Yes. I know you have a urgency of time, and I want you to go get that federal money for our school system.
But I could not help but say that the High School of the Future was LEED certified, which is the national designation, and one of the first high schools to receive that. I have Saul, which has always been a agricultural and pretty green school, Lankenau and Wissahickon, which testified today, all of which are in the 4th Councilmatic District, and I appreciate it. A couple of things. When you had your conference on environment, were representatives of the City and the Commerce Department and PWDC there? 185 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266
Yes, they were. As I mentioned, for our leadership round table, Deputy Mayor Andrew Altman was one of our speakers.
One of our ongoing partners is the Water Department. We also have a very strong partnership with the Streets Department around a recycling initiative. So the City government has been very supportive of our efforts, and EPA is one of our funders. We've also received support and cooperation from the department -- the State Department of Natural Resources, Michael DeBerardinaris is secretary, and also from the State Department of Environmental Protection. So there's been good coordination with those various agencies.
The next question is: As you start to revamp 186 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 your strategy with your new superintendent, are there going to be more charter schools and/or public high schools designated for these type of votech-skill development? And are they going to be working with the private sector to create mentorships and actual job experience for those kinds of cottage industries?
Yes. I would say that we're going to be expanding on the career -- what we call "votech" is now "career and technical education." But expanding on those models that are in place, we have some successful models with Philadelphia Academies, for example, is one of our partners. A meeting with Secretary Laurie Shore in a couple of weeks to talk about working with the Administration, what we're calling a "pathways initiative," how we can -- from the School District, the City 187 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 administration, along with organizations like the Chamber, expand on a number of things that are in place. And one of the goals is to better identify the sectors where jobs truly will be growing in this region and make sure we have a pipeline back into our schools to prepare young people for those jobs either immediately after high school or after going on for some advanced education.
We're going to try to expand on some of the programs that are in existence.
I would urge you to consider City Council as a potential partner. As we start to consider green-zone legislation. We want to be cutting edge but also relevant to your curriculum design, so that's one area. The other strategic partner I 188 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 would recommend is the Commissioner of Public Property. During the testimony for their budget, we started to talk about greening of the Philadelphia operation and its respective properties, which is a massive capital undertaking. We looked at even this chamber, which has over 500 different light bulbs. And if you'll just look up, they're not energy-conservation light bulbs, and we're starting to revamp the whole Public Property to start to consider these things, from everything from light bulbs to boilers and electrical systems. So there may be some opportunities within City government proper to take advantage of the curriculum design and also mentorship.
Thank you. That's an excellent suggestion. And as we spoke to in our hearings before Council on the School 189 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 District's budget, we talked about this task force that would be coming up, Shared Service Task Force, between the District and the City, and that's another area and, I think, mechanism that we can use to explore that. But thank you, that's a great suggestion.
Finally, I would ask that you keep this body informed of goals and recommendations that you would hope to see from the City departments that you mentioned -- Commerce, Street, and Water -- so that we can work with you in helping those departments move towards the goals you've stipulated.
Do you 190 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 have written copies of your testimony?
Okay please state your name for the record and welcome to City Council.
Thank you. My name's Christine Knapp, and I'm the Eastern Pennsylvania Outreach Coordinator for PennFuture. I'd like to thank Council, especially Councilwoman Reynolds-Brown, for your support and leadership on issues pertaining to stainability in the environment and in particular for your support, Councilwoman Reynolds-Brown, for House Bill 2200 and Special Session of House Bill 1, which are both pending in the State Senate and both of which 191 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 would create thousands of new green-collar jobs here in the State of Pennsylvania. I believe you have proposed legislation -- or a resolution 6 --
-- in support of that legislation, and I thank you for that support, and I would urge other members of Council to support it. The fact that these hearings are being held today is a great step forward in starting a dialogue about how Philadelphia can position itself to be a leader and to capitalize on the very exciting and inspiring emerging green economy. While green-collar jobs have been defined earlier today as blue- collar jobs within organizations whose practices and products promote a healthy environment, the green economy is much broader. 192 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 The move towards stainability and especially the climate-change challenge is creating a whole new industry of jobs and new responsibilities within existing jobs. While green-collar jobs are replacing manufacturing jobs and others lost overseas, the green economy is creating entire new business models that never existed before and is also altering existing businesses to make them more competitive. Philly Car Share and Recycle Bank are examples of two Philadelphia-based companies with what would be considered more of a white-collar employee base but whose businesses have provided a new economic boost to the City while also promoting environmentally-sound practices and policies. Gamesso (sp?), one of the largest wind companies in the world, have their corporate North American 193 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 headquarters here in Philadelphia, and while they also employ green-collar workers at their plant in Bucks County, they have many white-collar workers here in Philadelphia that helps promote our green economy. Gamesso's location in Pennsylvania was no accident. Their choice to locate here was greatly impacted by the passage of the alternative energy portfolio standard by the State several years ago. This legislation required the production and use of renewable energy, thus creating a demand for alternative energy companies to locate here. This is a perfect example of how smart, thoughtful legislation can help the green economy in the State and in the City. I am working, as Leanne from the Sustainable Business Network mentioned earlier, with that group's -- with the groups that are 194 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 coming together to take a look at policy. And on behalf of the policy committee, I wanted to share with you some of the work that we've been doing thus far. We are looking at best practices in other cities to explore what type of legislative policy would help best Philadelphia grow and develop green-collar jobs here in the city. We see in other cities that there has been success on several key fronts. First, to help create a market for green products and services, the City can change its procurement policies. For example, in Chicago, they set not only a standard for purchasing renewable energy, but they also require that any solar panels purchased by the city had to be manufactured within the city.
Our policies are 195 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 going to be continuing to looking at practices like that, and we'll be happy to share that type of research with you as we continue. Secondly, the concept of a green enterprise zone, which was mentioned earlier, has also been successful in other cities, and much the same way that a Keystone Opportunity Zone helps to attract businesses to certain parts of our city that need that kind of help, a green enterprise zone would incentivize development of green businesses and the hiring of green-collar job workers. Lastly, as Council knows, the creation of Green Job Corps is essential as well. Without trained, qualified workers, green businesses that choose to locate in Philadelphia will not succeed. Green-collar jobs do not require college or even a high school education, but there are basic 196 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 life skills and job skills that must be learned. Once trained, these workers will have the opportunity to get family-supporting jobs with benefits and opportunities for advancement. This training will literally create what Van Jones calls "the green pathways out of poverty." I'm so grateful to Council for holding this hearing and for taking the time carefully consider how we can best work together to grow our green economy. We hope to continue this dialogue with you through meetings and by sharing the research that we are collecting throughout the years. Thanks very much.
Mm-hmm. Thank you. We will hear from the others and then we'll open it up to questions. Please, Julie Wicks.
My name is Judy Wicks. I'm the owner of the White Dog Cafe in West Philadelphia, a 25-year-old restaurant that employs over 100 people. I'm also a founder of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and serve on the employer committee of the Green Job Corps project. Green businesses are those which produce a product or service beneficial to their communities and natural environment while also striving to use green business practices, which work in harmony with natural systems. The White Dog Cafe is a green business because we buy from local farmers who use sustainable-farm practices such as organic fruit and vegetable production and raise farm animals on pasture with natural diets, 198 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 without use of hormones and antibiotics. We also heat water by solar, purchase one hundred percent of electricity from wind power, and recycle and compost waste. Other sectors of green business include organic food producers and processors, green building-construction, energy efficiency, solar installation, green landscaping, alternative transportation and fields, recycling, ecofriendly cleaning and office supplies, zero-waste manufacturing, and many others. Studies show that green businesses generally provide better wages and benefits while offering meaningful work. In addition, green businesses are a growing sector of the economy, with worker opportunities for upward mobility. Speaking from the employer's perspective, the Green Job Corps will be an important resource for several 199 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 reasons. First of all, this program will deliver employees who have been trained in basic soft job skills such as punctuality, communication skills and literacy, as well as hard skills in a specific trade. Green Job Corps workers will also have had the experience of working as mentees or interns in green businesses, as they will have some work experience before full-time employment. The White Dog has had a mentoring program for high school students for 15 years, and we have seen firsthand how youth become inspired by work experiences in a values-led green company. What sets this program apart from traditional job training is that members of the Green Job Corps will be given a basic understanding of the environmental crisis, including climate change, resource depletion, pollution, and waste. They will be 200 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 shown the important role that workers in green businesses play in confronting these challenges. Green Corps job workers will come to the workplace motivated and excited to be part of the solution. Employees who believe they are contributing to the common good through meaningful work have a much higher work ethic. They are much more likely to make a positive contribution to the workplace, have pride and a sense of fulfillment that results in fewer absences and increased longevity. The employer also benefits by having a Green Jobs Corps job bank to turn to when a job opening occurs and can have confidence that qualified employees will be sent who have been trained and motivated to do a good job. A Green Jobs Corps will help Philadelphia attract other green 201 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 businesses to our city, building both the supply of and demand for green-collar workers in a prosperous and growing local green economy. Thank you.
My name is Sonia De Van-Lake. I'm from the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation and I'm here on behalf of Mr. Earnest Jones, who could not be here today. I am pleased to submit this testimony on behalf of the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation on the topic of green-collar jobs. PWDC is the City's premier workforce development agency dedicated to finding employment 202 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 opportunities for job seekers and providing employers with a quality workforce. We provide services to the general public and welfare participants. I would like to thank Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown for inviting us to this session, as green-collar jobs are the jobs of the future. And as the region responds to the national call to join the green movement PWDC is also looking for new initiatives to prepare the City's workforce to connect them to new job training and employment opportunities being created as a result of this movement. Our green-collar workforce development activities are in the infancy stages. However, we are happy to announce in the realm of this meeting that we will soon launch our first green-collar job-training initiative through an innovative 203 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 computer refurbishing program. The program will establish worksites for persons transitioning from welfare to work, while contributing to the development of solutions to environmental issues related to electronic waste. Participants in the program will receive experience in tasks related to the receipt and demanufacturing of donated computers and related equipment. Specific jobs will be available in receiving, diagnostics, and testing, equipment0 cleaning, material-handling, and demanufacturing. It is our hope that this is the first of many green-collar job initiatives in which PWDC can be involved. We at PWDC feel strongly about the planning for green-collar jobs, and we are committed to working with the office of Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown, the 204 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 Sustainable Business Network, employees, and job-training providers to help grow green jobs and prepare the City's workforce for this movement.
Thank you very, very much, all of you. Has the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation taken advantage of -- and correct me if I'm wrong, PennFuture. The 125 million appropriated by Congress December '07 go to the State; is that correct? PennFuture, is that the --
Okay. So then, therefore, the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation would not have had the opportunity yet to apply for those dollars. 205 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266
The next steps that PennFuture has in terms of opportunities for this legislative body to have a role or play a role would be what?
We are trying to identify those now; that is the work that the policy committee is taking a look at, best practices from other cities, how that legislation has impacted the growth of green-collar jobs that we can kind of come to you and say we think these are the top three things that this body can do. I think I outlined a couple of the areas that seem to be the most successful. The Procurement policies, the Green Job Corps, and the green enterprise zone, those seem to be the three that have been most successful in other cities, but we want to make sure we do a comprehensive look --
-- so that we can kind of do the best thing here based on other people's experiences.
It really is important. Someone said that we carefully consider how we proceed so that we do it in a way that makes sense and do it in a way where we're not having the benefit of hindsight 20/20, saying we should have done X, Y, Z differently.
So it's extremely important that we proceed in a very circumspect manner. Ms. Wicks, are there any recommendations or suggestions that you might want to offer at this juncture of this learning curve that we're all on as we move to create a Green Job Corps?
Well, speaking from the employer's perspective, of course, to involve employers with the 207 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 development of the training programs to make sure that the training programs are, in fact, preparing the employees for the specific jobs that are available.
I mean, in the restaurant business, for instance -- the only business that I know really -- the difference is that in green restaurants, products are fresh and local from the farm, and so it takes different skills to prepare those vegetables and cook them than it would in restaurants where the food comes in frozen from Sysco.
I see, I see. Any other comments or testimony you would like to offer? Councilman Jones.
Yes. Two things. One, on your decommissioning 208 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 of electronic equipment, are you in communications with the Philadelphia Procurement Department? because we dispose of a great deal of ray tubes and other things that are not ecofriendly. And as we start to do that, I don't know what relationship your nonprofit has with the City of Philadelphia, but for sure, there's a lot of surplus electronic equipment that has to be disposed of, and maybe there's some synergy between the two.
I would say so as well. I know we have not been in touch with the City's Procurement Department. The initiative that I mentioned is going to be launched within the next few weeks. We're hoping to have a press conference and a kickoff, so all of that is being orchestrated, and they did mention hopefully having like a citywide computer, you know, drive. 209 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 So we would be definitely in touch and follow your advice.
Is Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation at any of the tables that you've heard about today?
Thankfully enough, we were invited by the Sustainability Business Network to attend the green economy session that was held here.
And as a result of that, I personally have joined a job training committee. And thankfully, the "Building a Green Economy Booklet" that they distributed at the session is really our number-one source as we educate ourselves on identifying green-collar jobs and defining what a green-collar job is. So we really look to participating with 210 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 the network on the various committees. I have other colleague who are going to sign up for other committees as well, which is why -- and Mr. Jones has a profound interest in this particular movement because we need to seize the opportunity for low-income individuals to be prepared for this.
And PWDC is in need of non-traditional jobs that fall within the realm of green-collar jobs. We receive jobs from employers, but they're the same jobs all the time, so we are looking to this movement. And we will be able to offer our populations a higher skill set.
Yes, a higher skill set of career training. 211 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 So we look forward to it taking place.
I'm pleased to hear that because of one consistent recommendation, suggestion, "have-to" is coordination and collaboration across the board, where all the stakeholders that are remotely or directly or indirectly impacted by this are at the table from square one. So I'm delighted to hear that your organization is at the table. Councilman Jones?
In conjunction with the Chairlady's point, we need to incorporate a couple of other entities. One, the City of Philadelphia's personnel department as we start to look to jobs of the future. And as we start to design qualifications for engineers and people designing our cities, those kinds of environmental certifications may be -- prove more important. Number two, we have now a 212 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 strategic partnership with Community College, which is another training entity within the City of Philadelphia, and as we start to prepare for these green jobs, they need to be at the table to reverse-engineer some of their curriculum to accommodate those opportunities.
And, finally, the unions. As we start to talk about the plumbers union and the other unions that -- whether it's glazers or others, that are start to go look at ecosystems as a factor and what they build, how they build, how they design. And I just think that all -- I agree with you, Madam Chairwoman, that we need to have all of these people at the table now to start to get it right as a municipality. Thank you, Madam Chair. 213 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266
Thank you all for your testimony. Our final panel: Liz Robertson with the Energy Coordinating Office; Christiaan Morssink, Healthy Environmental Collaborative; and Glenn Bergman, General Manager for Weaver's Way Corporation. (Witnesses come forward.) (Councilman Jones assumes Committee Chair position.)
Thank you. Can you state your name for the record and begin your testimony, please.
My name is Glenn Bergman. I'm from Weavers Way Co-op in Mt. Airy -- not in your district, I'm sorry to say.
Good afternoon. I'm Jerry Naples. I'm with Greensgrow Farm. I was a late addition, so I'll 214 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 bring up my --
Okay. I'm Christiaan Morssink, Chair of the Healthy Environmental Collaborative, a citywide platform for public health workers and environmentalists, planners, builders, and activists convened by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Last September, we organized a conference on urban farming as a way to improve public health as well as to provide economic opportunities in Philadelphia. At the end of the conference, there was a consensus that Philadelphia needs to expand its knowledge base for urban farming and 215 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 that structural changes are needed to create a viable local food system that supports urban agricultural entrepreneurs. There's a sense of urgency in the need to create large pool of urban farmers. The current food crisis has politicians worldwide scrambling for options and short-term solutions. It has been described as, quote, a call to order. The days of cheap food are behind us and the crisis eliminates the limits of industrial agriculture. There is an urgent need to invest in new ways of agriculture, unquote. In the context of changing food policies, urban farming provides a very fundamental wholistic solution and tackles the problem of food insecurity, inequalities in food availability, and the current large carbon footprint of industrial agriculture. Produce from urban farming can 216 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 improve access to nutrition by fresh fruits and vegetables, thereby decreasing obesity-related diseases. Urban farming leads to better health states of communities, better food safety, and overall improvement of the quality of life. Urban farming increases tax revenue, economic development, real-estate value, and civic engagement. Urban farming reduces waste- water treatment and water management, it reduces green house gases and urban heat island effect, and it reduces the ground-level ozone and diverts tonnage from landfill. Philadelphia is currently uniquely positioned to advance this new trend in food production. Currently, there are many community gardens and projects from nonprofits operating in the City. Next to that, there are now five viable urban farms: 217 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 Teens For Good Farms, Mill Creek Farm, Greensgrow Farm, Flat Rock Farm, and Weavers Way Farm. The Somerton (indiscernible) on land of the Water Department is currently closed for tower renovations. As recently as 2006, it's yielded over $68,000 in sales of produce from only one-half-acre of land. Precious knowledge and experience about wholistic farming coupled with highly successful commercial results exist currently in Philadelphia, albeit in small numbers. Local professionals with this knowledge base are available to help expand the Green Job Corps fast and rigorously, aided by a national movement of training workshops, tech supports, and Internet education. However, there are structural barriers to be addressed in order to get a Green Jobs Corps of urban farmers operational, effective, 218 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 productive, and on an economically sustainable footing. These include the exorbitant cost of liability insurance that vendors often require of urban farmers and economies of scale of the local food distribution system. The current delivery system is not geared to its feasible input from local growers particularly with respect to cleaning, packing and shelving, and in terms of year-round demand. Furthermore, the City's banking system is not capable and/or willing to undertake financing of farming and food-production activities as currently produced. By addressing these barriers, however, Philadelphia can further increase local economic opportunities. Philadelphia is not leveraging its relation (indiscernible) as the USDA and its vast apparatus of assistance, guidance, and subsidies for farmers. 219 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res.
080266 The current zoning system and land-use regulations are also ill-equipped to deal with the commercial and technical legal needs of farm investment. Finally, there is a cultural issue. The mindset that underlies the laws and regulations of our current urban landscape are based in no small measure of a culture of urban preference over rural agricultural living. There is still in many parts of our cultural fabric a bias against toiling in the field, often seen as suitable for the uneducated. However, agriculture has come a long way. Urban farming beyond community gardening and volunteer leisure-time activities requires in-depth knowledge of biology and ecology as well as market acumen. It needs to be understood for the fundamental scientifically based function it has in the political 220 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 economy of our society. It will take, therefore, some effort, incentives, and time to get people being pulled into this career choice. Education, (indiscernible) building, and good economic opportunities need to be early parts of our efforts to create a strong, large Green Job Corps in order to overcome the cultural (indiscernible) that may still manifest itself among many of our city-dwellers. In conclusion, I urge you to take the urban farmer as the role model for those who may want to join the ranks of the Green Job Corps. Thank you for your consideration.
We'll hear all of the testimony and then we'll open it up for questions. Thank you sir.
My name is Glenn Bergman. I'm the general manager of 221 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 Weavers Way Co-op in Mt. Airy. We are a $78.5 million business employing 60 people, with 3,300 members who own the support, representing about 5,000 people who live mainly the northwest section of Philadelphia. We also do a lot of work in schools such as Wissahickon Charter School and the Martin Luther King School, where we now have a third-of-an-acre farm and also a small co-op that the children run. A few years ago, I have testimony that I've submitted, but what I wanted to do was show you a DVD. Its about ten minutes, twelve minutes. It's Awbury Arboretum. It sits on the northwest track of Awbury Arboretum, which was unused for many years. A number of years ago, we started doing education programs there. Two years ago, we started to do a full-blown farm. Last year, it 222 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 netted $50,000 in produce, it employed two people, and it had a number of children, 750, 800 children coming through for education programs. So I thought maybe we could see this. If you want to stop at any point --
I thought I would cut it from there. But I just wanted to give you an idea what we're doing on a tract of land that has not been used, and we've been employing some people, and when we look at empty land in the City of Philadelphia, what we see is the capability of putting up a farm or small plots there that are run by local people, who then can sell into the food stream. 223 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266
Just as we buy as a co-op, we can buy from anywhere. We buy from the Saul School, we'll be buying from Martin Luther King High School. We will continue to expand this program. We're looking now, at possibly doing something with Fairmount Park with some historic housing with farming and also with farmers markets and flea markets, things like that.
Very good. Let's hear the other testimony and then I do have a few other questions. Thank you very much.
Good afternoon. Thank you all for allowing me to speak today on behalf of the green jobs initiative before you. My name is Jerry F. Naples, Jr. and I appear 224 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 before you today as a representative of the Greensgrow Philadelphia project, a local 501(c)3 entity that overseas the Greensgrow Farm operation right here in Philadelphia a few miles north of where we are right now, up in New Kensington. And you might say that at Greensgrow Farm, we know from green jobs. So on behalf of the entire farm, I appreciate the platform. These hearings are being conducted ostensibly to move toward the adoption or formation of a Green Jobs Corps. Without question, the timely adoption measures necessary to create a Green Jobs Corps here in Philadelphia is important. Beyond that, it's important for all of the right reasons. Christiaan gave a good accounting of some of the various fundamental barriers and the issues that face green jobs from a practical today standpoint. 225 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266
Glenn's video was very revealing as to what can go on. If you notice, in one of the backdrops, there was a "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" placard, and I think that that's very important because the impact of the jobs that are being envisioned by this type of activity are all jobs that are going to hit home right here. I'm going to try to abbreviate my comments because most of it has already been covered in a very powerful way.
The green jobs envisioned by the Green Jobs Corps are essentially what we can do and what we can do now. They are what I like to call "close to home," but their positive impact literally could be felt from South Street to Indonesia. Green jobs promote energy- 226 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 efficient and local economic independence, but we need not connect fuel here with food far away. We have a phrase in our current lexicon that's called "food sovereignty," which speaks to our own ability to master or control supply for what's on our tables. Buy fresh, buy local.
In a country where the average fruit or vegetable travels more than a thousand miles to reach your plate, the impact of soaring costs for everything, from transportation to production, which is nutrients, fuel, labor, and the ever-increasing demand are felt in every home. So while we may be able to drive less, which, as a nation, we are today, the miles being driven i going down, and while we could use SEPTA locally, which happily we are more and more, as ridership is going up, are we ready to give up being locally 227 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 sustainable? And this initiative says loud and clear no. 4 In light of all this, the farm I'm representing today, Greensgrow, is an oasis of sustainability. It's a smart solution to a number of problems. Greensgrow Farm's success is closely tied to the creation of green jobs. In its tenth year, Greensgrow is currently staffed by five full-time and six seasonal employees. Greensgrow Farm likes to talk about growing food, flowers, and friends, but on land leased from the New Kensington CDC, it is located on a cleaned-up former Superfund site. At that farm, I'd like to talk about one four-letter. Can we use four-letter words in here? J-O-B-S, jobs. Greensgrow Farms is a model of sustainability. It brings nutrition into the urban center, it supports local farmers and growers with its 228 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 successful 225-member CSA, or community-supported agricultural program, grows lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, an assortment of vegetables that the patrons all enjoy from the locale as well as restaurants that are supplied. And Greensgrow Farms is a place where nearly a dozen Philadelphia City wage-tax-paying folks go to work every day.
If we all walked up to the farm right now, we'd see that Greensgrow is a bee hive of activities for our residents that are now into the spring planing season. It's one of the best examples in the country of how to make Green Jobs Corps make a difference. Thanks to Mary Seton Corboy, who runs the farm, who is actually working today, of course, there's no 25 reason why we can't make a more 229 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 institutionalized Green Jobs Corps make a bigger difference throughout Philadelphia and, therefore, the country. You asked a question before, and before we get to any answers, the -- how can you implement a Green Jobs Corps? how can they be used to make a difference? I think that, as Glenn's comments and experience and show, the demand is already there. Recycling saves money, biodiesel saves money, energy efficiency will save money, so there's an offset there. There's already a demand component there. I think that the focus needs to be on scale and focusing on implementation of programs through the infrastructure that exists. We saw the future of infrastructure with those two young folks from Saul. They did a very eloquent job of expressing their experience, but we do have a lot 230 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 of votech, we do have an agri -- there's only two agricultural high schools in the whole country, and one of them is right here.
So as a closing comment, Councilwoman, I think that that's something if we look at what we have and work within the structures that we have, we'll find that we have a fair head start and hopefully we will be able to get the plumbin' hummin' more quickly. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. Ms. Robertson, could we hear from you before we open it up to questions.
Yes. And thank you for tolerating my PowerPoint presentation here. I'm going to have some assistance from the back. Next slide, please. 231 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 Green-collar jobs -- thank you. This is the ECA staff. We're almost a hundred people and almost all of our staff come from the neighborhoods that we serve, which are primarily the low-income neighborhoods in the city. Next slide, please. I'm sorry the quality here is so poor. The color changed; sorry about that.
Energy conservation is our primary work, and we provide energy conservation services in existing homes primarily, although we're doing an increasing amount of new construction work as well. So last year, we provided energy conservation in 2,800 homes, education to more than 5,000 people, heating-system repair and replacement in more than 3,000 homes, and bill- 232 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 payment assistance -- this is our huge one -- to more than 40,000 Philadelphians. In addition, we also do a great deal of energy policy and advocacy work. The important thing about ECA is that we leverage more than $4 for every dollar invested in our organization. Next slide. Thank you. Energy prices, as you know, are high and rising. I think, as we sit here today, oil is more than $120 a barrel, fuel oil has reached $4 a gallon, and coal has more than doubled in price, and I don't need to remind you that electricity rate caps are coming off in 2010. The best projection is that energy prices will continue to rise between 6 and 10 percent each year every year. So this is where we are. We're at the peak of world oil 233 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 production, and we're also at the peak of world gas production. Next slide. So this graph is the actual trend in energy prices in Philadelphia. So energy prices in the City were very flat and very stable through the '80s and into the early '90s but, since then, have been rapidly rising. The slope is a 6 percent slope. So it doesn't take long to realize that we cannot continue to absorb price increases of the type that we are seeing. And what is filling that gap -- that rising green space there is what we call "the affordability gap." The affordability gap is made up by delinquency, termination, housing abandonment, fatal fires, and all sorts of other problems that are citywide. Next slide, please. This comes from the City's greenhouse gas emissions inventory. 234 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 As we face climate change, we have to ask the question, How do we reduce our carbon emissions? Well, carbon emissions in the City of Philadelphia, 51 percent of our CO2 emissions and greenhouse gas emissions, generally are in our buildings. I was very glad to hear the Councilman talk earlier about changing out these light bulbs. I don't know how many times I've sat in this chamber and counted these light bulbs. So I hope we get started on these initiatives very soon. The ambulance of our green house gas emissions are shared between transportation and industry and waste, those three categories. So it's important to recognize that in the buildings area, 65 percent of the square footage in Philadelphia is homes.
So energy 235 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 conservation should begin at home if we're going to solve climate change. Next slide. Sorry for the poor color quality on this one as well. But the point of this slide -- this slide is fascinating if you could read it. It graphs the clean-energy resource in the United States. And without going into the detail here, just to give you an idea, the blue band, which you can still see is still blue, that's wind-energy resource. And then below that are a number of other resources, including geothermal and solar, concentrating solar power, biomass, biofuels. But the huge gray wedge at the top of this set of wedges is energy conservation and efficiency. So in the United States, energy conservation and efficiency comprise 51 percent of all clean- energy resources. So when you asked the 236 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 question, Well, how are we going to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2020? which is what all the climate scientists say we have to do to stabilize the climate, you have to look at the resource of where it is. The resource that we need to deploy is energy conservation and efficiency, and we need to deploy that resource as quickly as we can. Next slide, please. Again, sorry for the poor quality. This is Willie Warren, one of our staff members, in a Philadelphia rowhome attic cavity. Most people in Philly think they don't have an addict; that's because it's so skinny. But willie's lying down here, preparing to insult this attic cavity. And this is just one of the many green-collar jobs that energy conservation in building creates. Energy conservation is the 237 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 cheapest form of energy, it's the cleanest form of energy, and it is also the most labor-intensive. It creates more jobs. All of these are local jobs. So it creates more jobs than any other form of energy, including solar. It's more job- intensive, more labor-intensive than solar. Next slide, please. These are -- ECA has a program we call "Smart Energy Solutions" in which we do our work for people who are not low-income. These are a number of different kinds of services that we provide: energy audits, occupant education, water and electricity conservation, air sealing, insulation, window and door replacement, heating-system repair and replacement, white roof coating. And then the last two are for new construction: Energy Star Homes and LEED for homes. 238 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 Next slide. This is energy auditing, showing you a blower door, which is a really important diagnostic tool that's used in home-energy auditing. Next slide. This is air sealing. This is something I recommend highly. Everybody should air-seal their basement. It's amazing all of the benefits that you get. It reduces drafts, reduces infiltration, lowers your heating and cooling costs, reduces moisture problems, and it's essential to air=seal before you insulate. Next slide, please. These are just some types of green-collar jobs that are -- these are window installers. We do replace windows when they need to be replaced. Next slide. Heating-system repair and replacement. Philadelphia's full of very old heating equipment. Much of it is 239 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 approaching the end of its useful life. And heating-system upgrades, changing out heating systems can improve efficiency by 30 percent very easily. Next slide, please. Cool roofing. This is a processes that we have been implementing about the last five years. Philadelphia, as you know, is a city of black-tar roofs; it's the cheapest roof money can buy. It is not a good roofing system. And white-roof coatings and white roofs are a much better technology. We will cool the occupants, preserve the roofs, and lower urban heat island impact. And now there is evidence that cool roofs actually reduce and slow climate change. Next slide, please. This is more cool roofing.
We have a number -- these guys are also 240 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 insulators. During the winter, we can't really use -- these are white elastomeric roof coatings. They're water-soluble, and they have to go on in temperate temperatures. So in the wintertime, these folks are actually doing insulation work, but in the summer, they do both white-roof coating and insulation. Next slide. This is one of the cool blocks that we've done in the City. We've been trying to work on a larger scale, working in whole blocks rather than just individual homes. Next slide parallels This is different forms of insulation. Upper left-hand corner, Mary Boyle is preparing -- well, she's actually blowing cellulose. The gentleman on the left is blowing fiberglass, and then I think this is Willie Warren again, who is preparing to blow cellulose in a side wall. So this is both attic and wall insulation 241 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 Next slide. These are more insulation slides and also air sealing. Next slide. Carpentry is a very important basic fundamental skill in energy conservation. Next slide. And this is the rating work that's done in new homes. These are public housing, new construction. The one on the left is in North Philly, the one on the right is in West Philadelphia. We have worked very hard with PHFA to require all affordable housing in the State of Pennsylvania to meet the Energy Star Home standard, which now, it does, starting this year, so it's a very, very huge step forward, so that people who live in public housing can maintain affordable energy bills Next slide. This was the first LEED for homes certified in the State of Pennsylvania. This is one of 242 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 our certification jobs in Schwenksville. Next slide. Solar energy. The subsidies have changed for similar energy in the State of Pennsylvania. This is our work when the subsidies started. And now just last week, the Mayor was announcing a much larger project. We will see fewer small projects and more large projects as we go forward. Next slide. This is a training center, we hope. This is actually ECA's warehouse. We own this property in Kensington. This is Front and Allegheny, essentially. And the point of showing you this is that the key to bringing more green jobs into the City, particularly technical jobs, are energy conservation and solar. These industries are rapidly going, rapidly growing. We are rapidly growing. Everyone -- every practitioner in the 243 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 energy-conservation field and the solar field is rapidly growing. We do not have qualified people in Philadelphia. As an employer, we have to do all of our own training. Kids come out of Orleans Technical Institute, they come out of Mercy Vocational School with good basic-trades knowledge, but they don't know anything about energy conservation. It's just not taught. So if we -- if I -- you know, on my wish list for Council to really dig in is to bring Community College to the table to bring the technical training schools to the table and talk to them very seriously and urgently about the importance of bringing energy knowledge into their curriculum. It's not present right now.
So it forces the employer to do all of the training. 244 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 We are hoping to renovate this building. We look like the before- slide right now and not the after- slide, but we are hoping to renovate this building to create a state-of- the-art green-collar jobs training center on the second floor. Our plan is to bring this up to LEED Silver Certification. And we have a grant application in front of the State. We're on the State's list of capital improvements, but in order to qualify, we have to raise the balance of the funding. We have to have matching funds, so we'd like very much to talk to the City about the possibility of becoming one of many funders for this project. Pennsylvania does not have adequate training facilities. Philadelphia does not have a single training facility in building science. "Building science" is the terminology 245 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 for energy conservation and efficiency solar in buildings. And there is no 4 such training facility anywhere in the region. And we are hoping that by creating a facility in Philadelphia, we could draw from Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and become a training center. There's no 11 reason why we couldn't be. And this facility is a perfect -- it's a great place to do that work. Next slide, please. These are some of the certifications, national certifications, that we are training people. We have a grant now from the Department of Energy to do what's called "market transformation," and we are training a number of people to meet the national certification requirements for both BPI, which is the Building Performance Institute, and RESNET, and these are the two national standards that are essential 246 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 in the industry. Next slide, please. This just goes into a little bit of what's part of the DOE grant. We are piloting Energy Star Homes and home performance with Energy Star, using the Energy Star programs as the market transformation platform. They are recognized by a vast majority of American consumers to mean excellence in energy efficiency, and so we're doing -- undertaking a whole range of things. Next slide, please. And I'll just conclude with a reminder that conservation is survival. And I have written testimony here. Thanks so much for the assistance on the PowerPoint.
Terrific. 247 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 All of the witnesses have copies of your testimony, please? You do, okay. First question: Are all of you, or any of you, linked into the existing task force you heard about here today, Sustainable Network with Judy or the American Cities foundation?
And/or the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce, which is about to kickstart, so all of you are at the table? (No immediate response.)
Okay. I need you to say yes so we can put it on the record.
One of our early testifiers was the City of 248 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 Philadelphia Commerce Department, wherein they indicated that a task force has just started, or is about to be started, where they, the City, can also look carefully at how it proceeds around this new green jobs economy. So I wanted to make sure we covered that base. I'm just curious to know the two -- well, the two green farms that were mentioned, what are your exact locations? Mr. Glenn Bergman, and then we heard from --
The Weavers Way Farm right now is located on the northwest track at Washington Lane and Ardleigh in northwest Philadelphia West Philadelphia on land that's owned by Awbury Arboretum that we rent from them on a yearly basis. And the other farm that we have started is at Martin Luther King High School, in the back right area of it. It's one third of an acre at the 249 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 high school.
And essentially that meant simply engaging in relationships strictly with the leadership there at Martin Luther King High School?
The high school students are farming that with our educator, who you saw in the movie, and also with -- we have two interns who work at the farm, and they also spend time there, and we had the City Year kids out there last week also helping.
Okay, excellent. And your farm, sir, where is it located?
Yeah, the 250 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 Greensgrow Farm is located in New Kensington. It's on land leased from the New Kensington CDC. It was a former Superfund site that New Kensington got from the RDA some time ago.
So it's right at the base of Aramingo, essentially just west. Cumberland, Saul, Firth, and Almond are the four blocks -- the four rows that surround the block that is Greensgrow.
And currently, you have 12 employees, if I heard your testimony correctly.
Okay. Well, this has been extremely enlightening for me and it also signals that still there's a lot of work to do on this side of the table to facilitate 251 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 both collaboration and discussions amongst all stakeholders. Someone stated earlier in their testimony that no one sector can do it alone or else we simply get it wrong. So I'm pleased to hear that you're part of the various task forces that each have the benefit of what you're doing. And I'll just close with this quote by Mr. Bergman, wherein you close by saying, "Clearly, the possibility are almost limitless, as are the possibilities to help turn those possibilities into a reality." So thank you for your important testimony. It will be guide us as we continue the discussions and deliberations, to also work with the Administration, and work with the Workforce Development Corporations to come up with a dream -- it would be a dream, but a Green Jobs Corps that meets what we want to do for now and 252 5/5/08 - ENVIRONMENT - Res. 080266 tomorrow. Thank you all for your time. PANEL MEMBERS: Thank you. (Proceedings end at 1:47 p.m.) * * * 253 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings of the City of Philadelphia Council Committee on the Environment are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me on Monday, May 5, 2008, and that this is a true and correct statement of same. __________________________________ JOSEPHINE CARDILLO Registered Professional Reporter (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)