Fun Day at Shawnee's Community Garden!

Professor Timothy McCollum and his OBU students welcomed over twenty students to the Shawnee Community Garden this morning. Unfortunately, it was a cold start but the kids had a great time learning about farming and growing their own food. Many thanks to OBU for helping make our garden a place of learning for everyone! Visit Sustainable Shawnee's facebook page for more event photos and stay tuned for next week's Countywide article.

City of Shawnee to Submit Bike Route Plan to Traffic Commission

The City of Shawnee is presently working on a bike route plan for the community based in part on the Master Trails Plan approved in 2009. The plan is likely to include both on-street and off-street linkages to ensure bikers, joggers and walkers have safe routes throughout the city. "This is a huge step forward for Shawnee, says Sustainable Shawnee President, Shawna Turner. I would like to personally thank Justin Erickson, City Planning Director, and his staff for their support of this measure. They really made it happen."

The bike route plan will be submitted to the Shawnee Traffic Commission for public comment on Tuesday, November 27th at 6:30pm. The meeting will take place at the City Hall downtown in commission chambers. Everyone is welcome to attend and comments are encouraged. If you'd like a copy of the plan in advance contact the city clerk's office at 878-1604.

Oklahoma One of Three Most Improved States in Energy Efficiency

By Sarah Terry-Cobo
The Journal Record
Posted: 08:03 PM Monday, October 8, 2012

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma joins Montana and South Carolina as states that are most improved in energy efficiency, according to new rankings by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, or ACEEE. The Sooner State jumped eight spots to 39th among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, up from 47th in last year’s ranking by the energy-efficiency organization. While the most improved status is an accomplishment, some experts say there is still more progress to be made.
Ben Foster, senior policy analyst with the Washington, D.C.-based American ACEEE, said that updated building codes and Gov. Mary Fallin’s energy plan, which includes an effort to reduce energy use in state buildings, helped increase Oklahoma’s score from the previous year. Senate Bill 1096 directs state agencies and schools to become 20 percent more energy efficient by the year 2020.
The annual State Energy Efficiency Scorecard analyzes policies and programs such as utilities initiatives that encourage high-efficiency appliances, building energy codes, state government policy on energy efficiency and combined heat and power policies. Data comes from 2010 and 2011, the most recent years available.
Oklahoma’s ranking increased significantly in part because of the programs utilities Public Service Co. of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas and Electric implemented with automated electric meters, and more natural gas electric generation.

Click here for the complete article.