Schwartz on the Environment

By David Paul Schwartz

Protecting our natural environment, encouraging energy efficiency, and reducing waste are top priorities of mine. As a co-founder of UpperDarbyRecycle.org, I helped successfully lobby Council to adopt single-stream recycling. I see environmental stewardship as an opportunity to reduce energy use, encourage renewable energy, increase our amount of recyclable material, and create green collar jobs, ultimately benefiting our community as well as protecting our environment.

Ultimately, my goal is to reduce our energy use, cut energy costs, attract clean, green jobs, and use your tax dollars more effectively.

Reduce Energy Use

Convert Township owned traffic lights to more efficient L.E.D. signals, reducing energy consumption 90% and reducing maintenance costs by 70%. This could be done in a phased implementation program, similar to the conversion the City of Philadelphia is undertaking.

Spearhead a program to reduce energy consumption in public buildings:

• Replace incandescent bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs)
• Insure buildings are properly insulated. This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to energy use.

• Solar power - Several years ago, Media became the state's 1st solar city, winning a grant to install solar panels on public buildings, saving thousands of dollars per year. We can do the same thing in Upper Darby and install panels on our public buildings to reduce energy use, cutting costs.
• Gradually convert the non-emergency service vehicles in our fleet to gas efficient hybrid vehicles to save on fuel prices in the long-term.

Increasingly, developers are beginning to construct buildings to be more energy efficient and environmentally sensitive, during both construction and operation. These include things such as rainwater retention, rooftop vegetation, and HVAC design to limit energy uses in heating and cooling.

• We should streamline the approval process for such these developments and partner with developers willing to construct green buildings and use green construction techniques.

I believe that green Industries and green collar jobs will make up the next wave of new jobs in our country over the next decade.

• We can market green buildings and our Township energy efficiency programs to help define our community as being supportive of these types of green industries. In addition, we can highlight our extensive mass transit system as a way to give their employees an alternative to driving.
• By attracting these industries to our Township, we can create jobs and enhance our tax base.

As a co-founder of UpperDarbyRecycle.com, recycling is a priority for me. I want to expand our current program beyond residences to business and industries, increase our amount of recyclables, increase our revenue from recyclables, and reap the resulting increase in DEP funding given to municipalities as an incentive for increased recycling tonnage.

Stormwater Management and Flooding

Where possible, we need to reduce impervious surfaces, add green space, and plant vegetation to reduce the impact to our overburdened stormwater drainage infrastructure. These areas provide habitats for animals, recreation space, and are of particular importance near flood-prone areas to reduce the frequency and severity of flooding.