Air Quality and other Green Issues

I had the opportunity to attend a joint meeting of the Cabarrus Chamber’s Public Policy, Transportation and Sustainability Councils this morning. The meeting was interesting with the bulk of our time devoted to the very poor air quality in our region. In fact, Rowan County has the 13th worst air quality in the U.S. Yes, you read that correctly. Thirteenth worst.

So what does this mean? From an economic development standpoint it means we are in serious jeopardy of losing federal road funding. What we really talked about this morning though were the lasting health impacts. For example, 2/3 of people with asthma live in an area where at least one federal air quality standard isn’t being met.

The Center for the Environment at Catawba College (picture of their very cool and very green facility is above this paragraph) has put together some great resources about ways we can all pitch in to help improve our air quality as well as learn more about the issue. They have launched the Campaign for Clean Air and are working to educate us all on the issue and the consequences of inaction. Most of the things are simple, but collectively they make a huge difference. You can check out a list here. The Center has also partnered with the Salisbury Post and has a special microsite that will be updated weekly.

It was a great meeting and I’m looking forward to looking more. It is my understanding that the Chamber’s Sustainability Council will focus on air quality in the coming year. As a side note, the council is close to finishing another project that will implement recycling in all schools in Cabarrus County (KCS and Cabarrus County Systems). I thought that was pretty cool.

Cabarrus Regional Chamber Annual Meeting

Several City Council members and staff attended the Cabarrus Regional Chamber’s Annual Meeting today. Steve Morris, General Manager of the Gem Theatre in Kannapolis was recognized for his work as Chairman for the past year, and Sam Leder was introduced as this year’s Chairman.

Congrats to all the nominees and award winners announced during the program! In addition to Toby Prewitt, former Kannapolis Mayor Bachman Brown and Kannapolis City Schools Superintendent Dr. JoAnne Byerly received a Lifetime Achievement Award for their work and dedication to this community through the years. Thank you all for your service.

Guest speaker N.C. Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco remarked on how well this area works together on economic development, and he mentioned that while the economy is sputtering, there are several projects being pursued throughout the state.

The City of Kannapolis continues to be involved with the Cabarrus Regional Chamber to stay in tune with business needs, provide the link between business and local government, and to be part of regional issues that can be addressed on broader levels.