![]() Since the pandemic began, governments have allocated some coronavirus relief funds to a variety of green initiatives. “So much of the decision-making and where the rubber hits the road is at the local and state level - whether we’re thinking of building codes, investment in alternative transportation or choices about the electric grid.” “Whether it’s cities like Greensburg or places where extreme weather has hit more recently, or you’re talking about stimulus funds around covid, these are opportunities to rethink the systems we create at a local level, and that’s where a lot of climate solutions happen,” Wilkinson said. Wilkinson, a climate strategist and co-editor of the recent anthology “ All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis.” “I totally believe that we’re a living laboratory here with a plethora of architectural design and sustainable environmental practices to share.”ĭixson, a Republican, used the “Build Back Better” catchphrase years before Biden and other Democrats embraced it at the presidential convention this summer to tag their plan for coronavirus recovery, one that includes many climate-friendly initiatives.Įnvironmentalists around the world are now arguing that this moment is crucial for local governments - whether they’re trying to rebuild a town burned by a wildfire or figuring out ways to revitalize their economies after a pandemic, said Katharine K. “There are lessons learned that we can share,” said Bob Dixson, a retired postmaster who served as mayor during much of the rebuilding. A business park built to attract companies and clean-energy jobs remains empty. Wind turbines installed for city and other local buildings were costly to maintain - and one toppled into a field. A fancy rainwater irrigation system for its Main Street has never worked. Greensburg’s journey has not always been easy, residents say, nor did it unfurl perfectly. It has geothermal heating and a design that maximizes natural daylight, among other features that cut its energy consumption. ![]() Kiowa County High School in Greensburg, Kan., was rebuilt with recycled wood. Greensburg’s efforts have gained new currency in recent months as climate catastrophes have continued to worsen and Americans struggle with a deadly pandemic that has shut down much of the economy - and begin to rethink what life might look like after a vaccine. In March, the city council member in Nashville wanted to ask what kind of building codes or regulations could make its buildings more tornado-resistant going forward. It sits in Kiowa County, where Trump handily beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, carrying 83 percent of the vote.īut leaders there now are routinely consulted by communities around the world grappling with devastating weather events from wildfires, tsunami, earthquakes and floods - in Australia, China, Japan and Joplin, Mo. President Trump has dismissed global warming and disparaged wind turbines as well as LED lighting and other forms of energy conservation. It’s exactly the kind of community Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden envisions when he talks about the need to conserve energy and transition away from fossil fuels towards wind, solar and other sources that do not emit the greenhouse gases driving climate change. The city saves thousands of gallons of water with low-flow toilets and drought-resistance landscaping and, in the evening, its streets glow from LED lighting. ![]() It now has an energy-efficient school, a medical center, city hall, library and commons, museum and other buildings that save more than $200,000 a year in fuel and electricity costs, according to one federal estimate. ![]() After powerful tornadoes swept through Nashville earlier this year, killing 25 and leaving a trail of destruction for miles, one of the first calls officials made was to tiny Greensburg, population 900.Ī wind-swept farming community in southwestern Kansas, Greensburg rebuilt “green” after an EF5 tornado - the most violent - barreled through at more than 200 miles per hour and nearly wiped it off the map in 2007.Ī decade later, Greensburg draws 100 percent of its electricity from a wind farm, making it one of a handful of cities in the United States to be powered solely by renewable energy. ![]()
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