Gov. Glendening recently gave a keynote address at the EcoCity World Summit a few weeks ago in San Francisco. The EcoCity World Summit is one of the most exciting, innovative events in discussion solutions for making our towns and cities better, more sustainable places to live. The summit brings together the many leaders and innovators shaping the conversation around ecological and sustainable town and city design.
The Governor discussed the best solution for addressing climate change, reducing our dependency on oil, and providing people with more options on places to live that affords them the ability to get where they need to go quickly and easily:
We must think about making and remaking our cities into ones that are not dependent on the prevalence of cheap gasoline to navigate. Recognizing this, individuals, businesses, and the government are looking for alternative fuels and alternative energy sources. These kinds of solutions are certainly feasible, but they are also too narrowly focused. It is crucial that we think beyond merely improving vehicle emissions or efficiency as “sustainable” solutions.
The most important piece of the sustainability puzzle will be a fundamental rethinking of how we grow and plan our cities. This will provide us with more livable cities, reducing emissions and consumption more effectively than pinning all our hopes on future cars not yet built that might run on corn or sugar cane.
Investing in places with transportation options –whether walkable neighborhoods or more transit — will be one of the best solutions for ensuring the security and success of our cities, while also stemming the tide of climate change.
Governor Glendening at the EcoCity World Summit
The Governor also sat on a panel with Dan Beard, who is Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the House of Representatives. He is currently leading House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “Green the Capitol” initiative, which he discussed in this panel.
Gov. Glendening and Dan Beard Q&A
You can find more presentations from the many terrific presenters on the EcoCity World Summit media portal.