Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 initiative has grown to more than 25 cities. The campaign encourages environmental advocates to reach out to mayors and other community leaders to commit to powering communities with renewable energy.
At a time when the White House is turning away from slowing climate change and investing in renewables, Sierra Club remains firm in its campaign commitment.
“From coast to coast, the shift to 100% clean energy has never been dependent upon federal action,” Sierra Club wrote in a blog post. “It’s happening because communities have banded together to demand choices and solutions that reflect local values.”
Sierra Club wrote that moving to 100% clean energy is necessary to modernize cities, boost local economies and create jobs. Indeed, solar jobs are predicted to increase by 10% in 2017, according to The Solar Foundation. That number can continue to rise if cities commit to 100% clean energy.
Sierra Club defines 100% clean as getting 100% of a city’s energy from clean and renewable sources. The EPA defines “renewable energy” as resources that rely on fuel sources to restore themselves over short periods of time and don’t diminish. Examples include sun, wind, moving water, organic plant and waste material and the Earth’s heat. Some renewable energies can have minor impacts on the environment. Clean energy is a more abstract term that basically means “cleaner than fossil fuels.”
A few cities signed on to Sierra Club’s initiative so far are Greensburg, Kansas; Aspen, Colorado and Burlington, Vermont. Most cities on the list have committed to 100% clean energy by 2035.
Another notable city is Abita Springs, Louisiana—referred to as “the most Republican parish in the state of Louisiana” in a VICE article. Republican Mayor Greg Lemons is a staunch advocate for renewable energy.
Lemons told VICE, “It’s not a partisan issue to me…I’m not a business-at-any-cost person. I know we need to have business, we need to have jobs, but we also need to have a place to live, and that’s important too. And you can do both.”
His plan to move Abita Springs to 100% is to first add solar to all city buildings, then get the local sewer station running on renewable energy.