A green thing or two.

When you visit the State Fair this year, keep an eye out for some green things.

For one, you may notice that there are more places to sit and relax in a natural environment. What was once the parking lot between Dorton Arena, the Jim Graham Building and Expo Center is now under construction to become the Dorton Triangle, complete with two, large grass and flower-filled havens, seating and eventually trees for shade.

But the greenest thing about the Dorton Triangle construction project, other than the new green places to sit, is that the old asphalt and underlying stone will be reused as a base under the new pavement, keeping the material from being hauled to a landfill. Recycled pavement was also used in the Kerr Scott parking lot, renovated in 2007. Construction should be complete before opening day of the fair, so be sure to bring your giant turkey leg or deep fried Oreos to the new Dorton Triangle, and relax.

Another green thing to notice can best be seen at night. Dorton Arena has been outfitted in more than 1,200 feet of red LED rope lighting, replacing the old 400 watt fiber optic lights. The new LED lights use about a tenth of the energy of fiber optics, not to mention the red color quality is much brighter and can be seen all over the fairgrounds. Just tell your friends to meet you by the red LEDs.

And don’t be alarmed if a funny looking truck suddenly sneaks up behind you, it’s just a State Fair employee in one of our extremely quiet E-Ride EXV2 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles. Late last year, the fairgrounds received a Clean Fuel Advanced Technology grant to purchase two of the trucks. They are so small, yet can haul more than 1,000 pounds, and run as far as 55 miles on one charge. The trucks produce no tail pipe emissions, and are street-legal in 35-mile-per-hour zones. Officials hope to eventually replace more of the our fleet of gas-powered trucks with fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.

These are only a few of the green things going on around here, but there’s a lot more to come. In the mean time, what kind of green things would you like to see at the State Fair?