[Archived] National, Leading, Grassroots Conservation Organization Names Alexandria A Cool City

City Press Release


	For Immediate Release	For More Information, Contact
	November 10, 2005 PIO# 328-05/rdo	Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300 Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300

National, Leading, Grassroots Conservation Organization
Names Alexandria A Cool City
Sierra Club Recognizes Alexandria in Council Chambers on Saturday, Nov. 12

The Sierra Club has named the City of Alexandria a Cool City for moving forward with solutions to reduce heat-trapping global warming pollution. Alexandria joins the list of 187 cities across the nation that are taking action to re-energize their communities with innovative local energy solutions, such as cleaner car fleets, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. The Sierra Club will recognize the City of Alexandria at 9:30 am on Saturday, Nov. 12, in the City Council Chambers, 301 King St., second floor.

“The City is honored that the Sierra Club is recognizing Alexandria as a Cool City for its efforts to reduce pollution and save the environment,” said Mayor William D. Euille. “One of the many activities the City has implemented include operating a fleet of hybrid cars to enhance fuel consumption and reduce harmful emissions. The City Council is committed to initiatives that will provide a cleaner environment for future generations to enjoy.”

The process of becoming a Cool City consists of four steps: step one involves taking a “Cities for Climate Protection” pledge with a city’s mayor signing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement; step two entails conducting a global warming emissions inventory; step three involves creating a solutions plan to reduce emissions while lowering energy costs for the city; and step four consists of implementing and monitoring the plan’s progress.

Other initiatives the City has taken to help the environment include the purchasing of 10 Honda Civic Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cars in addition to two Toyota Prius Hybrid cars; and the retrofit construction of a green roof on the Health Department’s new office building at 4480 King St.

The hybrid cars use advanced engineering to combine a gas engine with an electric motor to create an environmentally advanced, fuel-efficient, hybrid. The hybrid cars run on regular gasoline and
never need to be plugged in for recharging. Once the electricity in the batteries gets low, the gasoline engine takes over and begins to recharge the batteries.

The City will display two vehicles from its fleet of hybrid cars on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 9:30 am beside City Hall in the 100 block of N. Royal St.

Green roof technology is an innovative low impact design that replaces a traditional rooftop with a special mix of soils and vegetation. By reducing total impervious surface cover, this technology has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others as having many environmental benefits including the ability to reduce the urban heat island affect, improve water quality, and significantly reduce the volume and velocity of storm-water runoff.

The Sierra Club is a national, leading, grassroots conservation organization that was founded in 1892 by John Muir.

For more information on the Sierra Club recognizing Alexandria as a Cool City, call Laura Durham of the City’s Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at 703.838.5041, extension 350; or visit the Sierra Club’s web site at sierraclub.org.

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