A program that provides weatherization assistance to low-income St. Louis residents has created 39 new green jobs and could add more.

Last year, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, led by President and Chief Executive Jim Buford, received nearly $7.4 million in federal stimulus money to provide free home weatherizing for low-income families and to expand the program to residents with income at the 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

The program reduces utility costs for residents by $260 to $700 a year by sealing leaks and boosting the efficiency of furnaces and hot water tanks.

Every $1 million invested in weatherization creates at least 16 direct, full-time jobs, as well as additional jobs in the clean energy, said the Apollo Alliance, citing data from the Political Economy Research Institute.

In Missouri, the weatherization program currently supports 450 jobs.

The Apollo Alliance, along with Legacy Building Group, led by CEO Todd Weaver, and the Green Building Council-Greater St. Louis Area Chapter, led by Executive Director Emily Andrews, plan to recognize the Urban League’s weatherization program Tuesday as an example of the potential for green job creation nationally.

The Apollo Alliance, based in San Francisco, is a coalition of labor, business, environmental and community leaders pushing for green jobs and clean energy.

AmerenUE should create a separate class of customers for low-income residents to give them discounts, said Missouri regulators, who asked the utility, consumer groups and industrial users for suggestions on how to do it.

At 17 public hearings over the past six weeks on AmerenUE’s proposed 18 percent electric rate increase, a theme emerged among many of the 2,000 participants: They simply cannot afford a bill hike, no matter how small, especially in these tough economic times.

So Kevin Gunn, a Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) member from Webster Groves, suggested that the utility offer permanently discounted rates to a segment of the population based on the federal poverty level or some other classification. Ohio, for example, caps utility bills to a certain percentage of residents’ incomes. Read the rest of this entry »

Emerson has stepped forward to make the lead gift in the St. Louis Public Library Foundation’s capital campaign for the $74 million overhaul of the Cass Gilbert-designed Central Library downtown.

Emerson’s $4 million gift is the largest the St. Louis Public Library has ever received. The previous largest gift came from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who donated $1 million in 1906 to build the Central Library.

Emerson announced its donation Thursday at a news conference at the Central Library, 1301 Olive St. The appliance and electronics manufacturer is the largest public company in St. Louis with $20.9 billion in sales in 2009 and 2,400 local employees.

Emerson’s gift will fund a new entrance and atrium facing Locust Street on the library’s north side. The library’s current entrance, on Olive Street, will be used for groups accessing a newly designed children’s area.

Construction is set to begin by June and will be completed by 2012, the library’s centennial. The renovation will include new mechanical and HVAC systems, a seismic upgrade, a 250-seat lower-level auditorium and a café. BSI is the construction manager, and Cannon Design is architect.

“The St. Louis Public Library is one of our city’s most treasured and valuable assets, and the restoration and modernization of its Central Library is essential to the library’s continued success and service to our community,” Emerson Chairman, Chief Executive and President David Farr said in a statement.

Waller McGuire, executive director of the St. Louis Public Library, said Farr toured the library in recent weeks and viewed construction plans. “Theirs is a transformational gift, and I think they have a great deal of respect for understanding the importance of the project on the community,” McGuire said.

The Central Library will be closed during the two-year construction period. A satellite location of the library located in the Old Post Office at 815 Olive St. will accommodate downtown library users. Some unique library materials will be moved to a library-owned building at Locust and 18th streets and will be accessible to researchers.

Alison Ferring and Tom Schlafly are the capital campaign co-chairs, and Rick Simoncelli is the foundation’s president. Since the capital campaign launched last fall, $7.6 million in pledges from private donors have been made toward the $20 million goal. Simoncelli said he expects the capital campaign to run concurrently with construction.

In addition to private and corporate donations, the library is getting public support for the project. In late 2009, the Missouri Development Finance Board approved $3 million in tax credits through the state’s Tax Credit for Contribution Program. The tax credit equals 50 percent of money contributed by taxpayers for the project. McGuire said Emerson opted not to receive the tax credits so they can be used to attract other donors.

The St. Louis Public Library also is in talks with city officials about a more than $40 million bond issue to fund construction. Library officials were set to go before the city’s Industrial Development Authority on Thursday for the bond request.

The Missouri Botanical Garden has named Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, director of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland in Dublin, as successor to President Dr. Peter Raven, who’s stepping down after 40 years at the helm.

Raven said he first met Wyse Jackson 20 years ago when the two were working on a plant conservation committee that eventually gave birth to Botanic Gardens Conservation International, a worldwide organization promoting plant conservation, environmental education and sustainable development through botanic gardens. Wyse Jackson led the BGCI as secretary general.

The pair worked again to encourage countries around the world to assess the diversity of their plant populations and create a plan for conservation.

Raven described Wyse Jackson as a leader with a thoughtful manner who is highly regarded for building up good institutions.

“He has international connections and has been to more botanical gardens around the world and knows more people than anyone,” Raven said. “I think the garden will move more into conservation under him.”

Many garden lovers say Wyse Jackson has big shoes to fill when Raven hands over the reins Sept. 1.

“He has put Missouri on the global map,” said Arnold Donald, chairman of the garden’s board of trustees, said of Raven, a world-renowned botanist.

Dubbed a “Hero of the Planet” by Time magazine, Raven is credited with transforming the garden into a world-class center for botanical research, education and horticultural display.

Raven, 73, is known globally as an advocate for preserving plant diversity in the face of deforestation, degradation and global warming. He also warns about the growing problem of nature-deficit disorder, speaking about the need to instill in children a love of nature that will translate into concerned adults.

In 2000, President Clinton gave Raven the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor.

Wyse Jackson, 55, has served as the director of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland since March 2005. During his tenure, the Kilkenny, Ireland native placed a new emphasis on organic horticulture and home gardening. He made environmental sustainability a priority of the institution, reducing waste and energy consumption, promoting new programs and research on biodiversity, conservation and sustainable development.

Wyse Jackson has authored scores of scientific books and papers on plant conservation, gardening and horticulture, Irish floristics and plant systematics, and the management and conservation of endangered island floras.

“The Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the top botanical institutions in the world, internationally known for its global scientific endeavors and as a cultural institution,” Wyse Jackson said. “It is an honor to have been selected for the presidency at this prestigious institution. The great challenges that we face worldwide in securing a sustainable environment for the future place great responsibilities to provide continued leadership through such great institutions as the Missouri Botanical Garden.”

The 150-year-old Missouri Botanical Garden is the oldest continually operating botanical garden in the nation. In 2009, the garden reported revenue of $36 million and an endowment of nearly $70 million.