Valley towns pass carbon initiative

By Peter Hirschfeld
Vermont Press Bureau

Read the full story at the Times Argus.

 WARREN
- Residents of three towns in the Mad River Valley voted to save some
money, and perhaps the planet, by reducing energy consumption in the
region by 10 percent over the next two years.

Voters in Warren, Waitsfield and Fayston gave overwhelming approval to
a Town Meeting Day article that calls on residents and businesses to
cut their carbon footprint by 10 percent by 2010. The “10 by 10”
initiative, as its known, was introduced by members of the Carbon
Shredders, a coalition of area residents.

“The overriding intent is to save the town some money and help the
planet along the way,” Roni Donnenfeld, a Warren Elementary School
teacher and member of Carbon Shredders, told Warren residents during
their town meeting Tuesday.

Rising fuel costs continue to dent the household budgets of Vermonters
in the Valley and beyond. Climatology experts, meanwhile, say
greenhouse gas emissions are threatening to erode weather-dependent
cultural traditions in Vermont, including maple sugaring and skiing.

Donnenfeld said the nonbinding resolution approved Tuesday empowers
local residents to tackle a worldwide problem, all the while saving
money. She said Warren residents alone could save a total of $500,000
by participating in the program.

“We got so fired up that we wanted to get the buzz out, get the word out,” Donnenfeld told Warren residents.

Though the measures passed by near-unanimous voice votes in all three
towns, no one is obligated to participate. Carbon Shredders will host
an inaugural event on March 18 at 7 p.m. at the Big Picture Theater in
Waitsfield. The effort, sponsored largely by corporate entities
including Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Seventh Generation and
Yestermorrow Design and Building School, will teach residents not only
how to save energy, but how to calculate the carbon-cutting impacts of
those savings.