On May 4, 2007, an EF5 tornado leveled the city of Greensburg, Kansas.
So, much like other towns devastated by a natural disaster, they started to rebuild. But they are not just rebuilding. They’re going green. The Greensburg City Council has approved a resolution that all city building projects will be built to LEED Platinum level standards. If they reach their goal, they’ll be the first city in the nation to do so.
The whole town is following the Council’s lead. Encouraged by an educational program offered by the city, it is predicted that 50% of the residents will participate in the green building efforts too.
Even the city’s power is going off the grid. Kansas has an abundance of wind, so the city will install four 300-foot, 1.5-megawatt wind turbines. That will be enough to power the entire city, but they’re not stopping there. They are looking into hydro and solar power as back ups. They are determined to be “100% renewable, 100% of the time”.
Even their name is green. It will be very interesting to follow their progress.
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