PA Residents Think Globally, Act Locally on Climate Change

Public News Service , Friday, May 21, 2010
Correspondent :
HARRISBURG, Penn. - Groups that work to promote clean energy and tackle climate change see pros and cons in the American Power Act now under consideration in Congress. In Pennsylvania, some residents also see opportunities in the legislation to make their own mark in terms of cleaner, more efficient energy use.

Muscoe Martin runs m2 Architecture and is a member of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. Its parent group is one of several signatories to a letter saying the measure doesn't go far enough to address global climate and energy concerns. Martin notes that his profession complements his personal beliefs on the matter, which has allowed him to make a difference.

"As an architect, it turns out that I can have a significant impact on building energy use and, therefore, have a potentially significant impact on reducing climate change."

The bill, submitted Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), is expected to be debated on the Senate floor in June. In the meantime, says Martin, many in his industry have already rounded a corner and are working from an environmentally responsible perspective.

"Ten years ago, architects like myself who were engaged in this kind of work seemed a little bit more on the fringe. That's not true at all anymore – in fact, it's quite mainstream now to be incorporating energy efficiency into buildings."

He is hopeful public policy will catch up with those who are already thinking globally and acting locally.

"I think many owners and clients who are building buildings for themselves or for their companies are looking at, not only their own bottom line, but also at the potential impact of what they're doing on the broader environment."

Martin points out that buildings in the United States use about 40 percent of all the energy and roughly three-quarters of the electricity generated.

Tom Joseph, Public News Service – PA

 
SOURCE : http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/14043-1
 


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