CITIES OFFER CASH TO GO GREEN!

Cities offer green to go green

Efforts to save energy, environment mean homeowners walk away with cash

December 28, 2007
BY BRIAN SKOLOFF

PARKLAND, Fla. -- Free hybrid-car parking. Cash rebates for installing solar panels. Money to tear up desert lawns and replace them with drought-resistant landscaping.

Frustrated by what they see as insufficient action by state and federal government, municipalities around the country are offering financial incentives to get people to go green.

"A lot of localities recognize they're going to get a lot more done using carrots and incentives rather than regulatory means," said Jason Hartke of the U.S. Green Building Council.

In Parkland, where the motto is ''Environmentally Proud,'' the city plans next year to begin dispensing cash rebates to its 25,000 residents for being more environmentally friendly. "We will literally issue them a check,'' said Vice Mayor Jared Moskowitz. ''We're sick of waiting for the federal government to do something, so we've got to do what we can.''

Residents who install low-flow toilets or shower heads will get $150. Replacing an old air conditioner with a more energy-efficient one brings $100. Buying a hybrid car? An additional $200 cash back. And the list goes on.

Based on an estimate of 1,000 residents participating in the rebate program during the first year, the city predicts it will cost up to $100,000. "Could this bankrupt the city if the program grows by leaps and bounds?'' Moskowitz asked. ''I can only wish that so many residents want to go green that that becomes an issue.''

Many states already offer similar rebates and incentives through tax breaks, loans and perks such as allowing hybrid-car drivers to use car pool lanes. Utilities have long provided incentives to buy energy-efficient appliances. The federal government, too, offers tax incentives for energy-saving products.

But cities like these are taking it to the next level:
• • San Francisco will offer homeowners rebates of up to $5,000 for installing solar panels if they use a local contractor. The city will also pay residents $150 to replace old appliances.
• • Baltimore offers at least $2,000 toward closing costs for people who buy new homes close to where they work. ''Just living near your job and taking transit or walking to meet your daily needs provides basically the same environmental benefit as buying a hybrid car,'' said Amanda Eaken of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
• • Residents of Albuquerque, N.M., get fast-track building permits if they agree to make their homes more energy-efficient.
• • In Arizona, many cities pay residents to replace grass with artificial turf or plants that use less water. Scottsdale, outside Phoenix, will pay up to $1,500.
AP


Editor's note....
My Suggestion To Reduce Wood Smoke Emissions---

Local towns and state governments should adopt a cash grant program for those who voluntarily covert their inside wood-burning fireplace to gas or electric.