Using the information in their websites, evaluate and explain the goals and specific programs of Conservation Voters of South Carolina and Sustainable Midlands. For each organization explain which project you find most interesting and list one question that you would like to as the representative that we talk to.
*Review the specific programs of each organization. We will have a quiz before we depart.
*Review the specific programs of each organization. We will have a quiz before we depart.
The Conservation Voters of South Carolina is a non-partisan organization focused on advocating environmental issues and policies to South Carolina’s voters, elected officials, and political candidates. The organization is overseen by a 23 member Board of Directors which includes Republican, Democratic, and Independent members. The Conservation Voters also make endorsements in elections across South Carolina and they support their electoral goals through their very own Conservation Voters Political Action Committee (PAC for short). The project from the Conservation Voters which I find to be the most interesting is the biennial scorecard which they produce for elected officials in South Carolina based on their actions and votes on environmental and conservation issues, I think this is important because it provides voters who care about the environment with some guidance as to who shares their values in SC government and who does not. My question for the Conservation Voters representative is which SC elected official received the worst scorecard and which received the best scorecard?
ReplyDeleteSustainable Midlands is an organization which works to create sustainable communities in the Midlands region of South Carolina. Sustainable Midlands is a coalition of many smaller organizations supporting specific or niche sustainable initiatives across the region, the mission of Sustainable Midlands is to bring all of these organizations under one blanket group so that they can work in harmony to achieve the larger goal of a more sustainable region. The Sustainable Midlands project which I find to be the most interesting is the “Sustainable Schools” initiative which works in local schools and with local school systems to help make our schools more sustainable and to help educate students about sustainability and why it is important. My question for the Sustainable Midlands representative is what is the biggest single project or initiative that Sustainable Midlands has ever taken on and what is the status of that initiative?
Conservation Voters of South Carolina is an organization governed by a 23 member Board of Directors that focuses on making conservation and environmental issues among the top priorities of South Carolina’s elected leaders, political candidates, and voters. One of the key components of CVSC is that it is nonpartisan, including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. CVSC contains several programs that work towards the common goal of stressing environmental issues. One of these is the CVSC political action committee. The PAC allows individuals to get involved and support the CVSC without having to run for office or take major action. Another program of the CVSC is the Conservation Scorecard Program. This individually rates members of the SC House and Senate on their stance toward environmental issues. The CVSC then publishes a report allowing all people to see which candidates are actually pro-environment and pro-conservation. I find the scorecard program very interesting, as it is unconventional and allows the public to see the results. One question I have for the CVSC representative is: How do you ensure that the public is aware of findings such as the results of the scorecard program?
ReplyDeleteSustainable Midlands leads a coalition of organizations in the Midlands area that is dedicated to promoting the principles of sustainable communities. These organizations promote citizen participation along with the work of elected officials, planners, business leaders, and non-profit organizations to reach the goal of having a sustainable community. Sustainable Midlands leads many organizations and various programs. One of the programs that was interesting to me is the Sustainable Leaders Program. This brings together many business and organizational leaders in order to promote a sustainable environment. I find this interesting because it brings together people who normally would not communicate with each other for the purpose of sustainability. Many other programs are also headed by Sustainable Midlands. These include Clean Air Partners, Sustainable Schools, and many other programs dedicated to improving the environment. Sustainable Midlands also conducts various community seminars to create environmental awareness among the general public. One question I have for the Sustainable Midlands representative is: What are the challenges associated with bringing together many different groups in programs such as the Sustainable Leaders Program?
The goal of Conservation Voters of South Carolina is to make conservation and environmental issues a top priority among South Carolina's elected leaders, political candidates, and voters. Conservation Voters is the only nonpartisan, nonprofit statewide organization holding elected leaders directly accountable for a safe, clean and healthy South Carolina. The programs the run are Recycling Grows Jobs, Clean Energy Fuels New Investments, Natural Resources are Priceless, Water is Savings in the Bank, Transportation Moves Business, Conservation Voters Education Fund. The project I found most interesting is the Recycling Grows Jobs. I think it is interesting to hear about restaurants and their recycling habits and bills. Normally you discuss individual household recycling but with this project it mandates specific regulations for restaurants. One question I have for the representative is: Has there been any resistance by restaurants to follow these bills?
ReplyDeleteThe mission of Sustainable Midlands is to find the balance in the needs of the community, the economy and the environment through education, collaboration, and celebration. Sustainable Midlands is a coalition of many smaller organizations all working towards the same goals. The specific programs that make up Sustainable Midlands are Coastal Conservation League, Columbia Audubon Society, Congaree Land Trust, Conservation Voters of South Carolina, Friends of Congaree Swamp, Gills Creek Watershed Association, Keep the Midlands Beautiful, League of Women Voters of the Columbia Area, Palmetto Conservation Foundation, Palmetto Cycling Coalition, Richland County Conservation Commission, Sierra Club, South Carolina Chapter, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Sustainable Carolina. One program that interested me was Sustainable Schools. This is interesting because not only does it help educate students and teachers about the environment and how they can help but also they help schools run sustainably which helps save money and allows that to be focused to education related activities. Also, they are concerned about the health of the students and the campus as a whole which is unique from a volunteer project. One question I would ask is: which local school has the best success with your program locally?
Conservation Voters of SC are a group people that put the state’s environment first over anything. These are the type of people that feel obligated to bring various opportunities to the attention of political candidates in the state of South Carolina. What separates the Conservation Voters from the pack is that they are a complete nonpartisan, and nonprofit organization that does this for the sake of their own community. Not only is this organization geared to one side politically, the 23 member board includes Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. The article that stood out to me most was the dumping of New Jersey dirt in SC. This article caught my eye because I am a resident of New Jersey and wondered why we do such a thing to the state of South Carolina. Basically New Jersey sends 300 rail carts down to South Carolina at random times through out the year to dump various kinds of radioactive waste in place that should be set up to help their community instead of harming it. The question I would like to offer would have to be, since Conversation Voters of SC brought up this terrible dumping of waste, where would they like dispose this trash instead of dumping it off in a random state?
ReplyDeleteSustainable Midlands is all about balancing the needs of the ones who live in their very own community. Transportation planning, the use of natural recourses, local food production, and coming up with energy solutions are only a few examples of what Sustainable Midlands works with on a daily basis. Just like Conservation Voters, Sustainable Midlands likes to get elected officials and developers involved in what they are trying to change. The local food guide to the Midlands is the campaign I took the most interest too because of how much I enjoy the local farmers markets around the area. Their goal is to grow the local foods around the area and sell them to restaurants and markets to have our community eat healthier and have better choices. By having this be accomplished, it helps provide knowledge to where our food comes from and how safe it is to eat. The only question I would have to ask about this local food campaign is what can common college students do to help this program spread?
The main objective of the Conservation Voters of South Carolina is to make sure all voters, elected bureaucrats, and candidates alike see the importance in conservation and environmental issues. They continue to protect South Carolina from exploitation by holding elected leaders accountable for keeping SC a clean and healthy environment. They also strive to find leaders that will implement “green values” into the legislation here in the Palmetto state. Conservation Voters are able to connect officials directly to their values by tracking their votes on specific matters, and posting it on the websites “scorecard”. Conservation Voters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that truly wants to see South Carolina remain a sustainable and healthy place to live. I like that CVSC creates a relationship between the voters and the political leaders so that voters, like myself do not feel intimidated when addressing significant issues with their policy makers. There was an article called “More or Less Pollution?” on the website that supports this idea. They give you the issue (in a more-or-less biased way) and then mention that they need your help in passing the amendments in the upcoming vote in House. A question I have in this portion would be: How can you get more people involved with these kinds of programs, especially young people who want to get active? Sustainable Midlands is a coalition of about ten other, smaller organizations that all have a common goal to share: educate the public to ultimately conserve the state for a sustainable future. Sustainable Midlands provides a wide range of services, more like recommendations, that can help you become more sustainable than you thought you were ever capable of becoming. In addition to the services and missions of the coalition, there are also specific programs they have arranged to help resolve more specific and arising issues. One program I found quite interesting is the Local Food Guide to the Midlands. It wants to bond local farmers with local restaurants to help everyone in our local economy benefit. The idea of a foodshed really interests me because it makes the concept of grow local, buy local, eat local so much more defined. Foodsheds are basically places that connect common food and agricultural interests through commerce. A question I could ask the Sustainable Midlands rep: How can you emphasize these types of programs to more people? It’s such a great concept, and yet most of us have never heard anything about the options we have to stay active in Columbia’s issues.
ReplyDeleteBrittany I really like how you mention the scorecard concept from the conservation voters website. I thought that this was a very important aspect of the Conservation Voters, because it is an adequate record of how to choose candidates to endorse, as Debbie Parker told us on our tour. Additionally, I liked how on that section of the website, there are also facts on what the Conservation Voters as a whole have had an impact on passing state legislation. This is helpful to the citizens in order to see some major successes, such as the reformation of the Polluter Bill of 1972, as well as some of the failures, such as the failure to increase the Solar Tax Credit from 25% to 35%. The successes help illustrate the positive impacts of the
DeleteOrganization, and the failures in order to pinpoint additional need for continued citizen participantship and support for environmental legislation.
DeleteSouth Carolina Conservation Voters put the environment of the state first over everything else. They feel as if it is their duty to bring multitudes of chances to the attention of the political candidates. The programs that are run are Clean Energy Fuels New Investments, Recycling Grows Jobs, Water is Savings in the Bank, Natural Resources are Priceless, Conservation Voters Education Jobs, and Transportation Moves Business. The thing that catches most eyes is the fact that they are a complete nonpartisan, and nonprofit organization that does this for the sake of their own community. The project that drew my attention is the Recycling Grows Jobs, to hear about the habits and bills of restaurants and their recycling was really intriguing. With this project it commanded explicit regulations for restaurants. A question I would ask the representative is if there has been any fight back from the restaurants in regards to the bills?
ReplyDeleteThe objective of Sustainable Midlands is finding a balance of the needs of all the people in their community, the economy and the environment. They achieve this balancing act through education, collaboration, and celebration. It is a coalition of many smaller groups, such as; Columbia Audubon Society, Congaree Land Trust, Coastal Conservation League, Friends of Congaree Swamp, Conservation Voters of South Carolina, Gills Creek Watershed Association, League of Women Voters of the Columbia Area, Keep Midlands beautiful, Palmetto Cycling Coalition, Richland County Conservation Commission, Palmetto Conservation Foundation, Sierra Club, South Carolina Chapter, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, and Sustainable Carolina, that all work together towards the same common goal. A program that was interesting to me was the Sustainable Leaders Program that brings together numerous businesses and organizational leaders to promote an environment that is sustainable. This program brings people together that otherwise would never communicate with each other for the sole purpose of being sustainable. Other programs that happen to also be lead by Sustainable Midlands comprise of Sustainable Schools, Clean Air Partners, and many other programs dedicated to improving the environment. They, in company to, conduct a variety of community seminars to create environmental awareness among the common public. A question for a representative for Sustainable Midlands is; what are some of the challenges that you face that are linked with bringing together so many diverse groups in the program?
The Conservation Voters of South Carolina is an organization that has integrating conservation and environmental values into public policy as a top priority. It is committed to getting elected leaders and candidates, both local and state, to make decisions with the environment in mind, specifically those promoting conservation and encouraging “green” efforts. One of their practical inventions is called the Scorecard, upon which they track the progress of lawmakers. Some of the recent activity on the scorecard was the fight for the Pollution Control Act in efforts to extend the Conservation Bank for an additional 5 years. The Conservation Voters of South Carolina’s 2012 Common Agenda Issues include Clean Energy, Recycling, Transportation, Natural Resources, and Water. Considering clean energy, South Carolina has an extreme lack of natural gas, coal, and uranium deposits, so it is left with but one great option: energy independence in the renewable form. Efforts are being made to increase research on offshore wind and to update building codes. This is all done in an attempt to benefit the economy. The main point in the Recycling area is that of the Alcoholic Beverage Container Recycling Bill, which would have a cost comparable to that of sending these materials to a landfill. Transportation efforts focus on those of the state of South Carolina’s roads. Those who are appointed need to be responsible in what they choose to fix first. A reorganization of priorities is necessary with the funds received from taxpayers. The Natural Resources initiative shows that areas such as outdoor rec and forestry make up one third of the economy, yet the organizations supporting them receive only one percent of the budget. Finally, the water areas focuses on protecting wetlands and the safety of groundwater in SC. All of these initiatives are very important for those in (or soon to be) the political office to consider, and that’s why they are detailed as such. I think the most interesting one is the “Natural Resources are Priceless” initiative because it focuses on things the community already benefits from and seeks to improve them while also desiring to help the economy. I feel like any citizen will agree with its ideals, and it would be a great thing for a candidate to endorse and gain votes from supporting. I would like to ask the representative about the candidate endorsement process. Does CVSC seek out the candidates or are they expected to find CVSC, and what can a candidate do to make the environment an important concern of the voters?
ReplyDeleteSustainable Midlands is an organization that provides resources to help the community and economy balance bringing the environment into mind. Sustainable Midlands’ main goals are to move toward environmental sustainability through schools, lowering energy costs, keeping future governmental regulations in mind, and giving average citizens easy ways to cut down on negatively affecting the environment every day. The main proposals are in the areas of cleaner air, community seminars, the Green Congregation Initiative, and sustainable schools. They offer simple solutions like tutorials on composting, ways to cut down on air pollution in order to reduce asthma, and the environment in relation to religion. The project I found most interesting was the Sustainable Schools initiative because as an elementary education major, I believe it is very important to expose children to these ideas in order to build a foundation of concern for the environment. Implementing a deeper understanding of the problems we face today will set up children as future leaders for protection efforts in the future. My question for the representative is this: How does Sustainable Midlands plan on conveying this information to the students of Richland County? How will this information about the environment be given to middle schools students in a way that they may actually take action (what practical actions are they encouraged to take)?
Sustainable midlands works to balance the needs of people in our community. Such needs include transportation, food production, energy, and natural resources. They also seek to incude and influence elected officals and political candidates so that through their support, policies can be put into place and mantained. Something I found interesting was the Local Food Guide, because it shows you ways you can support our local community by buying local, and eating at local restuarants. By doing this, you can support the economy of the city in which we live.
ReplyDelete701 Center fot the Contemporary Arts is an art center that encourages "understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary art, the creative process and the role of art and artists in the community". I think this is important because it gives members of our community the opportunity to appreciate and enjoy our local art, as well as support our local artists. A program I found interesting was the Artists in Residence Program. This program allows artists to live in the building for up to a few months while they create their art, prior to showcasing and selling it. This is col because it gives struggling artists the opportunity to get on their feet economically while making art. I have a question for our representative on this program. Must the artist pay rent for the living space? Or do they take a portion of the artists profit? or neither?
The Conservation Voters of South Carolina seek to educate voters, political candidates, and elected officals about conservation and environmental issues so that they can become a top priority. This is important because it gives environmental activists and well and other voters, the information and support needed to effect and implement more "green" policies. Voters have the right to know what impact their vote will have on the environment. A program i likes on this website is the Green Tie Award Luncheon which honors public servants and conservation activists for their work in our community. I think this is awesome because it shows these people that their work is not going unnoticed and maybe it inspires others to take more environmental action so they too can be honored.
The Conservation Voters of South Carolina is an organization that tries to place environmental issues in the limelight amongst political leaders and policy makers. IT is unique from others because it is both nonpartisan and nonprofit. Run by a Board of Directors consisting of 23 members from all political parties, it donates to campaigns, educates voters and legislators, and makes endorsements. I found the Scorecard to be the most interesting facet of the organization. It keeps leader accountable for their votes by publishing their decisions on environmental issues online for the public to consider. It helps push through legisllation such as the Solar Tax Credit Bill through external pressures and funding. I found it impressive how thorough the organization is in researching applicants for endorsements. These endorsements propel the mission of protecting South Carolina and the global community.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know how the organization publicizes its scorecars? I would like to believe that it is a tool that many people would appreciate as long as they knew it was so readily available to them. How can we realistically strengthen our scorecard? Is there any other sort of lobbying besides the PAC funds?
How can PAC funds combat the often set in stone two party system?
Most of the wins on the Hotlist page centered around the same handful of congressmen. How common are their successes? How well- received are their many proposals initially? Do any of them work, plan to work, or once work on the national level?
Sustainable Midlands is a collaboration of many smaller environmental groups working together to create a more dominant and united front to embolden environmental movements. It combines the efforts of local food groups, flooding activists, political committees, and many other diverse groups that are all working towards a similar goal of a greener community. I really like this idea because it balances the economic, political, educational, and many other sides of the same issue. They sponsor many community outreach programs such as Sustainable Schools which helps give schools a framework for incorporating environmental consciousness and knowledge into the curriculum. I think programs like this are the key for sustainable improvement for the coming years. They do similar programs for businesses- small and large- to introduce these principles into daily corporate practice.
One of the arguments for adopting these suggestions was to avoid speculative carbon caps. How do people respond to an argument that many or may not be true in the future? How close are we to pushing carbon caps through legislation? How can more urban schools adopt policies that the pilot school did if they do not have the same spaces available?
The Conservation Voters of South Carolina is an organization that is striving to emphasize the importance of environmental issues among not only elected political leaders but also candidates and even the people. This organization is a non-profit and consists of a board of 23 members originating from Republican, Democratic, and Independent parties. The conservation voters are constantly working with elected government officials to better the environment in ways such as spreading awareness and promoting legislation which will protect our natural environment. My question to the Conservation Voters is what can we do in our community to help spread awareness?
ReplyDeleteSustainable Midlands is aiming to find some sort of balance in the necessities of the Midlands community along side the economy and the natural environment through education of the people within the community, working together towards bettering our environment, and appreciating our natural environment. They feel that if a balance can be found where the needs of t the people, the economy, and the planet can be met, then a successful future for the midlands is a definite possibility. In the eyes of Sustainable Midlands the most important goal is to educate and engage the citizens of the community to work towards a common goal, which is living in a more sustainable manor and in turn creating an environment beneficial not only to the people within the community but to the natural community itself. My question to Sustainable Midlands would be what is the best way to educate citizens in the community and how can we best engage them in the cause?
The Conservation voters of South Carolina’s main mission it to support green candidates. They believe that with green candidates in office, safe, clean, and healthy environments will be more of a priority and state government will be more accountable. They want to make a top priority among South Carolina’s leaders the conservation and environmental issues at hand. In order to do this, they make an effort to communicate with voters directly about the need to elect the best conservation candidate and have legislative sessions to educate leaders and the public. I thought it was interesting how recycling in SC can increase jobs and bring $52 million to the state annually. Recycling in restaurants and bars will not only reduce landfill, but will also provide more jobs and make us money.
ReplyDeleteThe Center for Contemporary Art’s main goal is to promote understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of art, creativity, and the role of art in its community. It also offers an artist-in-residence program, which gives the artist 6, 10, or 12 weeks to focus on creating art. The Center for Contemporary Art also has educational programs, workshops, lectures, open studios, panel discussions, tours, and presentations available to the public.
Sustainable Midlands brings together business and organization leaders to find the balance between community, economic, and environmental needs through education, collaboration, and celebration. They believe that this method will bring ultimate long-term success. Subcategories of their focus include transportation, education local food, alternative energy resources, and green neighborhood design. In order to promote their goal and make it a reality, Sustainable Midlands hold community seminars and events and meets with sustainable leaders about environmental issues in the local area. I found the Sustainable Schools Program most forward thinking because this initiative truly starts from the bottom up by educating students on todays’ environmental challenges and ways in which they can make a difference. I think it’s great how they’re growing gardens and composting to increase an appreciation of the outdoors and promote an active and healthy lifestyle. When I was a senior in High School, my Senior Project was to grow an organic garden behind my school and involve the 4th grade throughout the whole process. It was fun and great to be able to make a difference in something I believed in.
A question I have for our representative is how can we get more bikes on the roads and make it safer for bikers in general?
The Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC), per their mission statement, aim to make conservation and environmental issues a top priority among South Carolina’s political candidates, elected officials, and voters. Led by Executive Director Ann Timberlake, CVSC hosts and maintains numerous sustainable initiatives and events throughout the Midlands.
ReplyDeleteThis non-profit and bipartisan organization additionally supports an acknowledgement and adoption of realistic renewable energy goals and cost recovery programs to effectively implement them. The Conversation Voters cite that “Promoting energy efficiency policies would save customers billions of dollars while creating 22,000 new jobs by 2025”.
The CVSC has an initiative to increase the solar tax credit from 25% to 35% in order to maintain in competition with surrounding states and augment incentive for solar panel installation. They are enthusiastic supporters of the ABC recycling bill, which advocates for promoting recycling in tourist areas and restaurants to reduce the waste sent to landfills, reduce long-term costs of waste disposal, and instead help create positive economic impact.
Of all of the information on the Conservation Voters website and in their 2012 focus brochure, I found this project to one of the most interesting because of the specific target of improving economic revenue. I appreciate the attempt to tie both environmental conservation and economic progress at the same time, whereas in the past politicians have often seen these issues as separate needs for funding.
The organization encourages the upholding of the Pollution Control Act of 1972, stating that “We must be good stewards of our natural Carolina Bays, groundwater and wetlands because they protect water quality and wildlife habitat, and provide flood control, filtration and storage”. This is a prime example of a dual impact from an environmental conservation, as the protection and conservation the groundwater, Bays, and wetlands of South Carolina will consequently aid in water quality, natural habitat and natural flood control.
Sustainable Midlands is an organization that seeks to help collaboratively encourage sustainable living through a vehicle of partnerships and educational learning between businesses, communities, and governments. Some of their target areas include: Neighborhood design principles of “New Urbanism”, transportation planning, education and engagement of citizens, smart use of natural resources, local food systems and alternative energy solutions. Example initiatives include the Sustainable Leaders Program, which fosters collaboration between businesses and communities that want to build a healthy community and vibrant economy.
The Sustainable Midlands initiative that I find the most intriguing is the Sustainable Schools Program. Sustainable Midlands “Sustainable Schools” program “provides school districts with a framework to develop a sustainability action plan that ensures responsible use of energy, water and other resources”. The Sustainable Schools Resource Guide and Integrated Curriculum aims to provide educators an innovative and effective strategy to meet the SC State Standards. Here, the goals for a sustainable community are partnered with an overall increase in test scores and student engagement. I think that this is an extremely ingenious idea for tying sustainable practices with education, because then not only are foods produced at the school able to off-set costs for food consumption, but the schoolyard gardens provide a chance for outdoor recreation and life learning for the children.
My question for the Conservation voters of South Carolina is, how can I have a voice in the Carolina’s in terms of political policy when my home residence is in NY State?
For Sustainable Midlands, what has been the almost challenging obstacle for your organization to overcome for the Sustainable Schools program?