Sustain Our Cities and Our Planet

Submitted by Manuel Diaz on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 8:22am

1 comment for "Sustain Our Cities and Our Planet".

1. Miami ZiptoGreen Charter Community

Submitted by juliaglenncarter on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 5:26am.

Absolutely! Local governments are critical players in promoting a green economy. That's why your Director of Sustainability Initiatives received our proposal recently. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss ZiptoGreen with either or both of you.

Our collaborative approach to reducing home energy consumption is a win-win approach for everyone with a stake in this issue -- consumers, business, government, utilities and environmentalists. Becoming one of ZiptoGreen's 20 Charter Communities is just one more way that Miami can lead its citizens and the nation. The Green Energy Council thinks ZiptoGreen is a great idea. We hope you will think so, too.

From ZiptoGreen, consumers will:

Create personal home energy reduction plans
Connect to tax incentives related to their plan
Monitor and update progress via a personal page
Connect to their community's sustainability programs
Connect to product, service and utility resources
And more

Consumers AND communities participate at no charge. Our launch this summer is targeting the 900+ cities that signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

Thank you for your leadership!

Best regards,
Julia Glenn Carter, CEO
jgcarter@ziptogreen.com
www.ZiptoGreen.com

About the Author

Manuel Diaz

As Mayor of the City of Miami, and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, I am a firm believer in the power of and critical need for local governments to promote sustainability. I was one of the first mayors to sign onto the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and in Miami, I created the country’s first Adopt-A-Waterway program, the City’s first office of Sustainable Initiatives, Green Commission, Citywide Tree Master Plan, Bicycle Action Plan and Green Purchasing Ordinance. This
year, the City of Miami is a Flagship City for the World Wildlife Fund International Earth Hour event and I am proud to say that we are continuously working to promote awareness and action on climate change.

http://www.miamigov.com/mayor
http://mayormannydiaz.blogspot.com
http://miamigov.com/MSI

(photo credit: Jorge Perez)

About This Video

I believe that local governments need to act on sustainable initiatives and I have offered some concrete examples on how the City of Miami is promoting environmentally friendly practices.

Here in South Florida, we live in one of the world’s most vulnerable metropolitan areas to the effects of climate change. Recent – and numerous - scientific studies project that sea levels could rise completely above the City of Miami by the next century. As Mayor, and as a father, I cannot do nothing.

For the first time in history, over half the world’s population live in cities and metropolitan areas. Here in the United States, more than 85% of us live in urban areas. Local governments can have a tremendous impact on mitigating climate change – and a real responsibility to act.

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