West Chester: Ready for 100 Clean Energy!
At Wednesday's Smart Growth Committee meeting (7:30 pm), the committee members will also consider a proposal from the Borough's Sustainability Advisory Committee to pass a resolution supporting the development of a viable plan to move our community to 100% clean renewable energy. Phoenixville just pased a similar resolution, and communities all across the country are taking these same steps. And, communities like Greensburg, Kansas, Rock Port, Missouri, and Aspen, Colorado, are already powered by 100% clean renewable energy!
Why? There are three very good reasons!
First, the cost of clean energy technologies has plummeted; the cost to install solar panels has declined by more than 70% since 2010, and prices are continuing to decline.
Second, clean energy programs create good jobs and boost the economy. Solar employment opportunities are growing 12x faster than the rest of the U.S. economy, and solar wages are above the national median.
Third, in the absence of climate action at higher levels of government, we must take action at the local level. The recent weather events in our country show how climate change is increasing the violence and unpreditabillity of our weather, and how devastating this is to our communities, our lives, and our economy. Early estimates of the combined damage from the pair of record-breaking storms in Texas and Florida could reach $290 billion, and this doesn't account for the wildfires and extreme heat burning up the American West, or the 9 major disasters—including drought and floods—that hit the country from January to July. West Chester will not be immune to climate-related crises.
I will stand up for a clean West Chester and for our children's and grandchildren's future. Please come to the Smart Growth Committee meeting this Wednesday to show your support for this initiative!
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