Travel Green Gatlinburg!

As stewards of the majestic Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the residents and business community of Gatlinburg are aware of the responsibility to be environmentally conscious about every aspect of life in the Smokies.

Gatlinburg is pledged to pursue every opportunity to stay in touch with our environment and maintain the aesthetics which allow this gateway city to blend into our mountains, supporting not only the goals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but the wishes of our community to continue to offer a unique, unforgettable setting to make memories in a wholesome and conscientious community. Be Sure to visit our NEW Gatlinburg Goes Green Site www.gatlinburggoesgreen.com

The voluntary program recognizes Member businesses that have made a commitment to continuously improve their operations in order to reduce their environmental impact. This program allows Member businesses to evaluate their operations, set goals, and take specific actions towards environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

Gatlinburg is indeed going "green" through many programs, several of which are documented below:

Smokies Launches Global Climate Educational Initiative - Date: June 16, 2008

On Monday, June 16 Great Smoky Mountains National Park launched a new "Do Your Part" initiative aimed at educating visitors about measures that they can take, in the Park and at home, to reduce their contributions to global warming. Visitors to the Park's visitor centers and other facilities will find information posted with suggestions on how they can minimize their carbon footprint during their visit as well as when they return home.

The Park is encouraging the public to visit the Park's website: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/climate-friendly-park.htm to get a variety of information on climate change and personal actions to reduce their contribution to the problem. Also at the site they can sign up to learn more about how their current carbon footprint and set goals for reducing it.

Simple suggestions for reducing carbon emissions while visiting the Park include: Shut off your vehicle rather than letting it idle. Park visitors often leave vehicle running while they get out to enjoy the scenery at overlooks, but if a vehicle idles longer than 20 seconds it burns more gas than it takes to restart it.

Bring a reusable water bottle. Americans buy about 28 billion bottles of water each year, but substantial energy is used to fill and transport them and later to collect and dispose of them as waste.

At home, ideas include: Use ENERGY STARR appliances and compact fluorescent lights. Replacing the five most-used lights in an average home can save $65 a year.

Lower the thermostat in the winter and raise it in summer. Changing the thermostat and adding insulation offer the best opportunity to save energy and reduce emission from homes.

The "Do Your Part" initiative is the public outreach component of the National Park Service's Climate Friendly Parks Program. The Smokies is one of 40 National Park Service units nationwide that committed to taking on-the-ground action to address global warming. Climate Friendly Parks, are working to achieve maximum energy efficiency in park buildings and operations by developing a baseline emissions inventory, by setting an emissions reduction target and defining a comprehensive set of planned climate-friendly actions.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park earned its distinction as a Climate Friendly Parks Member Park by completing a Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory and hosting a Climate Friendly Parks Workshop. Other Park initiatives have included conversion of its entire diesel fleet to biodiesel, acquiring a total of nine hybrid sedans, and constructing its newly-completed Twin Creeks Science and Education Center to qualify for LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). * * * NPS * * *

Gatlinburg Trolleys Use B20 Biodiesel

The City of Gatlinburg's entire fleet of Mass Transit System trolleys (20-plus vehicles) is fueled by a blend of B20 biodiesel, a 20-percent vegetable oil-based fuel product blended with 80 percent petroleum-based diesel. Biodiesel has a sparkling track record of reducing engine wear and maintenance and increasing fuel economy while decreasing sulfur, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions.

Biodiesel is to petroleum diesel fuel what ethanol (E85) is to gasoline: a substitute fuel made from biomass, which means that it is inherently renewable and, in itself, it contributes nothing to carbon-dioxide loading of the atmosphere. Biodiesel commonly uses soybean or canola oil as its base, but animal fat or recycled cooking oil can also be used. To speed its market introduction, and dilute its additional cost over petroleum diesel fuel, the initial commercial product being studied is a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel fuel, whence B20.

Gatlinburg's trolley fleet comprises the fifth-largest mass transit system in the State of Tennessee, not bad for a community of 3,500 residents. It originated in 1980 with only six trolleys, but the fleet has grown to 20-plus trolleys servicing approximately 50 miles of trolley routes. All trolleys are handicap accessible.

In 2007, nearly 800,000 riders utilized the Gatlinburg Mass Transit System, saving large amounts of energy, reducing carbon emissions and relieving traffic congestion while servicing Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community and Dollywood. Thousands upon thousands of visitors utilize the trolley system each week during prime seasons, leaving their cars parked.

Gatlinburg Goes "GREEN" For The Holidays

"More than Three Million Energy-Conserving LED Lights Save Electricity and Energy Costs"

In late fall, as the skies fill with the promise of snow, the lighting spectacular of Gatlinburg Winter Magic brings the holiday spirit beautifully alive in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. This year, not only will more than three million lights warm the hearts of thousands of visitors, but the use of power-saving LED (light emitting diode) lights will help conserve energy.

"Holiday lights are a long tradition in Gatlinburg," said David Perella, Executive Director of the Department of Tourism. "The City is dedicated to preserving traditions that mean so much while at the same time we are dedicated to protecting our valuable natural resources and being good stewards of our environment," he added.

Gatlinburg has staged a Smoky Mountain Winterfest Celebration for nearly two decades. Gatlinburg Winter Magic is one of the most popular attractions of the festival and is listed as a Top 20 Event for Fall 2007 by the Southeast Tourism Society. Holiday lights, illuminated streets and animated displays transform Gatlinburg into a winter wonderland from November through February, with Smoky Mountain Winterfest offering everything from old fashion hayrides to live entertainment.

Gatlinburg's investment in energy efficient LED lights will provide the City with substantial energy savings. For example, the snowflake displays in use since 1989 require 90 to 95 incandescent bulbs that consume five watts of electricity each, which totals nearly 500 watts per display. The same display converted to crisp LED lights uses only about 20 watts.

"Gatlinburg offers vacationers a magical city of lights and holiday cheer," said Perella. "As a community that takes our responsibility to the environment seriously, we wanted to find a way to conserve electricity, especially during the holiday season."

Phase II of an ongoing City enhancement program which has seen Gatlinburg commit almost $1 million to its lighting program will soon debut. This holiday season Gatlinburg is adding new lighting displays to complement Winter Magic's returning favorites like snowflakes, arches, trees and scrolls. The new displays will feature wildlife such as deer and rabbits which are commonly seen in the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Gatlinburg Winter Magic Takes Advantage of LED Advances

Light emitting diodes, commonly called LEDs, are real unsung heroes in the electronics world. They do dozens of different jobs and are found in all kinds of devices. Among other things, they form the numbers on digital clocks, transmit information from remote controls, light up watches and tell you when your appliances are turned on. Collected together, they can form images on a jumbo television screen or illuminate a traffic light.

Basically, LEDs are just tiny light bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. But unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don't have a filament that will burn out, and they don't get especially hot. They are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, and they last just as long as a standard transistor.

But the main advantage is efficiency. In conventional incandescent bulbs, the light-production process involves generating a lot of heat (the filament must be warmed). This is completely wasted energy, unless you're using the lamp as a heater, because a huge portion of the available electricity isn't going toward producing visible light. LEDs generate very little heat, relatively speaking. A much higher percentage of the electrical power is going directly to generating light, which cuts down on the electricity demands considerably.

Up until recently, LEDs were too expensive to use for most lighting applications because they're built around advanced semiconductor material. The price of semiconductor devices has plummeted over the past decade, however, making LEDs a more cost-effective lighting option for a wide range of situations. While they may be more expensive than incandescent lights up front, their lower cost in the long run can make them a better buy. In the future, they will play an even bigger role in the world of technology.

Gatlinburg Winter Magic is a Hit With All Involved

The first two phases of the Gatlinburg Winter Magic tm Lights Program go into the history books as a positive success, and more of the efficient "Light Emitting Diode" (LED) displays are on the way.

The City of Gatlinburg is in the process of converting all of its winter lights displays from incandescent bulbs to high-efficiency, more durable LED bulbs, which burn at just five percent of the wattage required by incandescent fixtures.

Phase I of Gatlinburg Winter Magic tm, implemented in November of 2006, put the emphasis on the Downtown Parkway area enhanced by the City's Undergrounding and Streetscape Project as well as the triangle, featuring a rich forest of tree branches, scrolls and snowflakes that accent streetlights.

Phase II of Gatlinburg Winter Magic tm which debuted in November of 2007 features animals indigenous to Great Smoky Mountains National Park including a bear, deer, fox, squirrel, cougar and rabbit.

All incandescent light displays on the Parkway from the North entrance of town to the south boundary at Great Smoky Mountains National Park have been converted to LED, accentuated by branches and scrolls, as part of Phase II. In addition, another 20 arches have been added in the area of Light #5 and the triangle area in downtown has been revamped.

For all its beauty, Gatlinburg Winter Magic tm is also a hit with the three City Departments that deal with the installation and maintenance of the three million lights which illuminate town during Smoky Mountain Winterfest and draw countless visitors to town. Perhaps most important: the LED lights are energy efficient.

"We have saved a substantial amount of electrical wattage throughout areas in which the LED lights have been installed," said Robert Marine, the Winter Lights Coordinator and Facility Manager with the City's Building Maintenance Department that handles the electrical wiring of the displays. "Once we get the LEDs in use all over the City, it will mean a signification savings of electricity."

The incandescent snowflake displays formerly featured throughout the City required 90 to 95 incandescent bulbs pulling five watts of electricity each, nearly 500 watts per display. By comparison, the same display converted to about the same number of LED lights pulls about 20 watts of electrical power.

As another example, the incandescent lights in the City's cross-street chandeliers included in excess of 1,000 and as many as 2,000 bulbs each pulling five watts of energy, adding up to as much as 10,000 watts per chandelier. The City had as many as 21 of the chandeliers scattered throughout the City, most of them on Parkway.

Most of the chandeliers were replaced by the new LED tree displays mounted on the street lights installed during the Undergrounding and Streetscape Project.

Energy consumption has been cut dramatically and many believe LEDs are brighter and more colorful. Maintenance has also been simplified.

"The maintenance on these LED lights is very low and they're very rugged," said Marine. "They are cool-burning, bright and colorful. It is basically an electronic bulb and is the difference between night and day as far as efficiency. We did not have to rebulb a single LED display all winter."

Compare that to the incandescent lights, which require re-bulbing from time to time. The small incandescent bulb pulls five watts of electricity and is basically the same as used in a night light with a basic filament that, if shaken, sometimes breaks. Wind also can shake bulbs out of displays, meaning extra maintenance time.

The LED bulbs are more expensive but are guaranteed for five years. While not indestructible, they are tough, and the only conversion the City had to do was install low voltage transformers which reduce the voltage from 120 volts AC to 12 volts DC.

Implementing the Winterfest Lights Program is a major team project for the City. Building Maintenance starts checking the electrical connections in display areas in early September. Lights positioned on poles are installed by the Street Department, which begins mounting displays in October and spends much of March taking them down and storing them.

The Recreation Department installs all light displays that are not mounted on a pole. Ground displays are erected in October and taken down after Smoky Mountain Winterfest concludes at the end of February. Several Smoky Mountain Romance displays are added after the Christmas holidays.

Reminder: Animal-Proof Refuse Storage a Requirement

City ordinances and Tennessee statutes prohibit the feeding of wild animals and require the use of animal-proof refuse containers and dumpsters by all residents and businesses within the City Limits.

Commercial and residential garbage must be inaccessible to wildlife. Garbage placed outdoors must be placed in a City-approved storage container. Enforcement of the associated regulations will likely be increased in the upcoming fall months, with an anticipated active bear season within the City due to low mast production in the National Park. Please advise your guests and patrons of these policies as well.

Ensure that your refuse containers are approved as animal-proof receptacles and that lids work properly and are closed and secured each time you dispose of trash.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is primarily charged with enforcing the regulations, with support enforcement from the Gatlinburg Police Department. A number of warning citations have been issued along with several court orders for non-compliance.