Environment

OWASA cordially invites citizens to participate in a community outreach meeting on Thursday night, March 31st at 7:00 pm to discuss our plans for the future and to receive comments and questions from customers.

The meeting in the Century Hall at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 North Greensboro Street, will begin with a presentation on questions such as:

• Will our community have enough water when the next major drought occurs?
• How much water per day can our existing lakes provide in a drought?
• How much will water use rise in coming decades?
• What is OWASA doing to prepare for future growth in water demand?
• How important is the future reuse of highly treated wastewater for non-drinking purposes?
• How important is water conservation for our community's future?
• Can we have an adequate water supply for the long term with our locally-protected water sources?

The floor will then be open for questions and comments about any of OWASA's plans, services and policies.

Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday, March 05, 2005

On Feb. 16, 141 nations celebrated the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, an unprecedented global response to the greatest crisis facing the world -- global warming. In one respect, Kyoto represents the culmination of a process that spanned the last century as nations worked to build the capacity to cooperate in the face of global challenges.

Unfortunately, the celebration of this historic moment is sadly diminished for Americans. Alone among the world's great powers, the United States steadfastly refuses to participate.

Reading the various reports and analyses of what one commentator called America's "monumental shame," it struck me that this was a time for local government to truly step into the breach. Symbolic measures, like our towns' occasional protests of national policy, would not be sufficient. Action was needed, the only question being what form that action should take.

In January I wrote about my first experience shopping at Weaver Street Market for my major grocery needs. I've been an owner for several years, but primarily limited my purchases to single meals at the cafe, doing the majority of my shopping at the neighboring Harris Teeter.

I thought I'd follow that up by shopping at the Whole Foods in Chapel Hill. Not as convenient to me in Carrboro as the Harris Teeter or Weaver Street, but after having a friend laughingly call it "Whole Paycheck," I decided to put my paycheck on the line and see how it compares.

This experiment was never intended to be rigorously scientific, but I did bring my standard grocery list of cold cuts, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, granola bars, mixed nuts, crackers, chips, bread, milk, juice, eggs, morningstar products, and room for anything else that might catch my eye. Since I go out to eat (and drink) fairly frequently, I tend to avoid purchasing some pricer individual items like beer, wine, and meat.