November 14th, 2008 · No Comments

The Green Light New Orleans is helping reduce greenhouse gases by offering free CFL light bulbs to residents of the Big Easy. People can get the details on the website on how swapping regular bulbs for CFLs can be one of the easiest and most effective steps to reduce energy consumption. (CFLs use a fraction of the energy of incandescent bulbs.)

Green Light volunteers help middle-income families and individuals make the switch to CFLs by providing advice and free installation.

Green rebuilding efforts are underway throughout the Crescent City with some New Orleans’ homes that survived storm flooding getting eco-friendly makeovers.

The New Orleans City Council assisted these green efforts when it approved the Energy Smart New Orleans Energy Efficiency Program. This broad program has some lofty green goals. It aims to:

• Help residents and business owners improve their overall energy efficiency, at a rate of 2,500 buildings per year
• Provide cost-free weatherization improvements to 300 elderly and low-income residents a year; improve 500 homes a year with solar-energy systems
• Actively inform home and business builders about ways to make structures more energy efficient.

In combination with their energy efficient programs, The City of New Orleans Mayor’s Office of Environmental Affairs plans more green strategies.

“The Alliance for Affordable Energy opened a ‘build smart’ learning center which will offer advice to residents on how to build green and save money on utility bills,” a spokesperson said.

At their website, citizens can find out more about the Louisiana Home Energy Loan Program (HELP), which offers low-interest loans (currently at 2%) for portions of a house loan used to make energy enhancements.

There’s also the Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO), which offers incentives through one-time cash payments towards the cost of making energy improvements to existing homes or those under construction.

Both of these programs, administered by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), are assisting homeowners toward improving home energy efficiency by at least 30 percent.

In addition, the environmental department in Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s office has pledged to reduce greenhouse gases. The city is a member of the Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI ) and is updating its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. The inventory will be used to guide city agencies in reducing their emissions, according to city officials.

New Orleans also is developing a progressive green transportation system. Their Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has purchased 38 biodiesel buses, and the environmental office of the mayor reports that the economic development department is in talks with a bio diesel manufacturer to open a facility in New Orleans, using a local product as the feedstock. (FEMA is also helping New Orleans replace buses lost to Katrina with fuel efficient models, after state officials pleaded for policy changes requiring older replacements.)

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