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TOGETHER, WE CAN MOVE PHILADELPHIA FORWARD
Preserving Our Environment
Philadelphia was once a leader on the environment, but now we are lagging behind. We need to renew our commitment to this important issue.
Bill fully supports the Next Great City agenda. He will work with the new mayor to implement its common sense recommendations that will enhance the quality of life in all our neighborhoods. Small investments and changes now will yield big returns in just a few years.
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L.E.E.D Standards. As Philadelphia continues to grow, incentives should be offered to compel new building construction to adhere to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s (L.E.E.D.) Green Building Rating System so to ensure that new buildings are as energy efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.
Non-incandescent Light bulbs. The City should ban filament lighting in public buildings, switching instead to energy saving light bulbs, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs. Not only would this ban reduce the amount of energy the City consumes and pays for, but it would also help cut carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. Some estimates suggest that there would be $10 million in annual savings from this effort
City-wide Single Source Weekly Recycling. Philadelphia’s recycling rate is an abysmal 7%. This is a not a problem of public willingness, but of political will. Test programs in Chestnut Hill and West Oak Lane have shown that Philadelphians can and will recycle. Let’s modernize the Department of Streets. Let’s also implement the sensible and cost effective proposals put forth by the Recycling Alliance of Philadelphia. In addition, let’s look to ideas from cities like Los Angeles which moved to a “pay as you throw” program to further encourage recycling and reduce waste. With estimates that Philadelphia could reap upwards of $17 million dollars annually – we must start to implement these proposals for the good of our environment and our checkbook.
Keep Park Systems Clean. Fairmount Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the world (it is over ten times the size of New York’s Central Park). It is an integral part of Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Our City Government, though, has recently been failing to meet the demands of such a large park system. Not all parts of Fairmount Park are as pristine as the Art Museum area; many parts have become rundown. We need to increase funding to the park so that every section of it can be properly maintained, allowing all Philadelphians to enjoy the same recreational experience.
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Why haven’t we been doing these things? It’s a failure of leadership and a failure of will. We could be saving tens of millions of dollars per year if we enacted these measures. We need a plan to invest money today for a return in the future because Philadelphia can and should be a leader on the environment. All we need is the political will and as Al Gore said, “political will is a renewable source.”
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Join The Green Team
11/7/2007
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Green team, please email your resume and cover let...
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Bill is now Councilman-Elect
11/7/2007
97% Precincts Completed:
BILL GREEN, 162,773, 15.97 %
JAMES F. KENNEY, 162,565, 15.95 %
WILSON ...
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First Policy Paper Released
9/20/2007
We've released our first policy paper for the fall cycle.
More >
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Final Vote Count
5/31/2007
By BOB WARNER
The votes are in - and Michael Nutter is still the Democratic nominee for mayor of ...
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6/1/2007 7:00 AM
Please let us know about your neighborhood events: in...
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