With recent wildfires, extreme heat and potential drought looming over the country, President Biden pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.
"This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis," said the president at the International Earth Day Summit Thursday.
Already thinking about the future, the City of Erie has been working in a similar way to help the environment for the last 4 years. "Erie is actually one of the founding members of the Erie 2030 District where we have pledged a certain number of public buildings to reduce our energy consumption by 50% by the year 2030,” said City of Erie Sustainability Coordinator and Arborist, Sarah Peelman.
Peelman says Biden’s pledge is a step in the right direction, taking what we’ve been doing locally to a bigger stage. "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions falls along those same lines. It's important to keep the quality of our air healthy, and our land, and our water, said Peelman.
Local investment groups say the plan will ultimately be good for the economy, too.
"It's going to take a larger look at our economic system from a circular economy perspective,” said Nick Bruno of Erie Management Group.
He says the group is working, through glass recycling, to build a circular economy—where materials are recycled and returned to manufacturers. They say this reduces emissions and saves money for both consumers and companies.
All you have to do is find one of the big blue bins, bring your glass products, and drop it off.
Long term, Bruno says the big blue bins will pay off. "There's so many things that go into our economic system, and its relation to greenhouse gas emissions. So, I think it's a step in the right direction to take a look at how we can have the quality of life we have but with reduced greenhouse gas emissions."