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City says going green could save more green
By Katy Moore, Staff Writer
Carrollton joined more than 400 cities around the country to implement a grass-roots initiative to go green.
Or at least greener.
Mayor Becky Miller earlier this month signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, joining mayors around the country — who represent some 61 million Americans — in affirming a call for cities, communities and the federal government to take action to reduce global warming.
Miller said current and future goals for the city include plans to reduce sprawl, preserve open space, save on energy costs and encourage residents to conserve resources.
"This is everything (cities) all have to look at because of our water shortage, our air quality and the possibility of losing transportation funding," Miller said. "We've got to do something, and it's sad that we've gotten to the point where people almost have to be scared into action."
Miller referred to the often gruesome visions painted by environmental advocates but said the idea of elementary school children not being able to play outside because of ozone danger is more pressing to her.
Scott Hudson, interim director of environmental services for Carrollton, said creating incentives and providing local solutions to the climate change problem could help the city get ahead of the learning curve when it comes to environmental responsibility.
Hudson said the city is gradually switching over to lower emissions vehicles as the city's fleet cars need to be replaced. When possible, Carrollton will buy hybrid vehicles or those that run on E-85 or bio-diesel fuel. The city participates in the Texas Clean Fleet Program and is a member of the North Texas Clean Air Steering Committee.
"Carrollton is committed to supporting emission reduction, energy conservation and other environmental initiatives in the region and has been an active regional partner for many years," Hudson said.
Terry Sullivan, a Carrollton resident and Dallas Sierra Club member, presented the idea for signing the climate protection agreement to city officials. Sullivan, a longtime member of the environmental advocacy group, said he hoped signing on with many other U.S. mayors would propel the city to even stronger environmental stewardship.
"There's lot of things that we as individuals can do, just by replacing some of our lightbulbs," Sullivan said. "If you extrapolate that through the city and the energy savings that can be done with that alone, it saves energy, it saves the taxpayers money and is has a huge impact."
Sullivan said the Sierra Club is putting its money where it mouth is.
At the organization's last meeting, the group gave away 100 compact florescent light bulbs. Sullivan said he hopes others in his hometown will start taking similar small steps toward change, pointing to the example of other municipalities that have saved substantial chunks of money just by changing out their light bulbs.
"In the city of Palo Alto, Calif., 60 municipally-owned building went to the compact florescent bulbs, and they saved $117,625 each year in energy costs," Sullivan said. "That's pretty strong."
Miller said leadership on fiscal savings and responsibility could help provide the incentive to conserve for residents.
"We've just go to let people know that they've got to conserve," she said. "We are just going to keep educating people on conservation efforts. This is just to show that we're going to do whatever is within our power to be good stewards of the environment.
Contact staff writer Katy Moore at kmoore@acnpapers.com
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