Dallas rolled out a plan Wednesday to "go greener." The city has
produced a video on its environmental efforts.
I wonder:
- How will mayors speak to the "green movement" in their 2008 state of the city speeches this year? How much of the government greening is hype, and how much is real?
- What kind of vehicles would you find in the city motor pool? Are they fuel hogs?
- Is the city replacing vehicles with hybrids? If so, do the new vehicles save money or is it just good PR?
- Does your city purchase recycled paper for the copy machines?
- Do city council members get buried in paper or do they use computers to read bills and amendments?
- Are city agencies putting more information online for the public to access rather than printing it out? What transactions could be done online that now have to be done in person, involving driving to a government office?
- Which of your local government's buildings waste energy due to overheating or overcooling? Aging schools are great examples of this.
- How much does your city spend on paper, such as copy paper?
- Did your mayor mention "green" in last year's state of the city speech?
European cities are upping the ante.
USA Today points out:
Several European cities are following London
by charging or fining drivers in the crowded central part of the city,
only the fees are aimed at reducing pollution along with congestion.
As European cities try to clear air pollution
that is generally worse than in the USA, the Italian city of Milan and
the German cities of Berlin, Cologne and Hanover are imposing the
charges as people go back to work this week after the New Year's
holiday.
In Milan, drivers must pay up to $14.70 a day
for an "eco-pass" to enter the central city. A vehicle entering
Berlin's "environmental zone" must have a special color-coded sticker,
based on the emissions level of the model vehicle, or face a fine of
$58.80 and a penalty point on the driver's license.
"Europe is more densely populated than the
United States," says Peder Jensen of the European Environment Agency in
Copenhagen. "You build up a large concentration of pollution in small
areas. U.S. cities are spread out."
Al, Great post today about cities going green. You raised...
