Tucson Conservation Efforts
The city of Tucson, in the southern part of the state of Arizona, is steadily gaining a reputation as one of the state’s (and the nation’s) leading cities when it comes to conservation and renewable, sustainable energy. The city is making efforts on several fronts to become a leader in the Green movement. Conservation of resources, especially water, has always been a key aspect of survival in a desert climate, so it may be theorized that residents of a city like Tucson are already predisposed to understanding the need for Green and sustainable practices.
Whatever the underlying reasons, the city has proven its commitment to ecologically sound management of resources on several fronts. The latest evidence of Tucson’s efforts are highlighted by the fact that 6 Tucson hotels or resorts have been named among the 20 establishments who have been given Green certification by a partnership between the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association (AzHLA), the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). The partnership has come up with guidelines for Green certification based on a scoring system in 15 categories. To have almost one third of the Green certified hotels in Tucson is an indicator of the city’s dedication towards ecologically sound practices. The list of green certified Arizona hotels includes only 3 in Phoenix, which is the state’s largest city.
The city has also unveiled plans to build a new solar energy plant which is expected to produce 1 megawatt of solar power, doubling Tucson’s current sun power capacity and increasing the city’s renewable energy capabilities significantly. The new solar plant will be located on land that is publicly owned and managed by the city’s water department and will be a partnership between private and public entities. The new plant is expected to be built and be fully functional by March of 2011.
Further boosting Tucson’s Green status is the test marketing there of Nissan’s new fully-electric vehicle, the Leaf, which began being demonstrated and old in Tucson this month. Residents of Tucson are justifiably proud of their leadership in the Green movement and the trend is likely to continue as more Americans become aware of the necessity to conserve resources and to invest in renewable energy.
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