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MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO, CA (POP. 815,358)
Where to start with Mayor Newsom, who has turned San Francisco into a “laboratory for innovation,” as he once quipped. In 2010, he announced the nation’s largest PACE program to fund energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy projects, and announced that more than half of San Francisco’s taxis were now hybrid or alternative-fueled vehicles, thanks to a Green Taxi Law. He launched an Urban EcoMap with Cisco Systems to help neighborhoods track climate progress, established a composting ordinance that is helping the city divert a remarkable 72 percent of its waste from landfills, and is planning a network of electric car charging stations.
MAYOR SAM ADAMS, PORTLAND, OR (POP. 550,396)
How do you further progress in one of the world’s most sustainable cities? By articulating a vision of Portland as a hub of green jobs and clean energy innovation. “I’ve made sustainability the centerpiece of my city’s economic development strategy,” wrote Mayor Adams. The city launched the Clean Energy Works Portland program in 2009 to finance energy efficiency retrofits for 100,000 homeowners—and train technicians in communities most in need of jobs. Mayor Adams also established a $33 million sustainable development fund to expand Clean Energy Works to the commercial sector.
MAYOR ROY D. BUOL, DUBUQUE, IA (POP. 93,072)
Mayor Buol’s passion for sustainable development—economic as much as environmental—has inspired technological innovations in city government. In 2009, Dubuque announced a partnership with IBM to make it one of the first “smarter” sustainable cities. The city will employ next-generation systems to help manage city processes— like water and energy use—by intelligently sensing and analyzing real-time data to inform decisions. Under Mayor Buol, Dubuque has also become recognized for linking sustainability and historic preservation as a lead partner in the National Trust for Historic Preservation Green Lab, which is developing guidelines to green historic buildings.
Leading by INNOVATION
These mayors and other elected officials are championing some of the most innovative green initiatives across the country—and reaping the benefits.
BY DON KNAPP Local Action Moves the World •
www.icleiusa.org
PLANET EARTH \\ LEADING BY INNOVATION
COURTESY OF ICLEI (8)
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