OK, so it’s not actually The Office (that beloved TV show) but your office that soon may be getting a bit greener–especially if you work in Arlington, Virginia.

The county has been selected as one of four local U.S. governments (including Charleston, SC; Nashville, TN; and San Diego, CA) to receive assistance in creating a Green Office Challenge program.

The innovative initiative, to launch locally in fall 2010, will engage property managers and office tenants in a friendly competition to save money, reduce energy, water usage and waste; and reach other environmental goals. Offices with the biggest savings over the course of one year will be recognized for their achievements.

The Challenge started last year in Chicago and is sponsored by the ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, a membership association of more than 600 local governments in the U.S. and 1,100 worldwide committed to advancing climate protection and sustainability.

With nearly 44 million square feet—more private office space than downtown Los Angeles, Denver or Dallas—Arlington County could reap significant energy and cost savings. Hailed in the DC metro area for its eco-efforts, Arlington will now have a chance to make its mark on the national map.

Complementing Arlington County’s existing programs to reduce energy use and carbon emissions, including the Fresh AIRE (Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions) Program, the Challenge has already been backed by Arlington businesses, and will be implemented with support from key community partners, including the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Arlington Economic Development.

To learn more about the Green Office Challenge, visit  ICLEI USA .

TMDL. No, it’s not some newfangled programming code, but an acronym you’re likely to be hearing quite often nonetheless in the days–and years–to come. Tonight, you’ll have a chance to learn what one local jurisdiction, Fairfax County, is doing to help establish its part of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Chesapeake Bay. 

The County will hold a public meeting to address its role in development of the complex EPA initiative, which would set restrictions on nutrient and sediment pollution throughout a 64,000-square-mile watershed that includes six states and the District. A regulatory tool of the federal Clean Water Act, the Chesapeake Bay TMDL will be backed by a series of accountability measures to ensure compliance.

In a letter to the Water Protection Division, EPA Region III, the chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Sharon Bulova, offers the board’s input for development of the TMDL. Stating that Fairfax County is the most populated local jurisdiction in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with “…a long history of progressive environmental management,” she notes, “…we are following with great interest recent developments at the federal level to increase the pace of efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay.”

As cited in Bulova’s letter, the Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Executive Order (signed by President Obama in May 2009) is helping create a new era of federal leadership in restoring the Bay. Both Senate and House legislation being considered could help set standards for stormwater management to facilitate consistency across state and local lines. 

Noting how “Improvements can and should be made in how urban and suburban stormwater is managed,” Bulova includes a caveat that “Goals should be realistic and attainable, focusing on parameters reasonably within the control of local governments and organizations to influence.” 

To learn more about the “ABC’s” of the TMDL, read the full letter and/or attend the public meeting tonight, Monday, Dec. 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Falls Church High School’s Little Theater, 7521 Jaguar Trail, Falls Church, Virginia.

Its tough to go over the river and through the woods when the river is polluted or the woods have been mowed down. Its important to make wise decisions about traveling so the images of snowy winters, thick forests, and clear frozen lakes will still be reality for our children.

If you’re taking your brood for a holiday trip to visit family this season, take a couple seconds to make sure it will be a greener visit. Just follow the advice below…

1. Before you leave home, turn down the temperature on your hot water heater and turn down the thermostat at your house. Don’t forget to stop delivery of your newspaper and make sure to unplug everything so you don’t get charged for the phantom energy users like coffee makers and alarm clocks.
2. Try flying British Airways or Southwest Airlines. Both companies emphasize recycling and reduced waste. If you can’t fly on these, check to see if your airline is incorporating green policies into its coporate values. If they aren’t, email them and ask why.
3. Large hotel chains are beginning to realize the cost savings associated with green policies. Mariott has a website outlining their environmental policy HERE
4. Turn off the lights and heater when you leave your hotel room. Take shorter showers to conserve hot water. Also, make sure the shades are drawn. This way you are conserving electricity and keeping out the cold weather.
5. If you fly-in, rather than renting a car, try relying on the hotel van or public transportation. If you are driving, make sure your tires are full, your oil filter is replaced, and your car is running as efficiently as possible.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User scottog

Today, the Washington Post officially launched their climate & energy blog, Post Carbon. The blog is designed to give readers up-to-the-minute information on key international climate and energy issues – from Copenhagen talks to American energy legislation.

For the next few weeks, most of Post Carbon’s content will focus on Copenhagen, as one of its authors is currently at the conference. Post contributors Juliet Eilperin and Steve Mufson are the blog’s writers.

If you want to check-out the Post’s new climate blog, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/climate.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User oxfam international

Today, President Obama, and a diverse group of guests that included Santa Claus, lit the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse of the National Mall.

Ordinarily, a giant Christmas tree like this one is cut and transported from its original home to its new home where it stands until after the holidays when it is recycled for mulch, paper, etc. This is true of the Congressional Christmas Tree and the tree in Rockefeller Center.

The National Christmas Tree is different. This majestic Colorado Blue Spruce was actually planted on the Ellipse in 1978, where it lives year-round and is decorated for the holidays. In doing this, the National Park Service is conserving both trees and energy.

The National Christmas Tree is made even more eco-friendly with the addition of energy efficient light bulbs that reduced its energy consumption by 55%.

To learn more about the National Christmas Tree, view upcoming events at the Tree or view each states’ ornament click HERE.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User Ryan Orr

Everyone knows the responsibility of decorating the White House for the holidays falls on the First Lady. For her first year in the role, Michelle Obama is bringing a green flair to her duties by integrating lots of eco-friendly choices into the traditional festivities.

Today, Mrs. Obama unveiled the official White House holiday decorations to the public. The 800 glass ornaments that will decorate the 18 foot Douglas Fur Christmas tree in the Blue Room are recycled from previous administrations. Rather than buy new ornaments, the White House sent these older ones to communities around the U.S. and instructed residents to give them new life with images of local landmarks.

In addition to recycling ornaments, Mrs. Obama has asked that energy-saving LED lights be used around the White House.

The famous gingerbread White House will include a replica of the First Lady’s organic garden and all desserts created by the White House culinary team will be made using honey from the official White House beehives.

The First Family is expecting 50,000 visitors to tour the White House during the holiday season. If you are one of the lucky few, enjoy the replica of the Obamas’ dog Bo, standing guard on the gingerbread White House lawn.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User rexhammock

Like me, if you live in the city, you might not own a car. To make a road trip during the holidays, you’d have to rent something. This got me thinking about how I could reduce my carbon footprint, and my travel costs, significantly by renting a hybrid.

It isn’t as easy as you might think to rent a hybrid. Even though the technology has been around for years and many vehicles now integrate it into their engines, very few rental companies make it as intuitive to rent a hybrid as it is to rent an SUV, convertible or economy car.

Here is a quick breakdown of the best route to rent a hybrid:

• From THIS site you can view the Hertz “Green Collection” and select a fuel efficient car to rent. Unfortunately, you will find that availability is limited and it take several steps on the site just to find out whether a hybrid is available at your nearest location on a specific day.
• Orbitz has a reservation system specifically for booking hybrid vehicles in particular locations. You can find it HERE. I looked up a hybrid for different dates and locations but none were available, so I’m not sure how well the system really works.
• I never knew this, but Toyota offers rental car service at several of their dealerships. You can view the available locations and vehicles on the website by clicking HERE. Unfortunately, you must submit a rental request and wait to be notified about availability and prices.
• Renting a hybrid from National, Budget and Enterprise is still an unnecessarily complicated process. The best thing to do is to call their sales lines and ask about the best location to rent one of their hybrids. For National (800-328-4567), Budget (800-527-0700) and Enterprise (800-261-7331).

So there you go. It might be a little complicated to get a hybrid, but the impact to your wallet, and the Earth, will be worth it.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User kenjonbro

The Federal government’s “Cash 4 Clunkers” campaign was a big hit with Americans looking to dump old fuel hogs in exchange for efficient new cars. Congress has debated extending the trade-in program to apply to appliances as well. This would mean anyone suffering with high utility bills because of old refrigerators could afford to replace them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the appliance version of “Cash 4 Clunkers” is moving forward through Congress very quickly.

Thankfully, the DC government is here to save the day for owners of inefficient appliances by offering rebates for Energy Star refrigerators, washers, heat pumps and dishwashers. Starting in April, DC will distribute claim forms for new appliance purchasers that will provide specific instructions and appliance requirements. You can be on the list to receive information on these rebates by going to the District Department of the Environment’s website and providing your email address.

The US Department of Energy estimates that appliances account for 17% of the average home’s energy bill. Imagine how much you could save over several years with more efficient appliances. This is definitely worth checking out.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User edcrowle

Don’t let the tiny town of Edmonston, Maryland fool you. Despite its size, P.G. County’s minute municipality is on the cutting edge of environmental awareness – as evidenced by the groundbreaking of its new “green street” last week.

The $1.1 million Recovery Act project (issued through the EPA) will fund the reconstruction of Decatur Street, saving energy, reducing water pollution to the adjacent Anacostia River and Chesapeake Bay, and improving local air quality.

The project came about as the town’s main thoroughfare started approaching its “expiration date.” Edmonston’s Mayor Adam Ortiz, the city Council and residents began exploring alternates to just repaving or resurfacing the road – which had experienced years of devastating floods from the Anacostia due to poor environmental practices.

Plans for the green street include planting dozens of native trees, installing rain gardens and porous paving to filter rainwater and reduce flooding, building bike lanes, improving pedestrian safety, and using energy-saving, wind-powered street lights. The mile-long street will include an educational “walking tour” for residents and visitors that explains each of its eco-friendly features. Ortiz said the project will make Decatur Street the greenest in Maryland and possibly even the East Coast.

As he explained at the groundbreaking, “It may be unusual for a small, working class, majority-minority community like ours to build a sustainable street like this…Our main objective is that other towns and cities will ‘steal’ these ideas and replicate and improve on them.” The town will make its engineering plans and design concepts available online.

The “competition” to be green could be heating up, however, as a Southern Maryland developer draws up plans to create the greenest town in the state. As noted in today’s Washington Post article, the plans (for starters) include revamping an aging planned community in Waldorf with up to 11,000 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified homes and apartments.

While the Edmonston project is state-funded and the other isn’t, the real difference is the buy-in (literally and figuratively) from each community’s citizens. The former has it, and the latter doesn’t – at least not yet.

In any case, these two towns are certain to boost Maryland’s spot on the nation’s green map. We can only hope that other small towns – and large ones alike – follow in their footsteps.

Seeking to support local farmers but not sure how — especially now that many of the outdoor farmers’ markets are closed for the season? Well, you could start from the comfort of your living room, by visiting NationalCapitalFarms.org. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (MWCOG) Regional Agricultural Workgroup recently launched the site to promote and protect local agriculture in the metro DC area.

With partners that include local governments, farmers, farmers markets and other nongovernmental organizations, the Workgroup seeks to establish and maintain a National Capital Farms (NCF) network to address issues of regional coordination and advocacy. It also functions as a forum for sharing agricultural info among members, the farm community, elected officials and citizens.

Did you know that in the U.S., the average grocery store’s produce travels nearly 1,500 miles before reaching the consumer? And that about 40 percent of our fruit is produced overseas? Those are just a few of the facts available on NationalCapitalFarms.org

Linking consumers with producers and vendors, the site features an interactive regional map of network partners that helps consumers connect to producers and programs in their area. (Note: As the District doesn’t have any official NCF network partners (at least yet) and thus shows nothing when you click on the map, you can search for DC farmers markets and other services on the site’s home page).

You’ll also find an agricultural forum and classifieds for in-season produce, a calendar of events, lists of locally-sourced restaurants, educational programs and links to other local and national sustainable food- and farm-related sites.

In addition to supporting local farmers and helping maintain the local economy, the advantages of buying local include substantially reducing the distance food travels from farm to table — and the resulting CO2 emissions, knowing where your food comes from (and often, the ability to visit the farm itself — versus one that’s either out of the state or the country), protecting and sustaining the region’s remaining rural landscape, and offering citizens a chance to connect (as they did long ago) with the land as well as each other.

The fact is that many of us have gotten away from our roots thanks to our ultra-busy lives, hurriedly rushing in and out of supermarkets without really thinking about the origins of our food or who produced it. The National Capital Farms Network can teach us all to slow down a bit and enjoy the bounty that’s right here in our backyard. You just might need to turn off (OK, set down) that Blackberry for a bit though, and taste a real, local one.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User bornOKthefirsttime