Monday, December 8, 2008

Menino Adds to His Energy-Saving Campaign

By Ali Bhanpuri

DOWNTOWN—For the last two months, the skyline’s silhouette has blended into the black of night. The new darkness is the result of Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Mass Audubon’s Lights Out Boston initiative.

Lights Out, which began in early September to conserve energy and assist bird migration, ended Oct. 31.

“Our goal was to save money and do it in a visible way,” said Jake Glickel, an assistant at the city’s Environment Department. “The amount of energy saved will not be overwhelming, but it was a p
otent symbol for the residents of Boston.” The city won’t report the savings until early next year.

As city officials and property owners meet in the upcoming months to decide whether to continue Lights Out, on Tuesday Mayor Menino added to his citywide clean-energy campaign by announcing a new green standard for Government Center. The program aims to add wind turbines and solar panels to Government Center buildings.

“We want to make Government Center a green development area by encouraging buildings to go the extra steps to becoming energy efficient,” said Glickel, who attended the mayor’s unveiling of a wind turbine on top of City Hall on Wednesday. “We hope to be a shining example for the city.”

The mayor’s plan, which he announced at the beginning of the three-day Greenbuild International Conference and Expo held in Boston, calls for government and public agencies within a 100-acre area to use energy-efficient and sustainable technologies to reduce spending and carbon dioxide emissions.

Lights Out Boston was one of Menino’s first environmentally friendly programs. The initiative encouraged the city’s property-owning companies to dim lighting in their buildings between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. to save money, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and safeguard birds during their migration season.

“We were originally thinking of one pilot building for Lights Out,” said Jack Clarke, director of public policy and government relations at Mass Audubon. “Then, 37 others said, ‘me too.’”

The buildings’ lights disorient and confuse birds when they migrate, according to the Environment Department’s website. Clarke said property owners would like to continue the program year round.

Mass Audubon and the mayor’s office modeled Lights Out after similar programs in Chicago and New York City. Clarke said the cooperation of 38 skyscrapers in the city and strong leadership has helped Lights Out Boston achieve positive results more quickly than the other cities’ programs.

“The Mayor has really been influential in [environmental programs in Boston],” he said. “We support Mayor Menino in turning Beantown into Greentown.”

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