By Zoe Gum, Alec Berrodin and Katelyn DeWitt, Hope College Biology Students How much is that tree in your front yard worth? Sure, you might cash in once on its lumber value – or you could treat it as a long-term investment. In the latter case, the value will grow tremendously as the tree ages and provides […]
Category Archives: Economic Development
Living Sustainably: Healthy home and healthy world go hand-in-hand
By Cait Seppo, Seppo Chiropractic Single-use plastic is an issue I’ve become extremely conscious about in my life. It didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t even start over a concern for our planet. It was, in fact, my passion for all things health and wellness that led me down this road. It all started with a reusable water […]
Living Sustainably: How ‘Green’ is Your Coffee?
By Tom Bultman, Hope College Many of us enjoy a “cup of Joe” in the morning. For some of us, it’s a prerequisite for productive work. All total, over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world every day, mostly in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Many of us enjoy this daily ritual without much thought […]
Living Sustainably: Innovation and growth talk grows louder
By Jennifer Owens, Lakeshore Advantage When I left my economic development role in Ann Arbor, one of the things I missed the most professionally was overhearing entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to potential investors at coffee shops, oftentimes, college kids talking about a new technology they had started at U-M’s lab. Sometimes I would interrupt if I could add value. Other […]
Living Sustainably: Energy efficiency upgrades create comfort, savings and healthier homes
By Ken Freestone, City of Holland Although we had a late start to summer, is your home already too hot – especially that second or third floor? Now think back just several months ago. Remember how cold some of your rooms were during the Polar Vortex? A Home Energy Upgrade could solve many of those issues, whether cold […]
Living Sustainably: Contamination disrupts recycling efforts
By Aaron Thelenwood, City of Holland There is a lot of negative press lately regarding the current state of recycling, as wider geopolitical pressures have strained the overall recycling system, creating impacts felt at the local level. As a result, more recyclable materials are finding their way into landfills rather than being sent abroad. Also, certain materials are […]
Living Sustainably: Local efforts can address global climate change
By Diane Haworth, local sustainability professional There is plenty of news related to climate change these days. The planet’s climate has constantly been changing over geological time, but now scientists are concerned that the natural fluctuation is being increased by an upsurge in greenhouse gases from human activities. The greenhouse effect refers to the way the Earth’s […]
Climate Change: Holland Area Discussion
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Living Sustainably: Two programs help share the blessing of fresh produce
By Lisa Uganski, Ottawa Food Summer is almost here, which means it’s time to enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables grown here in West Michigan. There is nothing quite like the taste of a just-picked blueberry or tomato. However, many members of this community don’t have access to the juicy strawberries, sweet corn and the abundance of other fresh […]
Resources from our Living Sustainably Along the Lakeshore Series
Our friends at Herrick District Library have put together a great listing of additional resources from our Spring 2019 Living Sustainably Along the Lakeshore Series. Check them out at the links below! Stay tuned for our announcement later this summer about our Fall 2019 series topics. Green Commuting The Affordable Community Economics of Sustainability Search […]