Mayor Dean made an appearance at the luncheon for the Summit for a Sustainable Tennessee and gave a report on some of the environmental programs that have been a success in the Nashville Metro Area.
1) Increasing recycling efforts in neighborhoods such as Bellevue.
2) More streamlined public transit including the new central transit station located downtown.
3) Hybrid buses which cut down on green house gasses.
4) Planning for light rail and more commuter train options through out the Metro area.
Mayor Dean also announced two initiatives for a greener Nashville.
One is the development of a community parks plan which will tie community gardens, city parks and neighborhood green spaces together in a more cohesive manner.
Secondly is development of a citywide greenhouse gas inventory to see where the city stands in relation to emissions of greenhouse gases which contribute to pollution and air quailty issues.
Mayor Dean remarked that other Southern cities like Charlotte with its light rail may be ahead of Nashville in some of their green initiatives, but his goal is to make Nashville a greener and more sustainable city.
Lipscomb University President Lowry
