The George Washington University (GW) Office of Sustainability and the Committee on Government Operations and the Environment of the District of Columbia launched the first-ever "Policy Greenhouse," on July 10, 2009. The forum highlighted strategies for making our nation's capital more sustainable.

The event, hosted on the GW campus, featured presenters who each offered five-minute verbal pitches for pioneering approaches to environmental challenges such as transportation, carbon control and the creation of green space. The event provided an opportunity to open the discussion and inspire new ideas on sustainability. Members of the audience – policymakers including District of Columbia City Councilmember Mary Cheh and George Hawkins, director of the District of Columbia Department of the Environment – used the opportunity to learn about innovative policy approaches that can enable bold, practical environmental solutions for the District.

Who's Who In The Greenhouse

Policy Greenhouse At George Washington University by: Meghan Chapple-Brown New ways to live and thrive were in the air on campus at The George Washington University as it hosted the Policy Greenhouse, a hothouse for ideas on living, planning and imagining a more sustainable Washington, D.C.

A Big Green Hotel For The Homeless by: Joshua Lichtman and Dana Mathews Green builders Joshua Lichtman and Dana Mathews cover a lot of ground quickly, with their vision of a hotel and homeless services center which would include vocational training and many environmentally sustainable features.		Transportation Planning Done Right In D.C. by: Richard Layman Consumer and citizen activist Richard Layman sees a more sustainable D.C., through public transit, HOV-2 lanes on key commuter roads such as New York Avenue and Connecticut Avenue, a transit withholding tax to fund intra-neighborhood mobility, and urban agriculture and orchards.		The Right Tree In The Right Place by: Mark Buscaino Forest rangers aren't always quite where you expect to see them. In this video, urban forestry expert Mark Buscaino explains how planting virtual trees online could make a very real difference in a big city environment.
No Bike Left Behind by: Josh Lasky Wheels, yes! But maybe two are enough, says Josh Lasky, who works at the D.C. planning office. Lasky suggests all high school students who have yet to make the decision to purchase a car receive a bike and helmet complete with training on safety, maintenance, and biking locations in the Washington area.		Urban Tree Canopy by: Steve Offutt What if you could get "canopy credits" for having more than your share of trees, or buy "canopy credits" to make up for that big garage you decided to build instead of the trees that could be growing there instead? Steve Offutt, whose expertise is in both the environment and market forces for change, explains how this could work.		Tax Lien Financing by: John J. Christmas Existing buildings, says financial analyst John J. Christmas, account for 80 percent of greenhouse emissions in the nation's capital. In this video, he outlines an idea on how to use tax policy to make big changes in commercial real estate.

Other Presenters At The 2009 Policy Greenhouse

Kathleen Burke and Chuck Cushman

Green policy is about a lot more than good ideas. So says Kathleen Burke, dean of the College of Professional Studies (CPS) at The George Washington University, and Chuck Cushman, an associate dean at CPS and an associate professor of Political Management. Their presentation at the Policy Greenhouse focused on efforts by the CPS and GW's Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (CEPL) aimed at educating the community on options, programs, and possibilities we can all follow to make our city more environmentally sound. To that end, both GW entities propose to help District of Columbia agencies connect to, educate, and work with the community to advance smart environmental programs through a two-pronged approach that emphasizes both non-credit and credit courses.

First, CEPL will work in coordination with the D.C. government to select a special cohort of the District of Columbia Neighborhood College tailored to focus on sustainable community development. The curriculum would be a mixture of sustainable community topics and community leadership skills. The class would consist of community activists interested or already working on sustainable community development issues, plus selected D.C. government agency people and select nonprofit people so that we get the cross-fertilization and the collaborative networks to access resources and programs more easily and give the government folks plenty of grassroots connections to advance their initiatives with bona fide community partners. These students would engage in team projects for real results, with the support of appropriate government agencies and facilitated access to other resources.

Second, in the longer term, CPS plans to work with the D.C. City Council and the city government as it rolls out its innovative new program in sustainable urban planning. Now in development, this program would be launched in coordination with the D.C. government, particularly the District of Columbia Office of Planning. A key feature of this program would be an emphasis on public education, so that all citizens know what they can do to make the city a more livable place.

Ed Merrifield

Ed Merrifield, executive director of Potomac Riverkeeper - in partnership with Anacostia Riverkeeper and The George Washington University - is proposing that the District of Columbia lead the clean up the Potomac watershed immediately to ensure clean drinking water for current and future generations.

Governance of our impact on the Potomac watershed, says Merrifield, is difficult - but the situation is worsening. He says many players in the watershed – business, government bodies, landowners, and residents – can contribute to developing the innovative and broad solution that is needed to improve water quality.

Potomac Riverkeeper proposes that the District take a leadership role in the watershed by encouraging all major DC institutions to footprint water use and output – from water used in drinking/bathing to manufacturing output, sewage outflows and surface run-off. This inventory, the group argues, would help us understand our impact and set a mark on how we can improve. It is envisioned that this would create transparency and accountability by making the information public and available on the Internet and elsewhere

Devising the accounting and inventory model for a water footprint, says Merrifield, would be no small feat. Nonetheless, he says, Potomac Riverkeeper is confident it can be done with the help of thoughtful leaders and experts in D.C. area, think tanks and academia, and with input from stakeholders in the watershed. The experience of greenhouse gas emissions accounting provides a platform (and a resource) on which a water use and output footprint can be built, much as carbon footprint methodology was devised.

Merrifield suggests universities and schools in the District as a good place to start, with research on the methodology creating learning opportunities for students as well as friendly competition between institutions on how they are reducing their impact.
Our vision, says Merrifield, is that with this knowledge and information, institutions and individuals will look for ways to improve their water footprint in the Potomac Watershed. Over time, significant improvements will be made and we will continue to nourish and support life along the river.

Lily Russell

Lily Russell of WSP Energy & Environment, a consulting firm, focused her Policy Greenhouse pitch on a comprehensive carbon management process for the city. Many cities and counties in the country are finding ways to incorporate sustainability, renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions into their budgets and long term goals.

The seven-step process Russell's firm outlines is summed up as "Save3: Save Carbon, Save Energy and Save Money." It would include: calculating a Greenhouse Gas Inventory (carbon footprint); developing customized emissions tracking tools to be able to track and update the GHG inventory in the future (it is important to track progress if you have an emissions reduction goal); conducting technical and financial analysis of emissions mitigation strategies; setting an emissions reduction target; developing a comprehensive carbon management plan; designing policies and programs for the city; and implementing these recommendations.

Measures identified by Russell as possible ways to implement a plan range from an excise tax on the sale of electricity and natural gas; a property tax assessment program; a battery leasing program for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and all-electric vehicles; and laws on residential and commercial energy conservation.

Kristina Van Dexter

Van Dexter, a graduate student at The George Washington University, proposes designating brownfields, vacant lots and roofs as space for community gardens and urban agriculture. She argues this could alleviate poverty and boost food security, as well as waste resource management, income generation and employment, environmental protection, community resource management and local economies, and ecological regeneration.

Van Dexter also suggests the establishment of a garden at every school, which could serve as an outdoor classroom introducing students to food production and agriculture while providing a direct link for education in land stewardship, sustainability, health, math, science, art, language, literature, and history.