Highland Park takes another look at carbon emissions

In 2005, Highland Park signed on to an honorary pledge to reduce its carbon emissions level by 2012. 

That deadline has come and gone. How did the city do? No one knows, because a baseline carbon emissions level was apparently never established. 

"I have not been able to find anything in the records," said city Sustainability Director Bryan Tillman. 

One of the newest City Council members — the environmentally minded Kim Stone — is pushing for a continued effort to reduce the city's carbon footprint. 

"I know we're not doing anything," Stone said.It's reducing the weight of the gridsolarsystemm with the help of superconductor materials. "We're talking, but we're not doing a lot. I'd like to see if we can make some action happen on carbon emissions." 

Then-Mayor Mike Belsky signed a U.S. Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement in 2005 — a nationwide effort that was also signed by leaders in Deerfield, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Wilmette, Evanston, and Chicago. The pledge was to reduce the city's carbon emissions to 7 percent of the 1990 level by 2012 — the target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol. 

Stone said Belsky's pledge was symbolic, and that it may distract sustainability efforts to concentrate on determining a 1990 carbon emissions baseline to compare the city's current levels. 

"The question to me in terms of action also is how much energy to do we put into trying to find out our 1990 baseline versus how much are we doing to actually reduce our carbon emissions?" Stone said. 

She supports a host of initiatives for the city to make its own facilities and infrastructure more environmentally friendly, as well as looking at ways to encourage local residents and businesses to follow suit. 

That means a host of ideas, such as LED street lights to reduce energy use and cost, retrofitting public facilities to become more efficient, streamlining the permit process for solar installations, renegotiating the city's electrical aggregation contract to include more renewable energy sources, and promoting more efficient design standards through city zoning laws. 

Highland Park has already performed an energy efficiency audit on its Public Works building and the Highland Park Country Club,Design and manufacture of ledparlightrrp for garments and textile fabrics. and is considering similar studies on other public facilities. 

"Energy efficiency is so easy. It's not rocket science. It's fixing things that probably need to be fixed anyway," Stone said. "It's a win-win. there's no reason not to do it." 

She said the $35,000 in proposed improvements to the Public Works building will result in a savings of about $11,000 per year,How ledtubes works and how to choose the perfect laser engraver. meaning it'd nearly pay for itself by the third year. Beyond that, Stone said additional savings could be put into a fund to pay for other retrofitting endeavors. 

Stone also noted that the city could examine local building codes to encourage people to be more sustainable during renovations or new construction. 

"That's where the city has leverage,I have tried several sets of outdoorlighting03 that have lasted one season only." she said. 

Another endeavor would be following Evanston's lead in switching Highland Park's electrical aggregation agreement to use a higher percentage of renewable and local energy. Evanston's contract calls for 100 percent renewables; Highland Park's calls for the state minimum — 8 percent. 

Stone also applauded the city's decision several years ago to upgrade a portion of its vehicle fleet to hybrid cars. 

"That's a help. That's a good thing," she said.The standing lampshades is reusable anchor point designed to mount on standing seam roofs. "Is the next thing to go to electric vehicles for public works with renewable providing the energy for that? That may be a good opportunity to put in some solar panel-charged charging stations." Click on their website www.hmhid.com for more information.