When discussing environmental advances, we often hear talk about bigger cities like San Francisco, CA and its ban of plastic bags, or Denver, CO and its plan to build the nation’s largest light rail system. But small towns across the U.S. are fighting the green fight as well, and their efforts should not go unnoticed.
Here are five small towns that are making big city environmental impacts.
Concord, MA
Led by an 82 year old activist Jean Hill, this small town voted last week to ban sales of bottled water by January of 2011. Hill told Treehugger, “‘All these discarded bottles are damaging our planet, causing clumps of garbage in the oceans that hurt fish, and are creating more pollution on our streets.’” The International Bottled Water Association is already threatening legal action against the decision. Hopefully, the town will have the support and resources to fight back.
Soldiers Grove, WI
Soldiers Grove became the first solar village back in the 70’s (!) after the town was flooded by the nearby river. During the rebuilding ordinances were passed that required new commerical buildings to acquire at least 50 percent of their heat from solar power. New businesses were also encouraged to use natural building materials in their construction. This town’s forward thinking, which began over thirty years ago, should serve as a model for small towns everywhere.
Lyons, CO
Lyons is considered “a transition town” meaning they’re “dedicated to building local resilience and improved quality of life by developing deliberate action plans to address the intersecting challenges of peak oil, climate change, and economic instability.” The town also boasts school gardens, a neighborhood called Lyons Valley Village featuring solar water systems and buildings constructed with recycled materials and energy-efficient design, and a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This place is a green mecca!
Collingswood, NJ
This town does all the things a good green town should — they have farmer’s markets, the local government encourages citizens to recycle and compost (offering inexpensive composters to sweeten the suggestion), and local restaurants do their best to support farms in the area. Now they’ve started a bike sharing program to promote biking instead of driving for small distances.
Greensburg, KS
After the entire town was decimated by a tornado in 2007, Greensburg rebuilt itself from scratch. Citizens decided to make the town as green as they could by “installing energy-efficient windows and appliances, better insulation, fuel-efficient heating, and low-flow toilets.” They even built a small arts building as an LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Platnium building — one of only 125 in the world. The town is now working on a school, slated to open in August of 2010, that will include “geothermal heating, a wind turbine for electricity, and hydrogen fuel cells for backup power.”
Images via Steven Erat, efsb, Iwa519
