Links

Sustainability Links

Tools

• What's your Ecological Footprint?
  The Global Footprint Network offers a calculator to estimate how much land area it takes to support your lifestyle.
  
• How big is your Carbon Footprint?
  Take a personal pollution inventory and learn how to be part of the solution! Then offset your carbon emissions through a certified organization like Carbonfund.org.
• How can Trees contribute to the solution?
  i-Tree from the USDA Forest Service helps you calculate the environmental benefits of trees - stormwater capture, energy savings, carbon capture and property values.
• Did you even know you had a Nitrogen Footprint?
  Find out what an N-print is and why it matters, calculate your own, and then do something about it!
• And now for the real eye-opener: Calculate your Slavery Footprint!
  Take the survey and find out how many modern-day slaves work to make the things you buy.
• Energy Efficiency Smartphone Apps
  

Local Organizations

• Louisville Metro Government - Office of Sustainability
  
• Bicycling for Louisville
  Working with you to make bicycling safer and more popular through education, encouragement and advocacy.

• CART (Coalition for the Advancement of Regional Transportation)
  Bicycle and transit related information and advocacy. Who Bikes in Louisville? A Photo Survey

• Transition Louisville
  Grassroots network to inspire the development of a resilient and sustainable community. Act Locally, Share Globally! Follow on . Transition Kentucky - for those who seek a sustainable, local-scale implementation of the Transition Model.
• Louisville Climate Action Network
  Organizations and individuals committed to fighting global climate change. Follow on
• Network Center for Community Change (NC3)
  A community movement powered by the people with over 4,600 members committed to making change in Louisville’s urban neighborhoods. The Network is about mobilizing residents and stakeholders around an equity agenda, creating opportunity for families, transforming neighborhoods, creating new connections, sustaining the change, holding ourselves and others accountable for what we say we are doing in community, and creating family-centered, equitable, results-focused systems that work for all families. Get involved at Network Events. Follow on
• West Jefferson County Community Task Force
  Working on the principles of research, education, information and validation to empower residents to make informed decisions on environmental justice issues in Louisville’s western neighborhoods.
• REACT (Rubbertown Emergency Action)
  A grassroots organization of residents living near a cluster of 11 chemical plants in west Louisville commonly referred to as Rubbertown. Fighting since April 2003 against toxic air pollution and for full disclosure and the protection of residents. Contact.
• Sierra Club, Cumberland Chapter
  Environmental protection and appreciation organization. Follow on
• The Green Convene
  Louisville's coalition for sustainable public policy. Follow on
Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville

• Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville - seeking to educate, train, empower and accompany the next generation of farmers for the rebuilding of a just and local food economy in Louisville and its regional foodshed.

• 15Thousand Farmers
  Planting a seed to feed ourselves. Follow on
• New Roots
  A West Louisville-based non-profit organization that works to develop a just and thriving food system in Louisville. Follow on
• Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
  A community of people taking action for justice. Follow on
• Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition
  A network of students and student groups from across the commonwealth who are united in their concerns about environmental injustice and the impacts that climate change will have (and is already having) on our lives. Follow on or Twitter.
  
• Kentucky Resources Council
  Kentucky's only environmental advocacy organization offering free legal and strategic assistance individuals, community groups and local governments statewide. Follow on
• Kentucky Conservation Committee
  Working to make sound environmental stewardship a priority for Kentucky's elected officials and voters.
• Kentucky Interfaith Power & Light
  A religious response to global warming. Follow on
• Kentucky Waterways Alliance
  A statewide organization working to protect and restore Kentucky's waterways. Follow on
• Olmsted Parks Conservancy
  Restoring, enhancing and preserving the historic Olmsted-designed parks and parkways, Louisville’s great natural and recreational assets. Follow on
• EarthSave Louisville
  Educating people about the extremely powerful and documented effects our food choices have on the environment, our health and all life on Earth. Encouraging an ever-transitioning shift toward a healthy, plant-based diet.Follow on
• Louisville Vegetarian Club
  A social group of Louisville area vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores interested in a vegan diet, seeking to promote a peaceful, sustainable vegan lifestyle, with a focus on animal rights, human health, and the environment. Follow on

• Do Something Green
  A non-political grassroots movement and action-oriented community campaign that advances sustainability in a simple and personal way in the Louisville community. Pledge to Do Something Green! Follow on Twitter @DSGLouisville, LinkedIn, or

• Good Garbage
  Louisville's non-profit creative reuse center for collecting scrap material and making it available to artists and underfunded teachers. Follow on

• Cultivating Connections
  A grassroots nonprofit contributing to the creation of a just and sustainable community by nurturing and celebrating our connections with each other and with our world. Follow on

News, Articles & Stories

• Broken Sidewalk - An insightful and comprehensive blog about transportation, design and infrastructure issues in Louisville.
  

• Recycle This Page - local. green. and everything in-between. A blog from former Louisville Cardinal editor, Elijah McKenzie.

• Kentuckiana Green - A local environmental news service of The Courier-Journal, including bloggers:
  - James Bruggers - Watchdog Earth;
  - UofL Professor Sarah Lynn Cunningham's Kentuckiana Green blog.
  
• Project Green - A local environmental news service of WHAS-11.

• kyGREENtv - Loaded with great, locally relevant ideas for more sustainable living!
• Sustainable Kentucky - Going Green in the Bluegrass. Kentucky's leading source for green news, events, and profiles. Connecting sustainable living folks throughout the Bluegrass state with information, ideas, and events.
• FORsooth Newspaper - The monthly newspaper of the Louisville Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR). One of the best local sources for progressive thought and schedules of events, activities and local contacts for Louisville's peace, justice and solidarity communities.
  
• Ecoshock Radio - Latest science, authors, issues - climate change, oceans, forests, pollution, peak oil, the economy, and peace.
  
• Yes! Magazine - Powerful Ideas, Practical Actions: A Journal of Positive Futures. Concerned with building a more just, sustainable, and compassionate future with articles about economic alternatives and peace options.
• GOOD Worldwide - a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. "For people who give a damn."
• Earthscan - A blogging community of the world's leading sustainability experts.
  
• TreeHugger - A leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream.
• EarthTechling - The place for green technology news and features.
• EcoGeek - Devotes its pages to exploring the symbiosis between nature and technology.
• Inhabitat - Weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.
• SmartBrief on Sustainability - a daily briefing on sustainable business.
• Democracy Now! - A daily news program highlighting stories about social and economic justice, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 850 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the U.S.
• Sustainability Research & Policy Network - a worldwide, online community for research in all areas of sustainability and policy, featuring eJournals in 25 different sustainability subject matter areas (free through Sept. 2012!)
  
• E&E Publishing - The premier information source for professionals who track environmental and energy policy.
• Environment & Energy Daily - Timely and original coverage of environmental and energy issues in Congress. (free campus-wide access from within UofL network)
• Greenwire - One-stop source for daily coverage of today’s major environmental and energy policy issues. (free campus-wide access from within UofL network)
• Land Letter - Weekly in-depth report on natural resource conservation and development issues. (free campus-wide access from within UofL network)
• E&ENews PM - Late-breaking news on environment and energy from Capitol Hill. (free campus-wide access from within UofL network)
• The Gulf Between Us: Stories of terror and beauty from the world's largest accidental offshore oil disaster, by Terry Tempest Williams with photographs by J Henry Fair. Published in the November/December 2010 issue of Orion magazine.
• 99% Invisible Podcast - "Undesigned" (4:31): Why are we so wasteful? Almost everything in modern life is designed to waste energy. The whole system evolved on a false premise that petroleum is cheap and plentiful and will be that way forever.

Climate Change & Energy

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Check out their handy Interactive Mapping Tools, including the excellent Biofuels Atlas.
  
• Energy Action Coalition - The hub of the youth climate movement and organizer of Power Shift.
  
• 350.org - An international campaign that's building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis—the solutions that science and justice demand. Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO₂ in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity.
  

• Climate, Adaptation, Mitigation, E-Learning (CAMEL) - A free, comprehensive, interdisciplinary, multi-media online resource of credible content and curricular tools to help educators more effectively teach about climate change.

• Energy Pros of Louisville - Provide sustainable home education through free workshops, community events, and home energy audits!
  

• Interactive Transparency: America's Energy, Where It's From and How It's Used - From GOOD Worldwide - "For people who give a damn."

• Got Science? Test your global warming smarts and earn a free "Got Science?" sticker from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
• Just Science - a free mobile app for translating the science of climate change into layperson's terms. The app takes two centuries of data from the comprehensive Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) study, then converts it into a color-coded moving map that shows how today's monthly temperatures compare to historical averages since 1800.
• Tipping Point: Near-Term Systemic Implications of a Peak in Global Oil Production - a report by David Korowicz of Feasta and the Risk/Resilience Network which argues that the defining dynamic of our civilization is the withdrawal of energy from a complex and integrated system adapted only to growing. A managed “de-growth” is impossible; what is required is rapid emergency planning coupled with a plan for longer-term adaptation.
  
• Article by Dr. Jeff Masters: 2011: Earth's 11th warmest year; where is the climate headed?
  
• Watch the planet warm with NASA's 26-second animation of global temperature changes 1884-2011.
  

Economy

• Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy - The positive, sustainable alternative to perpetual economic growth and recession. Follow on
• GrowthBusters - Asking the most critical question of our time: How do we become a sustainable civilization? Follow on

• Countries most exposed to the carbon bubble - An interactive map revealing which nations' stock exchanges are most exposed to the 'carbon bubble'.
  

Food

• Real Food Challenge - Uniting students for just and sustainable food.
  
• Start a Farm to College program with foodroutes.org!
• CHarting Emissions from Food Services (CHEFS) - a tool from Clean Air-Cool Planet.
• Urban Garden Share - Looking for garden space? Got some space to share? Connect here.
  
• Factory Farm Map - A project of Food & Water Watch.
• The Organic Green Revolution - A report from The Rodale Institute.
  
• How to win a Food Fight - Healthy choice comparisons from the YMCA of Greater Louisville.
• Louisville Community Supported Agriculture - Lists area Farmers' Markets and CSAs.
• Louisville Farmers Market Directory - Dozens of seasonal and year-round farmers' markets take place all around town just about any day of the week.
• Louisville Farm-To-Table - Bringing together area farmers and their locally-grown foods with Louisville consumers in their homes, schools, restaurants, and workplaces.
• What's in Season? Check the Kentucky Proud Produce Guide!
• Kentucky's Online Farm Market - Buy/sell/trade locally grown food. 
• Establishing Urban Agriculture in Your Community: What you need to know before you get your hands dirty.
• EPA: Urban Agriculture & Improving Local, Sustainable Food Systems - Information for people pursuing agriculture projects as a part of brownfield redevelopment and reuse.
• The Lexicon of Sustainability - A multi-platform project based on a simple premise: people can’t be expected to live more sustainable lives if they don’t even know the most basic terms and principles that define sustainability in relation to food and agriculture.
  

• Natural Standard - is the only evidence-based source for complementary and alternative medicines. Its evaluations of therapies and supplements and are based on the medical literature and graded on an A-F scale. Provided by UofL's Kornhauser Health Sciences Library.

• Ralph B. Knollenberg III Foundation - Youth Gardening Internships available!
  The Foundation’s mission is to introduce, teach and promote organic gardening among young people, focusing on practical approaches to sustainable living in an urban setting. We believe that helping children to develop perspective and sensitivity to their place in the natural world inspires them to be good stewards of the earth's resources, meeting today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. Potentially interested interns should contact: Larry Raymond, Director <lraymond (at) louisville.edu>, 502-852-5099

Products & Services

• GreenList Louisville - Your guide to sustainable living. Find local products, services, events, and organizations.
• A Mighty Kindness - Listing sustainable services & community groups of our eco-region (within 100 miles of Louisville).
  
• Learn about The Benefits of Buying Locally!

• Better World Shopping Guide - a comprehensive, up-to-date, reliable account of the social and environmental responsibility of every company on the planet.

• Responsible Shopper - Green America's guide to promoting a responsible economy.

• Good Guide - an online tool and mobile app for scoring the environmental, health, and social impacts of many products on the marketplace.
• Proud Green Home - resources for creating, remodeling, and sustaining extraordinary homes.
  

Social Justice

• Fair Trade Universities - A campaign to embed Fair Trade principles within university policy and the social fabric of the academic community. Fair Trade provides assurances to consumers that producers are paid fair prices for their products and labor, and that strict standards have been met to protect the environment, build economic sustainability, empower women, and allow opportunities for education, poverty alleviation, and health care. Follow on
• Slavery Footprint - How many modern-day slaves work for you? Take the survey!
• How to Build a Global Community - From the Syracuse Cultural Workers.
• Global Peace Index - A comparison of nations based on the number of internal and external conflicts fought.
  
• The Color of Food - Report from the Applied Research Center which broadly surveys our food system, to map out the race, gender and class of workers along the supply chain.
• You Say Tomato, I Say Slavery - story and video about the struggle of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
• Kentucky Alliance against Racist and Political Repression Oral History Project (sponsored by UofL's Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research)
  
• Louisville Civil Rights Tour is now available online via Google maps! (sponsored by UofL's Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research)

Sustainability at Other Kentucky Schools

• Bellarmine University's Center for Regional Environmental Studies.
• Berea College - Sustainability Initiatives.
• Centre College - Sustainable Centre.
• Eastern Kentucky University - Responsible Environmental Stewardship.
• Jefferson Community & Technical College - JCTC is going Green.
• Kentucky Community and Technical College System - The KCTCS Sustainability Initiative.
• Morehead State University - Going Green @ MSU.
• Murray State University - President's Commission on Sustainability.
• Northern Kentucky University - NKU Goes Green (Facebook).
• Spalding University - Green Initiative Team.
• Transylvania University - Crimson goes green.

• University of Kentucky - Office of Sustainability.
• Western Kentucky University - Office of Sustainability.

Transportation

• Bike Louisville - Metro Government's bicycle related efforts.
  Check out the Bike Master Plan on their web site!

• Carbusters - Journal of the carfree movement.
• Cycle Chic - Real people riding bikes in street clothes. Fun. Awesome. Hip.
• How to be a Car-Free Family - Think having kids means you need a car? Think again. (Yes! Magazine)
• Pedalaround - Louisville's Kirk Kandle provides an inspirational and practical voice for people who get around on bikes or want to!
• TARC (Transit Authority of River City) - Safe, courteous and comfortable public transportation in Louisville and surrounding counties. *FREE WITH UofL ID!*
• Clean Air Task Force - Health impacts of diesel use in Jefferson County.
  

• Your Electric Vehicle Emits 75g CO2e/km: At The Power Station (Econometrica Publications, United Kingdom)

Understanding Sustainability

• Active Design Guidelines - NYC's exemplary manual of strategies for creating healthier buildings, streets, and urban spaces.
• Sustainable Design - 99% Invisible podcast (4:30)
• Encyclopedia of Earth - An electronic reference about the Earth, its natural environments, and their interaction with society.
• Green Cities : Good Health - Evidence of the connections between human and ecological health in our cities.
• Learning for Sustainability - Resources to help us address and manage the social and capacity building aspects of sustainable development and other related complex issues.

WiserEarth - The social network for sustainability. Follow on

Waste & Recycling

• The Story of Stuff - 20-minute animation about our consumerist society, narrated by Anne Leonard.
• Earth911 - Solutions for products' end-of-life for both businesses and consumers.
• African-American Environmentalist Association - Basic recycling facts.
  
• How To Compost - A hub for all composting information.
• Learn what can be recycled in Louisville, including electronic waste!