The county will solicit signatures today - Earth Day - from staffers willing to switch off computers at night, keep their homes a few degrees hotter in the summer and rely on alternative transportation to get to work.
It's hardly a first step for ever-green Salt Lake County, which has marched toward rooftop solar power, green-building designs and countywide tree plantings as part of Democratic Mayor Peter Corroon's environmental agenda.
But Corroon argues that a personal commitment from employees will propel the county toward its most recent goal: cutting his government's energy consumption 20 percent by 2009.
"It looks small," Environmental Policy Coordinator Ann Ober said. "But the small steps are the ones that will make the biggest impact."
Gayle Gayler, a buyer within the county's contracts and procurement office, made her commitment to the environment long before signing and framing her "green" card last week.
She walks to work and stuffs her backpack with recyclables to drop off along the way. She pays extra for wind power, replaces burned-out light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones and reuses her plastic grocery bags as trash liners.
"There is plenty of abundance [in this world]," she said. "But, by the same token, it is being a good steward to use wisely what we have."
But even Gayler has made some more recent changes. She now shuts down her two home computers at night and prints on double-sided pages to save paper.
"It is not hard," she said. "It is just doing things a little differently."
The pledges are a precursor to a more ambitious initiative known as HELP! (Healthy Environmental Lifestyles Program), which will award energy-saving employees with up to three vacation days annually.
That program - which will be presented to the County Council in late spring or early summer - calls on county workers to shave their own energy use 20 percent.
"We're reaching to a limit that is achievable," Corroon said, "but not easy."
The initiative will reward employees for leaving their automobiles at home, reducing home heating and electrical use and studying literature about climate change and low-emission lifestyles.
"Climate change is going to happen," said Richard Valentine, supervisor of the Salt Lake Valley Health Department's Bureau of Air Pollution Control. "But we can create an adaptive attitude that can help us deal with it better. This is where it has to start - one employee at a time."
jstettler@sltrib.com
I know it is important to make efforts to lessen my impact on the environment. Therefore, I pledge to join Salt Lake County in meeting its environmental goals by taking these five steps both in my home and in the workplace:
1. Avoid using plastic water bottles and plastic grocery bags. Instead, use a reusable bottle and washable canvas bags.
2. Reduce energy use by turning off lights and computers when not in use.
3. Keep thermostat around 76 in the summer and 68 in the winter and dress appropriately for the weather.
4. Reduce paper waste by printing on double-sided pages and only printing when necessary.
5. Use alternative forms of transportation to commute to work.
Source: Salt Lake County
Salt Lake County will solicit signatures from its employees today between noon and 2 p.m.
