Jun 17: Mayors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI), representing 13 million Americans and Canadians, have launched the Green CiTTS [Green Cities Transforming Towards Sustainability] Program to demonstrate their commitment to adopt and expand green municipal practices aimed at protecting and restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, founding United States Chair of GLSLCI said, "Mayors understand that actions taken in our cities have a positive impact across the Great Lakes Basin. Today, cities are committing to expand and accelerate the implementation of innovative municipal projects and programs so that we can continue to lead the way on the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River."
The Green CiTTS program has four objectives: To Protect Water Resources and Coastal Areas; To Promote Low-Carbon Energy Generation and Consumption; To Adopt Green Land Use and Building Design; and To Encourage Green Economic Development. Actions under the Green CiTTS program in its inaugural year will contribute to protecting water resources and coastal areas, by providing support for municipal activities to reduce storm water runoff. This year's program is supported by the Joyce Foundation, in collaboration with partners including America Rivers, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
An important aspect of the Green CiTTS program is the promotion and adoption of green technologies to support this effort and the creation of green jobs to stimulate local and regional economies. Cities around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence spend an estimated $15 billion on environmental protection initiatives each year.
The Cities Initiative also announced the results from its Water Conservation Framework, now in its third year, and its Pharmaceuticals Framework, launched last year. To date, thirteen cities have collectively achieved a 13% reduction in water consumption- conserving approximately 87 billion gallons/ 329 billion litres of water, enough to fill 134,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. And over a 2 year period (2007,2008), eleven local governments collected a total of 685,000 lbs of pharmaceuticals and personal care products.
Access a release from GLSLCI (click here). Access a backgrounder on the program (click here). Access more details on the Green CiTTS program (click here). Access the GLSLCI website (click here).
