68 AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER 1 2007
global leaderonclimatechange,pledging to
cut greenhousegas emissionsby80percent
(with 1990 levels serving as the baseline)
by 2050. He’s also done some heavy lifting
to cleanupnew cars and trucks sold in the
state, institutedaprogram to track levels of
chemicals inCalifornians’ bodies, and,with
otherWest Coast governors, vowed to pro-
tect thehealthof thePacificOcean.
Ontheothersideofthecountry,NewYork
governor Eliot Spitzer has worked hard to
green his home. In January, he overhauled
the 39-room governor’s mansion, eco-fit-
ting everything from the lightbulbs to the
lawnmowers. Nowhe has his sights set on
otherNewYork Statebuildings.Prior tohis
election, he spent eight years crusading for
environmental protection as the state’s at-
torneygeneral.
Cities
Grist’s hometown of Seattle has been a
driving force in the area of climate protec-
tion. Under the leadership of mayor Greg
Nickels, the Emerald City has committed
to meeting the carbon-emission-reduc-
tion goals of the Kyoto climate treaty and
has inspiredmore than 500 other mayors
throughout theUnitedStates tomake that
samepledge.
Chicago is striving tobecome “the green-
est city in America.” Mayor Richard M.
Daley has planted 500,000 trees, invested
hundreds of millions of dollars in the revi-
talization of parks andneighborhoods, and
addedmore than twomillion square feet of
rooftop gardens, which is more than what
all otherU.S. citieshave combined.
Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson
givescredence to theoldadage “Thinkglob-
ally, act locally.” In2001,Andersonoutlined
an ambitious plan to lower the capital city
government’s carbon dioxide emissions by
21 percent by the year 2012— and hemet
that target six years aheadof schedule.
Buildings
Currently under construction, the Centre
for Interactive Research on Sustainability
inVancouver,BritishColumbia, is set tobe-
come the greenest building inNorthAmer-
ica. It will feature 100-percent-daylight-lit
workspaces, greenhouse gas neutrality, and
on-site treatmentof solidand liquidwastes.
Itwill serveasa state-of-the-art living labo-
ratory inwhichsustainablebuildingsystems
canbe researchedandassessed inaction.
Completed in 2001, the California En-
vironmental Protection Agency’s 25-story
Joe Serna Jr. Building boasts eco-friendly
innovations ranging from recycled-content
ceiling tiles to under-the-desk worm com-
postingbins.Thesavings from itsgreen fea-
tures amount toa cool $1milliona year.
The 30 St. Mary Axe building in Lon-
don features 40 stories of fabulous, pickle-
shaped fun. Fondly known as “theGherkin”
and as the Swiss Re Tower, since it is the
aerodynamic London headquarters of re-
insurance company Swiss Re, the building
uses50percent lessenergy thana tradition-
al officebuildingdoes, and ithasgardenson
every sixthfloor for airpurification.
I couldfill thiswholemagazine and then
some with more examples like these. It
thrillsme to seebusiness leaders andpoliti-
cians realize that environment and econo-
my can go hand in hand— and to see real
change happening on the ground. I’m not
laughinganymore, but I suream smiling.
TheArcticOcean could be ice-free in the summers by 2050.
}
There are an estimated 10,000 community gardenswithinU.S. cities.
}
CHIPGILLER
is the founder andpresident of Grist, an online
magazine of environmental news and commentary.More green
trailblazers and trendsetters canbe found atwww.grist.org.
