Which One Do You Want?

The Story That Started it All...But Not Really

Here was the story as it appeared in the Tennessean on October 5, 2007..

Friday, 10/05/07
Efforts to be lean, green spread across the county
Awareness of the need to protect the environment slowly grows

By HEATHER DONAHOE
Staff Writer

SPRING HILL — Pauline Sloane was surprised last year when she moved to Spring Hill from New Jersey.
Recycling, as it turned out, wasn't mandatory in Williamson County, and there was no curbside pickup. And during the recent summer drought, she was taken aback to find no fixed watering schedule for yard irrigation.

"People may be a little more aware of environmental issues in New Jersey because they've experienced some real environmental problems there," Sloane said. "There's a lot more industry there and more people crammed into smaller spaces. Tennessee is just so beautiful, I'd hate to see people get complacent just because there aren't any obvious issues now."

But environmental awareness seems to be catching on in the county. Green building is gaining steam with local developers, Franklin restaurant Saffire recently announced plans to go green with organic food and wines and biodegradable takeout materials, and Nissan employees have been working to reclaim a patch of wetland near the company's in-progress Cool Springs headquarters.

But individual initiative — Sloane's, for example — is what could make the most significant impact on the environment.
Lewis Bumpus, director of Williamson County Solid Waste Management, said he believes that kind of awareness is increasing in the county, too.

"People are beginning to realize that we need to make more environmentally friendly choices," he said. "There's been a lot of attention on it recently, but society as a whole is slowly coming to understand that if you don't manage your environmental resources carefully, they'll be lost for good. Generations of farmers in Williamson County, actually, have known that for years."

Change starts at home

Sloane's environmental awareness is on display at her home, with its high-efficiency washer and dryer, fluorescent bulbs in lamps, hybrid car in the garage and vegetable garden out back.

Sloane said that a year-to-year electric bill comparison tells the true story.

"Since last July we had replaced our traditional light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs and purchased the new washer and dryer," she said. "This year's July bill was about one-third lower."

Sloane loyally carts her recyclables to the Thompson's Station Convenience Center, one of 15 such county-operated drop-off points.

Bumpus said that his agency has in the past explored the possibility of curbside recycling but that the numbers just didn't work out.

"The major difference you have here from some of the Northern regions is the population density," he said. "Williamson County is still pretty rural. Curbside recycling becomes more advantageous as density increases. The cost of fuel and the carbons released into the air through pick-up just wouldn't be environmentally friendly."

Greener houses on horizon

Simon Hartland, a resident and real estate agent in Brentwood, also did an analysis of his utility bills and responded in a way he hopes will change the way some homes are built across the region.

After more than two years spent refining plans and building techniques, Hartland is planning to break ground on two EnergySmart homes in a Brentwood neighborhood. (Because he hasn't yet closed on the properties, he was hesitant to identify the exact location.)

"Housing today is built with the same methodology that was used 50 years ago — stick frame, insulation, drywall," he said. "Everything else has changed, but not that."

Essentially, Hartland believes traditional homebuilding techniques yield "leaky" houses open to draftiness and dozens of inefficient air volume changes per hour. His goal is to build a "tighter envelope" with insulated panels, as opposed to the old studs-and-insulation combination. Hartland plans to use the first two homes as a showcase for this technology, which is more commonly employed in places such as San Francisco.

Prices will range from $515,000 to $525,000 for the 2,800- to 3,000-square-foot homes. Hartland believes that Williamson County residents' "affluence and education" are likely to lend an understanding of environmental issues and a desire to make conscionable choices.

"People don't realize there are alternatives," he said. "With the right kind of exposure and marketing, they can. I talked with a man at the bank last week who said he had no idea he could have built an energy efficient house."

Power switch moves slowly

When Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation began offering the Tennessee Valley Authority's Green Power Switch program option to customers four years ago, Williamson County's trademark prosperity was expected to translate into awareness and action surpassing that among surrounding TVA distributorships.

MTEMC also services Rutherford, Wilson and Cannon counties.

But for the most part, interest and participation in the program has been minimal, said Chris Jones, MTEMC spokesman.
Green Power Switch offers commercial and residential electric customers the chance to purchase "green power" — electricity generated by renewable resources such as solar, wind, and methane gas — in 150-kilowatt blocks for $4 added to each monthly electric bill. A typical household uses about 300 kilowatts monthly.

According to TVA, a monthly $8 green power purchase generates the environmental equivalent of planting an acre of trees in the Tennessee Valley. Similar programs are offered by power companies throughout the country, with customer cost ranging from $2 to $10 per month.

So far, 266 Williamson residents have signed up for green power through MTEMC, which has 512 Green Power Switch customers in the four-county service area.

"When we started marketing Green Power Switch, we thought our best response would be in Williamson County," Jones said. "There are slightly more Green Power Switch subscribers in Williamson than in the other three, but not by as much as we expected."

Jones said a large number of subscribers signed up when the program was unveiled and that interest has tapered off substantially.

"There was initially a large number of signups when we first rolled out the program, but it's plateaued off across the board," Jones said. "I think it's really just a matter of it taking a while to understand what this is and what it means in the long run to bite off a little bit extra on an electric bill."

Green cleaning takes hold

Brentwood resident Annie McFarland is already beginning to understand what it means to be green — thanks to her housekeeper.

When Rachel Yatuzis, owner of Green Kleen, works her magic on McFarland's home, there are no chemical products in her arsenal. Inspired by an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show earlier this year, Yatuzis went green in a matter of hours, making a trip to Target for organic cleaning products.

She replaced her Pine-Sol and Windex with non-toxic, earth-friendly cleaners and tossed out her disposable scrubbing wipes in favor of reusable microfiber cloths and waterless mops. All of Yatuzis' customers get free recycling pickup service and a bin switch-out with their housecleaning.

"If I can recycle for other people, I feel like I'm doing more than my part," said Yatuzis, who lives in LaVergne. "I just realized how easy it is to do little things — to carpool or recycle or carry reusable canvas grocery bags. You don't have to make major disruptive changes to your life."

McFarland said she's learned a lot from Yatuzis' philosophy.

"When she finishes, nothing has that piney, bleachy smell," she said. "I was never aware that recycling was so important until she started talking to me about it. She lives it, and she cleans it. It's not just talk."