Martinsville Launches Green Panel

Pretty cool article from the Bulletin this week. The city of Martinsville has launched its going-green panel to come up with ways of saving energy.

Before the next meeting April 20, committee members were tasked with investigating whether the state Office of Pollution Prevention could help the city’s efforts, researching green programs in other cities and finding out how many tons of waste the city and schools create.

An energy audit of city and school facilities is set to be completed by the end of May. The audit is examining electricity use in the buildings, traffic and streetlights.

The Green Committee aims to increase recycling, reduce waste, create more green space and take other measures to shrink the city’s carbon footprint, which is measured by the city’s environmental practices and amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

Not only will this help make our city a little cleaner, there's the added benefit that turning Martinsville into a green-conscious city will make it a more attractive place to live, particularly in Uptown--especially to young professionals who will be the key to reviving our area. I am often frustrated with our local governments, but this is very cool. Big props, Martinsville.