Clinton Global Initiative Money in Springfield? Interesting idea.

http://www.baycrossings.com/dispnews.asp?id=2100

S.F. Plans Historic Green Makeover for Civic Center

By Bill Picture

A green makeover is being planned for San Francisco’s historic Civic Center area, thanks to a partnership forged by the City with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The brainchild of former President Bill Clinton, CGI brings together leaders from communities around the world to come up with solutions to global challenges.

The City and County of San Francisco, a CGI member, responded to the organization’s call for ideas to address global climate change with a three-year proposal to transform the area surrounding City Hall into the country’s first civic center sustainable resource district. The “Commitment to Action” calls for significant reductions in water use, energy use, wastewater discharge and carbon emissions, and specifies that 35 percent of the energy used during peak hours must come from renewable sources.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom believes that, by transforming the City’s municipal and cultural heart into a showcase for resource conservation, the City can inspire communities around the world to follow suit. “Civic Center sits at the core of one of the most visited cities in the world,” he told reporters at a September press conference.

Check, please!

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is footing the bill for most of the already-identified building retrofits, including the installation of the solar panels on the roofs of City Hall and the Main Library. The cost to retrofit the other city-owned buildings and public spaces will not be known until a list of projects for those properties is finalized. Once that list is completed and expenses tallied, the next step will be finding the money to cover those projects, some of which may extend beyond the initial three-year deadline.

The goals of the sustainable resource district are:

80% potable water use reduction

45% wastewater discharge reduction

35% peak power demand met by renewables

33% annual energy reduction

2,225-ton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

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For the full details please see the rest of the excellent article by Mr. Picture

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