Green Cities, Greener World
By Ann Bailey
When we’re in an election year, it’s easy to mistake the United States as a “blue state/red state” country. But the truth is, we’re greener than one might imagine, no matter what party you support.
Since 1932, mayors of every political persuasion have worked together on critical policy matters as members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM). When the organization was founded, the country was mired in the Great Depression, with millions out of work, homeowners struggling to keep their houses, and cities grappling with huge debt. In response, Congress authorized a $300 million federal assistance program (big money in those days) similar to the 2009 stimulus package that provided funds directly to cities.
Since 1932, mayors of every political persuasion have worked together on critical policy matters as members of the
U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM). When the organization was founded, the country was mired in the Great Depression, with millions out of work, homeowners struggling to keep their houses, and cities grappling with huge debt. In response, Congress authorized a $300 million federal assistance program (big money in those days) similar to the 2009 stimulus package that provided funds directly to cities.
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Coming Together for Change
In 2005, despite the wrangling in Congress over the climate change issue, USCM members unanimously endorsed a Climate Protection Agreement that committed their cities to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Today, more than 1,000 mayors have now signed the agreement, which conforms to Kyoto Protocol targets.
Getting out ahead of Washington, the USCM launched The U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Center in 2007. While the partisan squabbling continued in the nation’s Capitol, the mayors had already embarked on several impressive projects to make their cities greener. |
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Leading by Example
By 2005,
Chicago had made energy efficiency retrofits to more than 15 million square feet in city buildings under Mayor Richard Daley. By the end of 2006, all fire stations in the city had undergone complete lighting retrofits. The annual savings in electricity costs amounted to $250,000, but perhaps even more impressive was the 3,515-ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Milwaukee’s Mayor Tom Barrett set out to decrease energy consumption by 10 percent in more than 800 buildings belonging to the city, including City Hall. Lighting was made more efficient by installing daylight optimization controls, which automatically adjust lighting based on occupancy and available daylight. Barrett, who signed the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement in 2007, also created an
Office of Environmental Sustainability. The City will use $5.8 million it received as part of a federal stimulus package to continue retrofitting city-owned buildings and to create a loan fund to help homeowners and businesses make their own energy improvements to reduce energy use and save on utility bills.
You Don’t Have to Be a Major Metropolis…
Smaller cities have embraced the go-green initiative as well. Arlington, Texas, (population 365,000), sits in the center of the state that ranks second nationally in
oil production, trailing only Alaska. Despite its location, Arlington has made a major commitment to
going green. The City has pledged to reduce the use of fossil fuels in municipal operations and cut greenhouse gas emissions. At the direction of Mayor Robert Cluck, the City conducted a study to determine where energy savings could be had. As a result, the City installed light sensors in city buildings and converted traffic lights at more than 300 intersections to light-emitting diode (LED) lights. The LED signals use 82 percent less electricity than incandescent lights and are expected to result in annual savings of more than 2.8 million kWh.
The Pioneer 360 Business Center in Arlington was the first industrial project in Texas to earn
LEED Gold Core and Shell Certification. The City provided an economic incentives package for the Center that included grants, tax abatements and fee waivers, according to Economic Development Manager Robert Sturns.
Defining “Best Practices”
Wilkes-Barre, Penn., population 41,000, was the
first-place winner among small cities in the Mayor’s Climate Protection Center’s 2009
Best Practices competition. Ironically, in the 1900s Wilkes-Barre was an economically thriving community totally dependent on the coal-mining industry. Once the mines played out, the City fell on hard times and has struggled to revitalize. As part of the revitalization effort, Mayor Thomas Leighton’s administration set a goal of making the City more eco-friendly and hired an Energy Services Contracting Organization (ESCO) to develop an energy-reduction program. Check
here to see if your city is among the 1,017 signatories to the US Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. And if it is, find out what it’s doing to be a green city and pledge to help. If your city has not signed the Agreement, you can contact your mayor’s office and city council and campaign for them to sign on.
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