THE NEXT MAYOR and SUSTAINABILITY

We believe that the key to a prosperous future for Philadelphia lies in increasing the quality of our lives, not the quantity of our goods.

Reducing our energy consumption is central to increasing our quality of life, by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and limiting global warming. Among the steps we look for our next mayor to take are:

1) Investing in upgrading our existing housing stock with improvements in weatherization, white and green roofs.

2) Making more of our currently "empty" land available for urban gardening and farming, as well as supporting regional agriculture.

3) Exploring options to "decouple" utility profits from increased sales of energy so that reduced energy consumption can be a goal of utility companies, including PGW.

4) Improving the quality of transportation within the city of Philadelphia by enhancing public transit, bicycle, and pedestrian access. Current zoning, parking and other regulations which subsidize automobile use can be replaced with incentives for other modes of transportation within the city.

5) Expanding Water Department programs to revive the health of urban watersheds, and initiate new programs to further reduce storm run-off and to capture water for re-use.

6) Engaging in extensive outreach programs to educate Philadelphians about the opportunities to improve our health, education, employment, and the safety of the city by responding to the challenges of global warming.

Coordination of these efforts must be at the highest level of priority. We believe that pursuit of these goals can meet a critical need for employment in Philadelphia and strengthen our local economy, as well as meet our goals of decreasing energy use and green house gas emissions.