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Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is taking strides to protect the environment all around us. Sierra Club activists were integral in successful lobbying the mayor to sign the agreement. We’re now working with the city council to develop an implementation plan. Because so much of our energy here comes from coal fired power plants, we’re focusing on energy efficiency and renewable power. Asheville is taking many steps to cut down on one of the largest sources of emissions –transportation. For example, the city is planning to purchase several hybrid Ford Escapes for the city's fleet. Asheville is also looking to expand its alternative fuel vehicles by completing a compressed natural gas filling station by McCormick Field (which will also be open to consumers driving CNG vehicles) while starting a fleet of electric vehicles used by the city's parking enforcers. The city also wants to investigate more opportunities to cut emissions, which is why it’s starting a new Transportation Demand Management office that will take steps to improve public transit and make carpooling easier for Asheville-area commuters. Background The North Carolina Sierra Club’s successful Cool Cities program works to get local governments across the state to take action in the fight against global warming. Based on the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, cities and counties are committing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions levels 7% by 2012 from their 1990 levels. We hope that this will help reduce the negative impact caused by federal inaction on the critical issue of climate change. The Cool Cities program is inherently local. While it commits cities to specific goals, it does not commit them to specific actions. That means that every individual community can come up with initiatives most appropriate to their size and location. The many Cool Cities currently in North Carolina range from Highlands and its 909 residents to Raleigh, which has a population of over 350,000. You should work to make your city or county the next ‘cool’ place in North Carolina! Contact Kara Craig at kara.craig@sierraclub.org or 919-833-8467 to get started. Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope on the Cool Cities campaign Links Sierra Club Cool Cities website North Carolina Sierra Club Cool Cities Cool Cities in the news |
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City in Focus: Asheville