Tuesday 28 August 2007

Carbon neutral bid a bold plan

Port Macquarie News
Monday 27/8/2007 Page: 9

COUNCILLORS will be asked to support a move to make Port Macquarie-Hastings Council carbon neutral by 2010. This would involve purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro and solar and converting the council's fleet of cars to hybrid electric cars and using bio-diesel in heavy vehicles. "I think it's realistic but it will need the support of the councillors," Cr Cameron Price said. "I'll put forward the motion that a report come back from council staff on the feasibility and mechanisms of becoming carbon neutral. "Having achieved most and exceeded some of the goals in the old Greenhouse Abatement Strategy, it is time to move to the next level," he said.

The council already had reduced carbon emissions from electricity by 79 per cent, Cr Price said. Cr Price launched his vision for a carbon neutral council at the Climate Change Australia Hastings Branch annual general meeting at Sea Acres on Saturday. "I'll be talking in detail about my vision at the meeting before putting it to the council," Cr Price said last week. "We can capture carbon from the atmosphere by revegetating cleared areas such as the banks of all waterways and increase the capacity of the Cairncross Waste treatment facility to compost food scraps and garden waste to reduce methane gas." The proposal will go to the vote today.

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