Piedmont Proposes Sustainability Initiatives

Isabel Piedmont, Democratic candidate for City Council District 5, has proposed a series of initiatives to increase sustainability in the city of Bloomington. The World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainability as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Piedmont has made increasing sustainable practices locally a key component of her campaign for city council.

Piedmont’s sustainability initiatives include

1. Broaden the city’s recycling program to include apartments and small businesses. This would reduce waste going to our regional landfill and conserve energy and materials.

2. Improve and expand Bloomington Transit to make riding the bus more appealing and feasible for more local residents. A large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions that are changing our climate come from transportation, so a reduction in individual car use would increase sustainability.

3. Increase city funding dedicated to green space acquisition. Bloomington has lost over 24% of its green space since 1993. The city must be pro-active in preserving remaining green space, which is valuable for recreation, tourism, and economic development as well as for the environmental benefits it provides such as stormwater drainage and greenhouse gas absorption.

4. Launch an educational initiative to teach residents the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that result from every-day activity, and to suggest practical ways to do so. Piedmont is currently working with a joint committee of the Bloomington Environmental Commission and the Commission on Sustainability to develop this initiative.

“Global climate change is one of the most important and urgent issues facing the human race today,” said Piedmont, “and it’s the clearest example of how our activities on the local, national, and international levels are not sustainable. In Bloomington we must do our part to ensure that our great-grandchildren can enjoy a high quality of life in the decades to come.”