Last week New Orleans hosted the nation’s second annual Brownfields Conference from November 16th to the 18th. There, local, state, and federal government officials, contractors, real estate developers, engineers, construction firms, lawyers, and community development organizations from all over the United States gathered to discuss environmental revitalization and economic redevelopment. The conference featured lectures, films, exhibits, and workshops for attendees to learn about important issues and innovative ideas related to brownfields. Exhibits at the conference featured news on current redevelopment projects as well as new technologies designed to assess or clean properties. For those that do not know, a brownfield is a former industrial or commercial site believed to feature some amount of environmental contamination. Gas stations, dry cleaners, and factories are all common sources of pollution that contribute to the formation of brownfields. This contamination has the ability to damage our environments as well as the quality of our drinking water.

Over the past few weeks, I have been focusing the discussion of my blogs on the importance of environmental education and awareness, especially in regard to brownfields. This brownfield convention is a very exciting step towards better general brownfield awareness. It is crucial that our nation’s officials, planners, and developers are educated on the importance of cleaning and redeveloping brownfields, as well as aware of the latest techniques and tools. They, in particular, have the power to shape and influence the future of our communities. To make the greatest impact, our leaders need to take this awareness to the general public as well. Americans need to know that brownfields exist in every community. This knowledge will help gain public support of brownfield cleanup and redevelopment initiatives and ensure that our future communities are sustainable and healthy.

For more information on the 2009 Brownfields Conference visit www.brownfieldsconference.org.