(Team, I want to revise this first paragraph. But it's purpose is to set up what I mean by "compact communities" in green/smart development.)

A common practice in green development is to build with accessibility in mind. Places of work, education, recreation, and commodities of goods and services are positioned so that they can be reached easily by way of public transportation, walking, bicycling, or other non-motorized means. Just this practice alone has a huge impact on the environment surrounding the community, as well as the environment as a whole.

Having such goods and services within a close proximity to residential hubs severely cuts down on the need for vehicle travel. The average American drives 12,000 miles a year with a car that averages 20 miles per gallon. This adds up to a whopping 600 gallons of gas consumed on average, per person, per year. Based on these facts, the average person is emitting 11,738 lbs of carbon into the air that we breathe every moment of every day (Terrapass.com). If a community can encourage residents to ditch the cars, or at least, use them half as often, think about how much cleaner that air would be. How great it would feel to breathe in oxygen that was half as polluted as our conditions exist today?

Consequently, as the need for vehicle travel decreases, so does the need for major roadways. With less environment consumed by asphalt and other impervious surfaces for transportation, the condition of local water improves significantly. On an impervious surface, or surface that does not allow seepage, water is forced to travel downhill until it finds some place to runoff, such as sand or soil. Along its path, this runoff water picks up numerous toxins, such as oil and fertilizer that sit on the roads. These toxins are then carried directly into the sources of our water (Hillsdale County Info). With sustainable development practices, roadways and walkways that do exist are constructed with permeable materials such as gravel and interlocking pavers that allow water to filter directly into the surface beneath, or soil layer of the Earth. This process of infiltration through the soil layer naturally filters out pollutants such as E. Coli and copper that would otherwise find their way into our water sources. If we could trust our natural water supply, as we did years ago, we wouldn’t be purchasing as much bottled water… help me finish here.

Hey James... it's about 9:55pm. The section above is about 380 words. I can add another paragraph in about biodiversity or just expand some of these thoughts. But I don't think we'll need to. We'll have a massive paper if we each write out 500 words + intor +conclusion. -Vicki

Oh and my boyfriend just added in, "all that asphalt increases the temperature of the Earth you know...That's why Orlando is so hot!" Ha. I could write about how much more enjoyable THAT aspect would be as it applies to us FLORIDIANS. LESS ASPHALT/ROADWAYS= COOLER SUMMERS? :)

Looking forward to editing and meshing our thoughts together tomorrow!