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Posted on Thu, Dec. 13, 2007
By Gerald Hay Public Information Officer Johnson County Manager's Office
The Kansas City Star
Johnson County Launches Initiative to Reduce Future Levels of Greenhouse Gases
OLATHE, KS – With a focus of reducing local threats of greenhouse gases on the environment, Johnson County has joined a growing list of municipalities, locally and nationally, that thinks it’s cool to be a green government.
On Thursday, December 13, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners took the first proactive steps to lower the levels of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, and other pollutants in Johnson County in decades to come. The effort will be aimed at curtailing greenhouse gas emissions, both within county government operations and the Johnson County community, with a goal to reduce the pollutions levels by 80 percent by the year 2050.
The resolution, approved Thursday by the Board, is patterned from a Green Government initiative launched by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Cool Counties program spearheaded by King County, Washington.
Chairman Annabeth Surbaugh believes Johnson County will need a concerted, coordinated effort, involving local and regional governments and their citizens, as willing partners to adequately address the growing problem of greenhouse gases and changing climate.
“It’s our collective responsibility as a county government and a community to protect and preserve our planet’s resources,” she said. “Although we have been practicing and promoting conservation for decades, we can — and will — do more. This is a process of continuously improving a vital, long-term commitment to reduce greenhouse gases for present and future generations.”
First District Commissioner Ed Peterson, who heads the county’s Environmental Task Force, agreed.
“Johnson County has become both a Green Government and a Cool County by setting out attainable goals in addressing the challenge of reducing local greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “Practical solutions exist, and it is time we put them to work.”
Johnson County’s goals include:
•Conduct an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from Johnson County Government operations and activities and reduce those emissions by at least one-third by the year 2020;
•Reduce the amount of greenhouse gases associated with energy use in the new and substantially renovated buildings occupied and used by the Johnson County Government to zero by the year 2030;
•Conduct a community-wide inventory of greenhouse gas emissions within the county, and develop and implement a plan to reduce those emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050; and,
•Provide leadership to enhance understanding of the impacts of greenhouse gases and other emissions and to encourage reduction of those emissions in the Johnson County community and region through public education, open dialogue, and partnerships.
The greenhouse gas initiative joins other ongoing efforts by Johnson County Government to launch programs to reduce energy and protect national resources. Programs, such an annual Ozone Reduction Campaign, Stormwater Management, Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility, and Streamway Parks system, have been in operation by the county for several years.
Other efforts to save energy and protect natural resources have occurred within various county departments, including Transit, Wastewater, Environmental, Parks and Recreation District, and Facilities Management. The county also has started five new sustainability initiatives that will cross all Johnson County programs, involving:
•Inventory of current successes;
•Facility design, operation and maintenance of county facilities waste reduction;
•Green procurement; and,
•Integration of sustainability in county planning and processes.
The national effort to reduce greenhouse gases has found support from the business community, including the Climate Protection Partnership of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, and key industry leaders, such as DuPont, IBM, and Polaroid. In addition, the American Institute of Architects has launched a 2030 Challenge that commits designers of buildings, the largest consumers of natural resources, to “carbon neutrality” by 2030 for designing new and significantly remodeled buildings.
Through the U.S. Conference of Mayors Agreement, several communities in the Kansas City metropolitan region have made a similar commitment to curtail GHG emissions. They include the cities of Shawnee, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Fairway, Westwood Hills, Westwood, Merriam, Mission Hills, Mission, and Kansas City along with more than 700 other mayors from across the nation.
To contact Gerald Hay, call 913-715-0736.
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