not just Rocky Mount joining the Cool Cities party this week.

Snow Hill and Davidson bring the total in North Carolina to 34.

We're particularly pleased with the leadership of Snow Hill and Rocky Mount because it's a sign the program is picking up steam in eastern North Carolina. We now have five Cool Cities in the region, as these two join Greenville, Oak City, and Surf City. We have three more coastal cities seriously considering it right now too! Thank you to Mayor Don Davis and the town of Snow Hill for its leadership.

Davidson becomes the first Cool City in Mecklenburg County. We hope it will pave the way for other successes in the county. There has been a great flourish of activity recently in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg region with Indian Trail, Concord, Cherryville, Lincolnton, and now Davidson signing on. Thank you to Mayor Stultz in Gastonia and Mayor Kluttz in Salisbury for leading the way in their region.

Will we have 40 Cool Cities in North Carolina by the end of 2007? Stay tuned to find out!

Rocky Mount gets Cool

On Monday night the city of Rocky Mount signed onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement! With Rocky Mount's signing we now have Cool Cities within the boundaries of 12 out of 13 of our local groups across North Carolina. Congratulations to Marghi Sowerwine and the Medoc Group. And we know you can do it South Mountains!

The agreement was signed by Mayor Frederick Turnage, who is about to leave office after 34 years as Mayor! Turnage said there was nothing he'd rather do before retiring than see Rocky Mount become a Cool City.

The Rocky Mount Telegram had a great story about Rocky Mount becoming a Cool City and its green efforts over the weekend. Check it out here.

Sierra Club Endorsed Candidates Enjoy Victory, Celebrate Light Rail Win in Charlotte

Sierra Club endorsees enjoyed victories in every corner of the state last Tuesday. Strong environmental candidates were returned in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Carrboro, Charlotte, Wilmington and Asheville. Yvonne Johnson’s election as mayor of Greensboro and newcomer Lydia Lavelle’s victory as highest vote getter in the Carrboro election were exciting.

But perhaps the most solid proof that investing in our families and our future was important to voters this election came with the defeat of the transit tax repeal on the ballot in Charlotte.

Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, congratulates Charlotte Sierra Club volunteers and organizer Chatham Olive for their fine efforts in his column in the Huffington Post:

And in Charlotte, North Carolina, voters overwhelmingly rejected an attempt by
far right-wing elements and the John Locke Foundation to derail the city's newly
built light rail system, the first leg of which is scheduled to open before Christmas. Organizer Chatham Olive led the local Sierra Group in opposing repeal of the half-cent sales tax which supports public transit in Charlotte. The opposition sought to repeal the tax in order to cripple the system and encourage more auto-based sprawl. Of the 24 percent of citizens who turned out, 70 percent voted to maintain the tax, which brings in 70 million dollars a year.

Vote Today: Asheville, Wilmington, Greensboro, Charlotte, Hillsborough, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill Sierra Club endorsements

In Chapel Hill: Kevin Foy for Mayor, Sally Greene, Cam Hill, Bill Strom, and Jim Ward for Town Council.

In Carrboro: Mark Chilton for Mayor, Joal Broun, Dan Coleman, and Lydia Lavelle for Alderman.

In Hillsborough: Eric Hallman, Evelyn Lloyd, and Bryant Warren Jr. for Commissioner.

In Wilmington: Pat Delair for City Council

in Greensboro: Yvonne Johnson for Mayor, Sandy Carmany for City Council.

In Asheville: Brownie Newman, Bryan Freeborn, and Elaine Lite for City Council.

In Charlotte: Susan Burgess, Jack Flynn, and Anthony Foxx for City Council.

Wake Forest Cool Cities Event Wrap

We had a great event Tuesday to honor Wake Forest as a Cool City. Students Leah Colbath, Savanna Harris, and Danielle Butler from East Millbrook Magnet Middle School did an outstanding job with a poem, display board, and speech about how it's so important for their generation to do something about global warming.

Thank you again to teacher April Grybosky and her students for their help in convincing to make Wake Forest a Cool City.

You can see tv coverage of the event from NBC 17 and News 14 here. Thanks to the stations for coming out.

What is Wake Forest doing to be cool? They're building a new LEED certified Town Hall, which will be one of the first in the state, and they've also taken a number of steps to increase the fuel efficiency of their vehicle fleet.

Thank you to Mayor Vivian Jones and the town of Wake Forest for its leadership.