Tonight’s City of Savannah town hall meeting served as a launch, of a sort. Introduced was the city’s “Thrive: Environment • Economy • Community” theme. During the meeting, the mayor and city council publicly took the “Thrive Pledge.” It reads:

“I will strive to understand the social and environmental consequences of my actions and pledge to help Savannah Thrive by taking part in activities that promote an eco-friendly and sustainable community.”

A video screened during the meeting cataloged initiatives the city is currently undertaking or considering, including:

• Elimination of desktop printers in City offices
• LEED certified government buildings
• Energy audits
• Fuel efficient vehicles
• Flextime and telecommuting programs for City employees
• City involvement in Coastal Commuters and subsidized CAT passes for City employees
• Low flow fixtures
• Methane recovery in water treatment
• Education programs to promote the reuse of materials, not just recylcing
• Recycling education for the public
• Recycling in municipal buildings
• Composting at city facilities.

While all these ideas hold promise, the most encouraging announcement of the evening had nothing to do with what the City can do better. It was about how bad things are now. The completion of a study of the City’s carbon footprint, using 2006 as the baseline year, revealed the City government produces 75,320 tons of equivalent carbon emissions per year. Without this baseline, it would be impossible to determine the success of emission reduction initiatives.

Mayor Otis Johnson talked the role of local governments in the effort to address climate change, describing it as a “grassroots movement” that would eventually change national policies. It sounded as if he’s read a certain book by a certain local author. Savannah’s efforts, he said, corresponded by those being advanced “enlightened” leaders in other communities.

Johnson also encouraged participation in the curbside recycling, once it is initiated next year. “We need all the trash we can get,” he said, referring to the recycling companies payments to the City for materials received. Alderman Larry Stuber made similar remarks. Alderman Van Johnson suggested that container deposit legislation should be explored at the state level.

Mary Landers’ report on the meeting is here and Tristan Tully’s is here.