Opinion – A Carbon Neutral Future for Seattle
In a guest Op-Ed piece in the Seattle Times today, Craig Curtis, a Principal with the Miller Hull Partnership and Lisa Richmond, a Director with the Seattle Chapter of the AIA, discuss a challenge put forth to the City recently by Worldchanging’s Alex Steffen – to become the first Carbon-neutral City in North America by 2030.
Whether you liked him or not, almost-former-Mayor Greg Nickels put Seattle on the sustainability map with his efforts to push Seattle to the forefront of the national discussion on carbon and global warming. He was successful at putting the spotlight on Seattle and shaping our awareness – if not our consciousness and commitment – that we have the power to act locally and set an example for other Cities and the country.
Craig Curtis and Lisa Richmond are right to urge incoming Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle City staff to continue to push the City in this direction. Seattle is unique – in local climate and talent – in our ability to show how new construction and retrofits, policy and lifestyle changes can make net-zero an achievable future. Whether we can be successful or not, this is a challenge we should all step up to.
See: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2010418866_guest04curtis.html
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010780.html
About davidjennings
David Jennings, PE LEED AP, is the founder and managing partner of Rainier Renewable Energy. Dave's entire career has been focused on technology, construction, and the environment. His personal mission is to move the world toward renewable energy, one customer at a time.