Mandel pushes pedal power for greener city

Gordon Kent, Civic Affairs Writer
Friday, June 06 2008

Mayor Stephen Mandel is helping to save the planet one push of his bicycle pedal and one drop of water at a time.

Mandel marked World Environment Day on Thursday by urging Edmontonians to take at least two new actions over the next year that reduce their impact on the Earth.

This could include driving less, cutting out lawn pesticides, putting in power-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, turning down the water heater to 50 C, installing low-flow toilets and showerheads, and reusing shopping bags.

For his part, Mandel said he's having shorter showers and frequently rides his bicycle to work from his west-end house.

"I will ride it more. You can only do so much," said Mandel, who's also considering composting at home.

"Each of us, if we do a little bit, can make a difference."

By the end of the month, the city plans to have a calculator on its website that will let people measure the reduction in their environmental footprint leading up to the June 14-18, 2009 ICLEI world conference on municipal environmental sustainability being held in Edmonton.

gkent@thejournal.canwest.com

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Jean-Olivier Dalphond
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