Greensburg, KS after being 90% destroyed by a tornado

Greensburg – A study in the trials of going green

ECOstrive – Greensburg is a town in Kansas that was 95% destroyed on May 4, 2007 by an EF5 tornado. But, instead of moving away, the citizens of Greensburg decided to turn this disaster into an opportunity to rebuild their city in a more environmentally responsible way. They decided to make Greensburg a green city.

The Discovery Network’s Planet Green channel has been covering the recovery since July of 2007 and runs a series called Greensburg that premiered in June of 2008. The Planet Green coverage keeps with the Discovery Network’s other documentary series like Deadliest Catch and others to show the good and the bad for the green rebuilding initiative in Greensburg.

While Greensburg is encouraging its citizens to rebuild with the sustainability in mind, the city council approved a resolution that ALL city buildings will be built to LEED Platinum level. This is the first city in the world to attempt this level of certification.

The story of Greensburg is so interesting because it highlights the issues with changing the building and living strategies to a more sustainable policy. In the case of Greensburg residents, they were living in FEMA trailers until new homes could be built. The longer the discussions went on, the more anxious the residents were to begin building their homes. You also have disagreement on what “green” is, or if “green” is even worth the effort and money.Rebuilding of Greensburg

The great thing about the Greensburg leadership is that they have worked hard to promote their effort and build partnerships with corporate sponsors to assist with the gap funding between insurance and building green. While on the Greensburg website you can get all of the spoilers, we will be watching the Greensburg series on Planet Green eagerly to see how the elections go and the results of the rebuilding effort.

Please let us know what you think. Links to some of the Greensburg, KS sites below.

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