On New Year's Eve, curmudgeons at Lake Superior State University in Michigan included "green" on a list of overused terms that had lost meaning and ought to be banned from serious conversation.
They have a point. Claiming to be "green" seems to be the theme of half the commercials on TV. Yet making the world "greener" is one of the few universally shared goals of our time. The questions are: What does it entail, how do we do it, and when?
The Voice asked a number of the well-credentialed environmentalists and policymakers who live in Takoma Park or Silver Spring to give us a few ideas that could be enacted soon, sometime this year, at the local or state level.
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MIKE TIDWELL:Pass the Global Warming Solutions Act
The number one priority of all Marylanders for 2009 should be passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act. This bill would mandate a statewide cut of 25 percent from current levels of greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. Promoting wind power, solar energy, and dramatic efficiency gains will help Maryland reduce smog pollution, asthma rates, mercury contamination, and acid rain as well as fight climate change.
It would help nationally, too, by making the case to Congress and the Obama administration that what we really need is a national cap on carbon dioxide. Maryland's geographic proximity to federal policymakers offers us the added benefit - and responsibility - of pressuring Congress with everything we do. Federal action would, in turn, allow the U.S. to return to international efforts through the Kyoto process.
So every voter in every city and every county in our state should loudly insist that the General Assembly pass the Global Warming Solutions Act in the next session that starts at the end of January!
Mike Tidwell is the director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network
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JAMIE RASKIN:Walk, eat veggies, green your roof
As of 2008 walking is Maryland's official exercise. So in 2009 let's have a Green Day in Silver Spring and Takoma Park on a Saturday or Sunday when everyone walks or uses public transit and no one drives unless it's an emergency. Then we can expand it to a Green Weekend next year. After that we could make every weekend Green!
As an unreconstructed carnivore, I am painfully aware how much land and water go into the raising and slaughter of poultry and livestock compared to growing fruits and vegetables, and I also know how much our meat industries contribute to the destruction of the Chesapeake Bay.
Every year I hear from vegetarians about the public environmental and private health benefits of giving up meat, and they're right.
Let's have an official promotion in 2009 of National Vegetarian Week, May 18-24, and I commit right now, along with other sheepish meat-eaters, to give complete vegetarianism a try that week. Perhaps our local restaurants could feature vegetarian specials. And, everyone, please read Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.
Let's make Silver Spring and Takoma Park famous for green roofs. I am working on legislation to promote green roofs throughout Maryland, but we can lead the way locally. Green roofs dramatically reduce global warming and absorb storm water, a big pollutant. Consult with Takoma Park's Jim Epstein and his group, DC Greenworks -- they have started to make it happen.
Jamie Raskin is the state senator for Maryland District 20
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SAT JIWAN IKLE-KHALSA:Green our public buildings
In Takoma Park we should conduct an energy audit of the community center. More than ten years ago the City did a comprehensive analysis of greenhouse gas emissions,resulting in a few remedial improvements. One of the successful pieces was energy efficiency upgrades at several city facilities. But now we have a huge new community center that's not very green.
I have found the building is too warm in the winter, too cold in the summer, and keeps on about twice as many lights as it needs. There are venting devices in the atrium with gaping holes showing daylight and outside air moving in and out of the building. An audit should be able to identify several ways to save money and energy without too much effort or upfront costs.
For the near future, the City should make sure that the upcoming renovations of the auditorium and the public works facility are done to high green standards.
At the county level, we should demand that the $15.5 million renovation of Takoma Park Elementary not take advantage of a loophole to avoid green construction policies. Because the renovation will result in less than a 50 percent increase in size the green policies do not apply, and the current plan is not follow them. This is unacceptable and flies in the face of the County's new law requiring all new government buildings be built to LEED Silver standards, making them more energy efficient as well as healthier to work in or go to school in.
President-elect Obama is looking for shovel-ready projects to modernize schools and ways to stimulate the economy with green jobs. Could there be any better opportunity than this? The Board of Education and the County Council need to hear from residents now since construction at the school is slated to begin this summer.
Sat Jiwan Iklé-Khalsa is a Voice columnist and a green building/renovation consultant
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CATHERINE TUNIS:
Prevent stormwater run-off, plant trees, eliminate mercury
In Takoma Park our committee is recommending that we revisit and implement the City's climate change action plan and promote retention of storm water on site so it can soak in and recharge the groundwater as opposed to having large volumes of runoff that cause stream damage. The challenge is find money in the budget for someone on staff whose job it would be to make these things happen.
My own green wish is for the City to create a plan to preserve our treasure of large trees, especially the oaks. They contribute more than most people imagine to cooling the climate, protecting the watershed, providing wildlife habitat, and cleaning the air. A treed backyard is 12 degrees cooler in summer than a sunny yard. It can take centuries for an oak to grow and only an instant for an unthinking person to damage one enough to kill it. I would also like to see more trees planted where there are none, for instance along New Hampshire Avenue.
At the state level, to keep toxic mercury out of our food chain, we need to pass legislation to require removal of mercury-containing switches from vehicles being scrapped. Auto manufacturers, who knowingly used mercury, would have to pay recyclers about $4 per switch. We also need to pass the Maryland climate action plan. The State already has 42 recommended actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ranging from urban trees to waste management and recycling to land use and transit.
Catherine Tunis is the chair of the Takoma Park Committee on the Environment
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VALERIE ERVIN:Plant more gardens--EVERYWHERE
Many local residents, especially those of us who live in multifamily homes without yards, have been very vocal about the lack of green space in our area. We would like to see vacant spaces and pocket parks used in more creative ways to connect us to nature and provide more recreation. That is why my most recent green initiative is the creation of community gardens.
I am working on a pilot project with Park and Planning to create community gardens in local parks that currently attract few users. We will be able to grow our own vegetables and create a community asset that can be used to educate children about sustainable gardening, nutrition and nature. Community gardens are amenities that not only help the environment but also enable residents to build connections with each other in new ways. Or perhaps I should say old ways.
Stay tuned for news about the spring opening of a Silver Spring community garden.
Valerie Ervin is the Montgomery County Councilmember for District 5.
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GEORGE LEVENTHAL:Use biodiesel and renewable electricity
Biodiesel is a clean fuel refined from vegetable or animal fat, oil or grease. It can substitute for petroleum diesel fuel without any modifications to a truck, bus or tractor engine. Because biodiesel recycles carbon dioxide, it contributes far less to the greenhouse effect, plus it emits less particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon than petroleum diesel. Following up on a 2007 resolution that I sponsored the County is now preparing to survey restaurants to determine how we could collect used cooking oils and refine them into this "cool fuel."
Volunteers willing to assist in the restaurant survey can get in touch at 240-777-7811 or Councilmember.Leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov
Montgomery County makes it easy to choose clean, renewable sources of electricity in your home and to receive a tax rebate of a half-cent per kilowatt hour. This reduces your add-on cost of clean energy by 15 to 25 percent. Visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cleanenergyrewards for more information. Those who purchase 100 percent clean electricity can entirely eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from all household electrical outlets.
George Leventhal is an At Large Montgomery County Councilmember
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FRANCA BRILLIANT:
Avoid bottled water, watch your thermostat
Governments at all levels should stop buying bottled water. The rapid growth of the bottled water industry exemplifies our tendency to place convenience above all else, including the pocket book. People spend more than 240 times as much for store-bought water as for what comes out of the tap, despite the fact that tap water is better regulated for quality and contaminants.
There is huge waste in the production and transportation of bottled water, more than 17 million barrels of oil annually or enough to fuel 100,000 cars, according to the Pacific Institute. What's more, it has contributed to the privatization of aquifers, i.e. the control of vital natural resources for private gain. So stop buying bottled water for your family, at sporting events, in the office, when you're traveling, and instead invest in a couple of good reusable bottles. If governments do the same thing it will have the happy effect of saving taxpayers money while helping the planet. The good news is that Takoma Park and dozens of other cities around the country have already done this.
Heating and cooling consume vast amounts of energy, and if government offices lowered their thermostats in winter and raised them in the summer, the energy savings would be enormous. If you're above a certain age, you'll remember when President Carter asked Americans to turn winter thermostats down to 65 degrees. It's still a good idea. Besides conserving energy, it saves money. Estimates range, but the lowest one matches a one-degree drop with a one-percent reduction in energy bills.
This is another step that can be done individually as well as mandated by public policy. California has taken the extreme position of proposing centrally controlled thermostats to be set by an external authority. Even Takoma Park may not be ready to go that far, but I do think we're ready to be a little warmer in the summer and a little colder in the winter.
Franca Brilliant is a longtime advocate for sustainable consumption.
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PAUL CHROSTOWSKI
Study impact on new construction, limit growth
For any major expenditure or significant action at the city or county level - e.g. the Takoma Park community center or the Silver Spring civic center -- there should be an environmental review, analogous to the federal review established by the National Environmental Policy Act.
The review should include impacts on air, water, and soil quality, energy use, waste generation, biodiversity, forest preservation, noise, endangered species and other concerns. From the outset alternative options should be developed, and these should go through the same review so the option with the least environmental impact is selected. An independent committee with expertise in environmental science, engineering and policy areas should carry out the review, as well as solicit public comment.
A strict limit on growth is a critical step toward a sustainable community. For a period of time no permits for new commercial or residential construction or expansion of existing structures should be granted at the county level. Permits should be restricted to repairs or renovations of existing facilities with no increase in size. During this period the countywide use of energy can be calculated through utility records for electricity and natural gas and distributor records for heating oil. If a stable level of energy use is attained, the next step should be to reduce the generation of wastes and the use of materials that cannot be recycled. If a stable level of energy use is not attained, more severe measures may be required to reach sustainability.
Paul Chrostowski is president of CPF Associates, Inc.
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My resolution is to speak out on the need for sound policies regarding human population, especially during the month of the Global Population Speak Out--February 2009.
Human population growth is the underlying driving force behind every threat to our planet's ecosystems, and stronger policies to promote education and opportunity for girls and women, expand access to contraception, and create incentives for having smaller families worldwide would do more to prevent ecological collapse than any combination of piecemeal environmental policies. In the developed world, each one of us can choose to adopt, teach, or explore any of the other myriad ways to share our lives with children besides creating more of our own. In so doing, we leave more food, water and space for wildlife and leave less pollution and habitat destruction in our wake.
Learn more about the Global Population Speakout and the importance of moderating human population growth for the sake of our survival at http://gpso.wordpress.com/.