INC NEWS - encouraging conservation

Sun Dec 30 09:54:47 EST 2007

   <javascript:;>In light of recent conversations about encouraging 
conservation, this article from today's N&O describes things other 
cities have done.
Kelly J

Print <javascript:;> Close <javascript:;> The News & Observer
Published: Dec 30, 2007 12:30 AM
Modified: Dec 30, 2007 02:21 AM

    Cities offer incentives to encourage residents to go green

Brian Skoloff, The Associated Press
PARKLAND, FLA. - Free hybrid car parking. Cash rebates for solar panel 
installations. Low-interest loans for energy-efficient home renovations. 
Tearing up that water-thirsty lawn in the parched Southwest? The check's 
in the mail, courtesy of a city government.

Frustrated by what they see as insufficient action by the federal 
government, municipalities around the country are offering financial 
incentives to get people to go green. The United States is the only 
major industrial country to have rejected the Kyoto Protocol, which 
requires international greenhouse gas reductions. More than 700 cities, 
however, have signed a U.S. Conference of Mayors document pledging to 
try to meet Kyoto targets.

In Parkland, where the motto is "Environmentally Proud," the city plans 
next year to begin offering a package of cash rebates to its 25,000 
residents for being more environmentally friendly.

"We will literally issue them a check," Vice Mayor Jared Moskowitz said. 
"We're sick of waiting for the federal government to do something, so 
we've got to do what we can."

Residents who install low-flow toilets or shower heads will get $150. 
Replacing an old air conditioner with a more energy-efficient brand 
brings $100. Buying a hybrid car? Another $200 cash back. And the list 
goes on.

Based on an estimate of 1,000 residents participating in the rebate 
program during the first year, the city predicts it will cost as much as 
$100,000 -- no small change in times of tight budgets.

But for Moskowitz, it's the principle, not the payout, that matters.

"The gain to the city and the residents is to improve the environment. 
That's what we get," Moskowitz said. "Could this bankrupt the city if 
the program grows by leaps and bounds? I can only wish that so many 
residents want to go green that that becomes an issue."

*Other incentives*

Many states already offer such rebates and incentives through tax 
breaks, loans and perks such as allowing hybrid car drivers to use car 
pool lanes.

Utilities have long provided incentives to purchase energy-efficient 
appliances, solar panels and toilets that use less water. The federal 
government, too, offers tax incentives for purchases of many hybrid 
vehicles and energy-saving products.

Still, for many cities, it's just not enough.

"In terms of waiting for the federal government, we've waited a long 
time, and frankly we haven't gotten very much," said Jared Blumenfeld, 
director of San Francisco's Department of Environment. "And how do you 
change someone's behavior? The simple answer is cash."

Starting next year, San Francisco will offer homeowners rebates worth as 
much as $5,000 off the price of installing solar panels if they use 
local contractors. Coupled with state and federal incentives, that could 
cut in half the $21,000 cost for an average household, Blumenfeld said.

The city also will cover as much as 90 percent of costs associated with 
making multifamily dwellings, such as apartment buildings, more energy 
efficient, and will pay residents $150 to replace old appliances with 
ones that meet federal energy-saving standards.

The neighboring city of Berkeley is financing the cost of solar panels 
for homeowners who agree to pay the money back through a 20-year 
property tax assessment.

Nearby Marin County offers a $500 rebate to homeowners who install solar 
systems.

Baltimore offers a minimum $2,000 grant toward closing costs on new home 
purchases within the vicinity of a resident's employer under the city's 
"Live Near Your Work" program.

"Just living near your job and taking transit or walking to meet your 
daily needs provides basically the same environmental benefit as buying 
a hybrid car," said Amanda Eaken of the Natural Resources Defense 
Council, an environmental group.

Residents of Albuquerque, N.M., get fast-track building permits and 
other perks if they agree to make their homes more energy-efficient.

"Our actions are influencing our climate," said John Soladay, the city's 
sustainability officer. "The action has to take place locally."

In Arizona, many cities pay residents to replace grass with artificial 
turf or plants that use less water. Scottsdale, outside Phoenix, will 
pay its citizens as much as $1,500. "The overriding motivation is 
principle," city spokesman Mike Phillips said. "We're in the middle of a 
desert, and water is absolutely the most precious resource we have."

Glendale, another Phoenix suburb, has spent about $500,000 over the past 
two decades helping pay to replace homeowners' lawns and gardens, 
bringing an estimated savings of a million gallons of water a year.

*Focus on residential*

The movement began with cities "greening" their own operations, 
switching to natural gas buses, installing energy-efficient light bulbs 
in administration buildings and leading by example.

Mayors then looked to businesses to do their part, offering enticements 
and tax breaks to reduce their carbon footprints. Now they're 
encouraging residents.

"There's a lot of policies now that are really starting to focus on 
residential," said Jason Hartke, director of advocacy for the U.S. Green 
Building Council. "And a lot of localities recognize they're going to 
get a lot more done using carrots and incentives rather than regulatory 
means."

Steve Morgan, vice president of the environmental consulting firm Clean 
Energy Solutions Inc., said local efforts, while "noble," are no 
substitute for federal action.

"I applaud it," he said, "but it's just the tip of the iceberg of what 
needs to be done."

© Copyright 2007, The News & Observer Publishing Company

A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company <http://www.mcclatchy.com/>

-- 
Dr. Kelly Jarrett
Program Director
Duke Islamic Studies Center
919-668-2143

124 Franklin Center, Box 90402
2204 Erwin Road
Durham, NC  27708