The mayor of the arguably bluest city in Michigan just received an award for the city's green credentials.

Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje was one of three mayors to receive an Environmental Leadership Award from the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. The awards go to public officials (usually members of the state legislature and mayors) who help implement innovative and practical environmental solutions.

The list of Ann Arbor's green credentials have grown long after several years. Tops on that list are the establishing of a greenbelt around the city, expanding pathways for non-motorized traffic and the city’s Green Energy Challenge.

The Green Energy Challenge calls for city operations to use 30 percent renewable energy by 2020 and for the entire city to reach the 20-percent threshold by 2015. The city was using 14.7 percent renewable energy as of last June.

Among the city's other environmentally friendly policies and accomplishments is the implementation of it Green Fleets Policy for using fuel-efficient vehicles for city business, converting AATA's buses to hybrids, switching the city's street lights to LEDs, city households recycling or composting 50 percent of their waste and offering residents a free analysis of their homes' solar energy potential.

Hieftje also signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Agreement on Climate Change, which calls for reducing global warming pollution.

Source: City of Ann Arbor
Writer: Jon Zemke