Welcome to the City of Ann Arbor's State of Our Environment Report of 2007. We hope you find it both informative and motivating. We also welcome your questions and feedback on this report.
We'd like to thank the many members of City staff and various community organizations for their extensive and ongoing efforts to compile and organize this information for our collective benefit.
Our city government has implemented many programs and initiatives to improve the quality and sustainability of our environment. Ann Arbor is at the forefront of numerous areas of environmental protection, sustainable energy use, and protection of public health--the state of our local environment is relatively encouraging. While there have been areas of improvement, there's no ignoring the potential of climate change to negate our local progress. Without diligence on our part to anticipate and mitigate those threats, our future quality of life is at risk. For its part, the City of Ann Arbor is taking proactive steps to address those broader threats to our environment. And, fortunately, we have a great deal of influence over many environmental factors which impact our quality of life. This report addresses those components within the context of the city’s recently adopted environmental action plan principles and goals:
Environmental Action Plan Principles
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Needs can be met while maintaining environmental quality, public health, and the availability of natural resources for future generations.
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Environmental quality, economic vitality, and social equity are interdependent.
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Conservation, protection, and restoration of the natural environment are highly valued and quantifiable.
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Our city is part of larger regional and global communities; our actions impact their environmental, economic, and social equity conditions; and we intend that those impacts be positive.
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Public awareness is vital to ensuring environmental quality.
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Policymakers need to be informed with the best available information.
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Precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.
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Meeting our environmental goals requires a combination of incremental and wholesale behavior changes and technology adoption.
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Collaboration is necessary in order to achieve our environmental goals.
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City government is an important partner with residents and businesses in our community with regard to our environmental goals
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The City of Ann Arbor strives to be at the forefront of sustainable living through its daily operations, capital improvements, and purchase of products.
Environmental Action Plan Goals
CLEAN AIR - Eliminate air toxics, criteria pollutants, and persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBT)
CLEAN WATER - Ensure safe water for drinking, recreation, other uses, and other species
EFFICIENT MOBILITY - Provide infrastructure and policies for efficient modes of transportation
HEALTH-PROMOTING URBAN ENVIRONMENT - Ensure that the built environment promotes public health and improvements to the natural environment
LOCAL FOOD SUFFICIENCY - Conserve, protect, and restore local agriculture and aquaculture resources
SAFE COMMUNITY - Eliminate damage to public health and property from natural and other hazards
STABLE CLIMATE - Eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions and other destabilizing climate impacts
VIABLE ECOSYSTEMS - Conserve, protect, and restore aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
We need your participation in identifying strategies to address the many challenges this report highlights. We also encourage you to take action--both to protect and improve what we have right here in Ann Arbor and to help prevent the worst outcomes of climate change. In addition, we welcome your input on the City's programs and policies that are aimed at improving our environment.
Sincerely,
Your Environmental Commissioners
- Mike Anglin (City Council)
- Steve Bean (Chair)
- Rita Loch Caruso
- Malama Chock
- Ron Emaus (Planning Commission representative)
- John German
- Christopher Graham (Vice-Chair)
- Gwen Nystuen (Parks Advisory Commission representative)
- David Stead
- Margie Teall (City Council)
- David Wright (Energy Commission)