150 people came together yesterday for the second day of the Gulf Coast Green Conference in Bay St. Louis. They came to hear about green building practices, and sustainability and also about the small town of Greensburg, Kansas. In May of 2007, a 2 mile wide tornado hit the town, leveling 90% of the structures, two years after Hurricane Katrina leveled Bay St. Louis. Steven Hewitt is city administrator for Greensburg,
“Bay St. Louis and Greensburg are striking similar-- devastation, rebuilding efforts, planning. We are identical in the struggles we face today.”
But the rebuilding efforts have been a bit different. Greensburg decided to rebuild their town in the greenest and most sustainable manner possible, and they’ve had great success. Many who attended the conference came to find out how Bay St. Louis can do the same. Buzz Olsen is director of planning and development for Bay St. Louis,
“We need to be educated as public officials, and I think we have a great opportunity to get these locals educated to this new green policy.”
Some steps have been taken. Dave Walker with Bay-Waveland Habitat for Humanity says since 2009 all houses they build meet green building standards
“Certainly we wouldn’t wish that Katrina would have destroyed everything, but now that we have lost so much it only makes sense that we would rebuild in a smarter, greener, more environmentally responsible fashion.”
So far the organization has built 15 homes to the new green certification and with another 42 home community in the works, Bay St. Louis may be on its way to becoming the new Greensburg, Kansas of Mississippi.
