MAYOR DEAN CELEBRATES EARTH DAY
Calls on Nashville citizens to join Metro in implementing environmental practices
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 18, 2008) -
Mayor Karl Dean will kick off the Nashville Earth Day Festival in Centennial Park tomorrow and announce several environmentally conscious practices to be implemented across Metro Government to increase energy efficiency, reduce waste and save money.
The 2008 Nashville Earth Day Festival starts at Centennial Park at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 19. The festivities include environmental exhibits and workshops on clear air, water, food and farming. The event is free and open to the public.
“The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Local Living for Global Change.’ As a city, we can make relatively small changes to some of our every day practices and reap substantial environmental and economic benefits,” Mayor Dean said.
“My hope is for individuals and businesses across Davidson County to see what we’re doing and implement similar practices. Together we can improve the quality of life for all of us and make our city, and our world, a better place in which to live.”
The mayor is implementing government-wide policies for:
Recycling
Public Works will expand the in-house recycling program to every Metro building. The effort is already underway with recycling recently made available to the offices in the Metro Courthouse. Other facilities currently not recycling will receive recycling bins and service in the coming weeks.
The same recycling opportunity is already available to Nashville households in the urban services district through the curbside program, which has about a 40 percent participation rate. Carbon emissions could be reduced by 145,000 tons per year if twice as many Nashville households recycled, which is the equivalent of taking about 24,000 cars off the road.
Mass transit
As part of the mayor’s proposed 2008-2009 operating budget, MTA service will be provided to Metro employees to ride the bus to and from work at no cost to them. Employees who take advantage of the program could save an average of $600 per year on personal fuel costs with the typical commute being 22 miles for both ways.
The mayor also will ask every Metro department to develop internal policies for:
Thermostat
The indoor temperature of Metro buildings during the winter should be no higher than 68 degrees and no lower than 72 degrees during the summer with adjustments made for additional energy savings on weekends and nights when buildings are not occupied.
A two degree change in indoor temperature settings during both winter and summer months would reduce the carbon emissions of the average household by 1 ton per year. The potential energy savings, if half of all Nashville households began this practice, is equivalent to taking 18,500 cars off the road.
Idling
Metro employees driving fleet vehicles should not allow the engines to idle unless it would impede their ability to perform their job duties or in the case of emergency situations. This practice will reduce air pollution, save on fuel costs and reduce the wear and tear on vehicles and equipment.
The break-even point for shutting off and restarting a gasoline engine or leaving it to idle is 30 seconds in terms of both fuel consumption and emissions. Idling consumes about 17 percent of the average vehicle’s fuel. Running an engine at low speed also causes twice the wear on internal parts compared to driving at regular speeds.
Light bulbs
Incandescent light bulbs in Metro facilities should be replaced with compact fluorescent bulbs as they burn out.
The average household can reduce carbon emissions by 1.25 tons per year by replacing 10 incandescent light bulbs with CFLs. If every household in Nashville began this practice, the reduction would be the equivalent of the annual electricity use of 33,400 Nashville homes.
During his remarks at the festival, Mayor Dean will also highlight several existing or underway environmental efforts in Metro Government, including:
- The purchase of six hybrid buses at MTA
- Public Works signal optimization program and the replacement of incandescent traffic lights with LEDs
- Sustainable building features at Parks facilities, including a green roof, waterless urinals and geothermal heating
- Almost 100 miles of streams recognized as restored to health due to the work of Metro Water
- LEED building standards adopted for the construction and renovation of Metro buildings
Mayor Dean has signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement with the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent by 2012 bringing them to the same level as in 1990.
Additional environmental initiatives from the Mayor’s Office are forthcoming.
For media inquiries contact:
Janel Lacy
(615) 862-6020
janel.lacy@nashville.gov