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Front
Page
November 30,
2007
Community Advocate Newspaper
City
of
Marlborough
goes green
By Angela Greiner Contributing Writer
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(l
to r) Green Marlborough members Susanna Cerni-Price
and Jennifer Boudrie, Department of Public Works
Assistant Commissioner Doran Crouse, Green Marlborough
members Jayne Wilson and Mike Manning, Mayor Nancy
Stevens and Conservation Officer Priscilla Ryder
gather as Stevens signs the "U.S. Cities for
Climate Protection Pledge" Nov. 15.
PHOTO/SUBMITTED
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Marlborough
- With the city's electricity consumption up 25 percent
from 10 years ago, Mayor Nancy Stephens's decision to sign the
"U.S. Cities for Climate Protection Pledge" Nov. 15
could not have happened at a better time.
"It is important to lead by
example," Stevens said. "Therefore, by taking the steps
outlined on a city level we hope to encourage all city residents
to follow suit."
What this means is that, like 800 other
cities,
Marlborough
is committed to implementing energy and environmental changes that
will reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Jennifer Boudrie, a founding member of Green
Marlborough, explained that the mayor signing the pledge was
important for the city.
"This gave us the green light to move
forward," she said.
The pledge is the first step of a four-part
process. The next is to take an inventory of the city's energy
usages and issues, then establish an action plan, and conclude by
implementing that plan. The plan would be developed by a task
force made up of city employees, residents and energy conservation
experts.
According to Boudrie,
Marlborough
's task force can model its plan on those developed by other
nearby cities, like
Worcester
.
Boudrie, who has already completed the
inventory phase, predicted that the city will be ready for the
implementation phase by late spring 2008.
What the inventory process concluded was
that the city produced 900 million pounds of CO2 in 2006. The data
also tracked the municipal, residential and commercial usage of
electricity, natural gas, oil, gas and water, and the recycling
rate.
The most significant observation Boudrie
made was the 25 percent increase in electricity usage. The U.S.
Congress is seeking an 80 percent electricity reduction by the
year 2050.
Boudrie has set a preliminary conservative
target of reducing the city's electricity consumption by 1 to 2
percent by the year 2010. The initial goal is an achievable one
that could be met, she said, by merely replacing incandescent
light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs and, at night,
unplugging electrical appliances that create phantom loads.
With only 7 percent of the increase in
consumption explained by residential and business development, the
majority of the increase is the result of consumers simply using
more electricity.
"It is the classic case of people
having more money buying bigger homes, bigger cars and consuming
more," Boudrie said.
To reverse the city's consumption of
electricity, Boudrie said, the solution must come from a
commitment by the consumers, both residential and business.
Boudrie was encouraged by the city's
commitment to reduce energy use.
"The city is already doing a lot,"
she said.
The natural first step for communities,
Boudrie said, is to replace existing traffic lights with LED
lighting, which in
Marlborough
would result in a financial return within two years. She explained
that the city has begun the initial investigative steps about
acquiring incentives to fund some of the conversion.
For more information about becoming involved
with the city's efforts to go green, visit www.greenmarlborough.org
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