n September 2006, Green Tallahassee published its first posts on a biodeisel speed boat and carbon emissions. Over the past three years, have things significantly changed in Tallahassee to reduce the impact of climate change?

The green energy certificates no longer exist, but the City of Tallahassee utilities has committed to an home energy audit and insulation program that residents, both home owners and renters should by now have utilized. We have solar credit, solar tours, solar panels on churches, banks and Habitat homes as well as a solar working group through Sustainable Tallahassee.

The jury is still out on Smart Meters and recent concerns over privacy as well as the spike in electric bills following the meters installation continue to raise questions about their adoption. We can now receive our City utilitiy bill electronically and pay our bills online.

Our area has constructed a number of varying levels of LEED certified homes and commercial buildings, including ones for state and local governments. Commissioners in both local governments and our state government talk about energy conservation, but then, we site approve and build new Department of Revenue offices and refuse to consider permeable surfaces for its massive parking lots off Capital Circle Southeast. Will the temperature surrounding this land be consistently higher as a result of the heat permeating off its asphalt surfaces?

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Tags: Climate-change

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