Environmental Echo

Photo by Diana Linsley.

By Don Corrigan

The St. Louis region has had its environmental woes from dioxin to lead to radioactive waste contamination. The city did recently get some good news with its inclusion in the Top 100 Major Cities for clean energy initiatives. The listing was  released this month by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

“St. Louis made impressive strides this past year by adopting a policy requiring many major buildings to improve their energy efficiency,” said ACEEE Local Policy Director David Ribeiro. “Only two other cities have passed bills like it, so St. Louis is in elite company.”

Among key findings in the ACEEE report are the top 15 cities, the two fastest-rising cities, and five laggards at the bottom of the ranking for clean energy efforts. The report analyzes the efforts of 100 major U.S. cities — home to 19 percent of the nation’s population — to make buildings and transportation more energy efficient and scale up the use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

“St. Louis took other innovative steps too to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, like ensuring that new large buildings are built in a manner where solar panels can easily be added,” said Ribeiro. “The city has been bold, and will need to continue taking bold policy action to achieve a clean energy future.”

Continue reading →