April 22, 2010

This time of year I like to borrow Deputy Commissioner Paul Sloan’s quote, “Every day is Earth Day at TDEC.” Click here to read more Paul Sloan on Earth Day.

As department staff support and participate in a number of Earth Day activities across Tennessee in 2010, I am glad that the annual reminder of Earth Day has come to reinforce the role each of us play in making Tennessee a cleaner, healthier place to live. Many of our Earth Day activities place emphasis on environmental education. From Water Pollution Control’s popular, hands-on creek critters outreach to our nationally recognized School Chemical Cleanout Campaign, we are reaching young people in classrooms and communities across Tennessee. Our efforts to help young people understand, appreciate and protect the natural world today will benefit generations to come.

While sustainability has become more prominent in both public discussions and private decision making, I am pleased to note that our department under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Paul Sloan has been an early adopter of sustainability strategies like energy and resource conservation. We believe reducing waste and saving energy is a common sense way to be a good steward of taxpayers’ dollars and our natural resources. Click here to view the TDEC Sustainability Inventory of department activities.

Tennessee State Parks have also been taking steps to reduce their power consumption while protecting air and water quality around park locations. Our energy conservation initiatives include replacement of traditional light bulbs with compact fluorescent systems and use of energy management systems. We now use less intensive chemicals for both facility cleaning and landscape fertilization. Two of our golf courses at Paris Landing and Harrison Bay State Parks have been certified as Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries by Audubon International. Harrison Bay has even been designated as Ground Water Green Guardian Site.
We have opened eight new Green Villas at Montgomery Bell State Park that employ geothermal heating and cooling systems as a significant energy saving feature. Seven new Green Villas at David Crockett State Park in Lawrenceburg will soon open as LEED-silver certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) due to an array of built-in energy efficiency elements.

The 40th Anniversary of Earth Day is a good time to focus on people who are willing to work together and problem solve using a fact-based approach that won’t harm or compromise the ability of future generations to enjoy the same world we do. I am confident we can meet the challenge of improving our environment through creative, effective solutions for Tennessee, and our department’s staff is positive force behind this change. The men and women of TDEC continue to perform with excellence in the face of increasing mandates to manage new and unfunded programs, as well as budget reductions that have necessitated the elimination of more than 300 positions. I deeply appreciate the continuous, daily efforts to further our mission of protecting and improving the quality of our land, air and water.

Happy Earth Day 2010!