Cape Girardeau's attempts to minimize carbon footprint as well as pollution has not gone well so far. In accordance with a SEMissourian.com report, the City Council in Cape Girardeau has been making frequent attempts at lowering the city's effect on the environment since 2009. Anxiety spread among the local citizens in addition to business owners after the clause in the ordinance referring to the decrease in carbon dioxide emissions was deleted. Residents are concerned that firm action taken by the board may possibly result in stricter codes. With large focus placed on greenhouse gases, several city council members believed that the regulation was taking a political turn.
Recent positive changes
Lately however, the advisory board of Girardeau Goes Green presented no such limitations. In the role of a board liaison since its establishment, council member Deb Tracy added that the concern about possible conflict has been avoided. The board's viewpoint on the concern was in fact supporting and positive. The recent improvement in the board's frame of mind earned approval from the city council when it was given control of reducing usage of energy as well as to formulate and enhance affordable solutions. The board aims to urge the city to participate in these environmental pursuits and enhance eco friendly living.
Plans devised by the board
The board intends to lead by example and propagate knowledge to the community and the state. To sustain awareness activities, the board can also provide eco promo products like custom recycled bags or seed cards to grab much more recognition. The board is comprised of eight members and is speedily gaining strength. The board has been separated into 4 focus groups in which each individual group contains board members along with local citizens who conveyed their affinity for preserving the environment. Each of the focus groups handles one component of environmental security and includes items including energy, transportation, waste management as well as outdoor sustainability. The board meets on a consistent basis to improve on factors which has been narrowed down by the qualified members.
Recent success stories in the advisory board
The advisory board has noted a few successes within the past few months. In addition to planting organic wildflowers all around the city, the board has performed a detailed review of the waste management tactics of the city departments. The local people have been made aware of the advantages of diminishing energy and recycling containers are being distributed in all locations of the city. The focus group handling transportation has made plans to make the three hundred vehicles that belong to the city more fuel efficient. This includes police cars, rubbish trucks, fire trucks, etc.
Suggestions made by focus groups
The focus group highly recommended the switch to natural gas to help lessen expenditures. Around $300, 000 was spent by the city on fuel alone last year. The city is looking into acquiring electric cars on a trial basis with expectations of employing it far more seriously at some point. The city also put in newer bicycle lanes to inspire cyclists. A further concept that has been proposed by the focus group was to install much stronger batteries in police cars. This will enable the police officers to employ their computers even though the engine is not running, economizing on the fuel.
