Greening the Rust Belt

Greening the Rust Belt

In general the news coming out of the industrial cities of the Midwest is fairly grim these days: we have the houses selling for less than $1,000 in Cleveland and Detroit, gas prices are taking a huge toll on the auto industry, and consumer spending, the engine of economic prosperity, has taken a nose dive.

Yet there are signs of hope in the Midwestern rust belt, as many cities and small towns look towards alternative energy sources as a way to save money during the current economic downturn and also find new sources of economic development. For example, in a rural school district in the “thumb” area of Michigan with lots of wind, the Lakers School district has received biodiesel grants, energy smart incentives and most recently, a biomass grant. Three years ago the junior high principal received more than a quarter million dollars from the Michigan Public Service Commission to purchase wind turbines that now provide almost all the power for the elementary school and the superintendent's home.

This spring Lakers junior high school students will press oil from soybeans and sunflowers for bio-diesel and learn how to use the anaerobic processor, which breaks down biodegradable waste into methane that can be used for power. Many see this exposure to “green” technology as a way of giving a new generation important job skills and of stopping the “brain drain” of the young who continue to move out of states like Michigan in search of better economic opportunities, (Amy http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89369909)

As the federal government has failed to provide incentives for energy conservation, Midwestern cities and local communities are taking the initiative themselves to cut their energy use and reduce their contribution to greenhouse gases. Ann Arbor, Michigan, is replacing the bulbs in its street lamps with light-emitting diodes (LED's) to reduce its energy usage. In Chicago, 15 million square feet of rooftops are being overhauled and landscaped with gardens that can keep reduce temperatures by as much as 70 degrees. The first garden which was planted on top of City Hall cut the building's power bill by more than 10% in the first year. (See Jim Carlton's article, “Nine Cities, Nine Ideas, The Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2008 – http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120248655589254033-o_E8MSu_lUbSRP8Bp8Y_xHWoPVg_20090210.html?mod=rss_free).

These local initiatives represent more than just a way for cash-strapped cities and municipalities to save money.

Across the US more than 700 mayors have signed an agreement to follow the goals of the Kyoto Protocols, and their cumulative efforts are fueling grassroots demands that Congress and the Bush Administration get serious about reducing energy consumption and our national dependence on foreign oil.

Last November, governors of Western and Midwestern states followed suit by signing agreements to reduce carbon emissions and to create cap-and-trade systems to meet their targets.

Earlier this month attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia, plus representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the cities of New York and Baltimore, and several environmental organizations filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency to force it to follow last year's Supreme Court ruling that that agency must decide whether to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, from motor vehicles, “States Sue EPA Over Global Warming,” AP, April 2, 2008. See http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iqGMrzmNKuHg8Hmz_YBFYQvY4J4AD8VPQO080.

So if you're feeling a little helpless on Earth Day as the headlines tell us the economy is tanking, gas prices are sky-rocketing, and many feel anxiety about the future of the US economy, it's reassuring to see what can happen on the local level, not just to reduce our energy consumption but to develop new technologies and new “green” industries that generate jobs at home.