In this tough economy people are forced to cut expenses to the very basics of lifestyle choices. It’s gone beyond eating out less and not going to the cinema.
More time is now spent deciding on how to curb our drive time to save gas. Turning off lights when not needed - and sometimes even when we normally would think we need them on - can be an obsession.
Gas and electric bills are closely monitored so that maybe we’ll put on a sweater or open the windows rather than spending the extra dollars on our utility bills.
To save the cost of water, we wash more dishes by hand, or maybe we take less and shorter showers.
We opt to use natural substances we already have in our house, such as vinegar and baking soda, in lieu of buying the more expensive household chemical cleaners. This is an obvious green choice both for household health and planetary health.
Shopping for our clothes in consignment has become a reality for many folks who wouldn’t have dreamed of doing this before. This is one of the best examples of reuse that we have.
Reducing consumption is arguably the first thing we need to do to go green. Now that people are forced to live more simply, we can see that we really don’t need as much as we were consuming during the good times.
A very positive effect from a seemingly dire situation is the reduction of carbon emissions, around the world from factories closing down.
It is true that funding for clean tech ventures has gone down due to the economy, but at a personal and grass roots level, there is a deeper understanding of what we need versus what we want and how this has an impact on the environment.
It is also true that many of us don’t have the extra money to buy organic and go for the cheaper, conventional option instead to save money.
In this case, we need to get creative and look at other ways to save and continue (or even start) to buy organic and sustainable foods. We need to continue to send the message to conventional growers and producers that what we put on our tables is worth the extra cost even in hard times.
We can use this bad lemon called the economy to make lemonade for our planet, as well as for our individual and collective selves. Sometimes it may require creativity, but in many instances it happens organically from the need for thrift.
This past Earth Day Vice President Biden announced $300 million of the Recovery Funds Act to be applied to the Clean Cities Program - a program that brings sustainable vehicles and their infrastructure to cities across the country. “…We’re going put Recovery Act dollars to work deploying cleaner, greener vehicles in cities and towns across the nation that will cut costs, reduce pollution and create the jobs that will drive our economic recovery,” said Vice President Biden.
These programs are expected to bolster the country’s infrastructure, reduce our dependence on oil - foreign and domestic - and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are a great cause of global warming.
In addition, these new programs will help boost the economy and bring job growth in local economies and the country as a whole.
Maryland governor, Martin O’Malley, projects job growth of an estimated 17,000 jobs and hopes to a 40% transition of state vehicles to run on alternative fuel or be hybrid by 2010.
Clean Cities is part of the U.S. Department Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Program, and was founded as a sort of grass-roots program to support and advance U.S.economic and energy growth by working at the local level of government fleet vehicles.
Multiple projects are eligible for funding in the Clean Cities Program including hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, hydraulic hybrid, electric, fuel cell, and natural gas for both light and heavy-duty vehicles for local governments.
Infrastructure to support this shift, public awareness campaigns and training programs are all also eligible programs for this funding.
Clean Cities also has a network of around 90 localized volunteer coalitions that develop and promote education, training and interest in alternative vehicles and fuels.
Coalitions can be formed at the community level by following the criteria spelled out by the Clean Cities program and are usually found in major metropolitan cities and areas.
Surprisingly, Clean Cities was founded in 1993 and has replaced over 2 billion gallons of fossil fuel and represents 229 million U.S. citizens through the work of the volunteer coalition.
Clean Cities has stated the following three goals to be its primary mission:
Now with $300 million in funding from the federal government, coupled with new awareness brought about by the green movement, major cities in the U.S. will finally be running cleaner and more efficiently.
