Recipe for a Better, Greener Society, by Adam Cohen, written for the Roanoke Times/ Roanoke.com

Adam Cohen

Cohen has lived in the region since 1984, is a sculptor, LEED accredited professional and is co-owner of Structures Design Build.

I was shaken out of a 15-year sleep when my 14-year-old asked how long people had been talking about global climate change. I answered that the '70s was the start of the public debate. He then asked a real eye-opener, "You mean people have been talking for 40 years without making any real changes?"

At this point I realized that I had let my children and all children down 15 years ago when I stopped pushing the agenda that I believe in. Like so many of my generation, I was raised to think I could make a difference in this world. Through my mid-30s I worked for change. What happened to me was typical of those my age: The personal needs of family and the reality of providing a living forced me to lay my ideals to the side while I worked in a system that, while flawed, allowed me to make a living.

My son's innocent question woke me up. I am going to make a radical proposal for this region. I propose a change to the way we approach living in this community.

I've watched people argue about what is best for our region. People advocate preserving our natural environment; attracting and retaining younger citizens; attracting investment, new industry and tourism. To this I would add: Deal with the inequities and misperceptions that our forebears created within our social structure.

Some of the locally hatched schemes to achieve this have included an art museum, an amphitheater, a trolley, a restaurant on Mill Mountain and rebuilding of the market area. While all of these will have some impact, none will truly set a new standard by which our region could be put on the leading edge of social and environmental sustainability.

Precisely because we have a relatively small population, we have the opportunity to create a forward-acting region that will create a dynamic society. There is a town, Malmo, Sweden, that has set an example of what forward-thinking and dedicated leadership can create, and I encourage readers to learn about their experiment.

We need visionary political change and grass-roots support for sustainable technologies to change the way we think about our society as well as our environment.

We must not take the have and have-not positions of the past, but must take the sympathetic position that we are only as strong as our weakest link. We must advocate for both political and social change of ideals.

Some of the specific ideas we can implement are:

n Establish a hydrogen refining facility powered by solar power. Make a commitment to convert a percentage of the city fleet to fuel cell vehicles as they age. Provide free hydrogen fill up to citizens who own fuel cell vehicles.

n Teach youth green-collar job skills by training them in solar photovoltaic power and solar thermal system installation. Do this by adding solar systems to the roofs of city buildings and tie the power back to the electric grid.

n Create significant financial incentives for sustainable green technology companies to locate in our region. Reach out to these firms and tie the incentives to job creation and clean production.

n Eliminate the personal property tax on low-emission and zero-emission vehicles.

n Reduce property taxes on LEED certified projects with the reduction tied to the LEED level attained.

n Establish financial incentives for rainwater and gray water recycling systems to reduce the impact on water demand in our area.

n Make a commitment to a comprehensive recycling program for all citizens and industry.

n Establish electric vehicles as part of our municipal fleet and create solar charging stations for fleet vehicles.

n Change our municipal bus fleet to natural gas or propane power.

n Use unutilized open spaces for free garden spaces for citizens within walking or biking distance.

n Offer incentives to municipal employees for carpooling, bike riding or use of low-emission and zero-emission vehicles, and encourage private industry to do the same.

n Preface our political and development decisions on whether the impact will be a positive or negative one on the next generation.

By following some or all of these concepts we can create a healthy, progressive area that will both attract new people as well as enhance the lives of those already here.