Green Albany Project Officially Launched on Earth Day
Courtesy of the Albany (CA) Chamber of Commerce
April 22, 2005

Photo from left to right: Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson; Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, 14th District; Pam Evans, Alameda County Green Business Program; James Carter, executive director, Albany Chamber of Commerce; at the podium, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, 9th District.

ALBANY - A new project designed to transform an entire business district into the greenest city in the nation was lauded by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, and others during a press conference on Earth Day, April 22nd.

"The Green Albany Project is a visionary plan, the first of its kind," Lee said during remarks made at the Albany Community Center. "I sincerely hope, I actually believe it will be a model for the entire country."

The Green Albany Project is a joint effort of the Albany Chamber of Commerce and the City of Albany, one designed to increase recycling -- including food scraps, which will be composted, and reduce the use of electricity, gas, water, and other resources among Albany's small businesses community. "We all have a responsibility to take care of the environment," said James Carter, executive director of the Albany Chamber of Commerce. "Sometimes we do things because they are the right thing to do, other times out of necessity. In Albany, our small businesses are being hit hard by recession and competition from big box malls. Small businesses operate on a thin margin. Green business practices, on the other hand, save money. So we are doing the right thing and we are, in part, doing it out of necessity."

Hancock said she was proud that once again a community in the 14th Assembly District was leading the way for the entire state, in this case a Chamber of Commerce playing a major role in the environmental movement. "It's wonderful that the 14th Assembly District and 9th Congressional District -- it's wonderful that once again our districts are leading the state of California. This is what every city must do, every business, every family, and every individual if we want to save the planet."

Other speakers at the event included Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Pam Evans from the Alameda County Green Business Program, Mari Soll from StopWaste.Org, Albany City Council members Farid Javendal and Robert Lieber, Nicole Narver from the City of Albany, and Chamber of Commerce board member David Arkin -- an environmental architect. Also at the press conference were representatives from Smart Lights, a Berkeley-based agency offering programs to small businesses to reduce electrical usage through high tech light bulbs, EBMUD, which had a display table loaded with gizmos and gadgets that save water, most of them offered to small businesses for free, AC Transit and Waste Management.

The Green Albany Project will be partnering with all these agencies to provide what Carter called "one-stop shopping for small businesses that want to become green."

"Green business practices just make sense," Lee concluded. "They make sense for the environment and they make economic sense. I am proud to be back home to celebrate Earth Day and to praise local officials, the City of Albany, and the Chamber of Commerce for playing such a positive role in the environmental movement."