76 Green Towns-Low

Green Towns FOCUS Question Why are green communities important?

Going Green People everywhere are taking steps to help protect the environment. Whole communities are even "going green." These cities and towns have committed to using only renewable resources to get electricity. These resources, such as solar and wind, will not run out. Why go green? Nonrenewable resources that are burned to make electricity, such, as gas, oil, and coal, are limited. These resources cannot be replaced after they are used. Burning them releases gases that trap heat near Earth's surface and cause global temperatures to rise. This global warming destroys habitats and harms organisms, including people. Do You Know? Cities have a huge environmental impact. They release more than 70 percent of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

Getting Power to the People Every community needs electricity it can depend on. Electricity is often produced far from the people who use it. It travels a great distance through a complex network known as a grid. Most towns and cities in the United States are connected to a regional power grid. Many power plants make electricity, often from nonrenewable resources. Thousands of power lines distribute this energy throughout the region. Transformers at substations change how electricity flows. Some raise the voltage so it can travel long distances. Others reduce the voltage so it can safely enter homes. Some green communities get electricity in a different way. They build small grids that use local renewable energy sources. This is called community energy. One city might build a dam and power plant on a local river. Electricity from moving water is called hydroelectric power. A town might put solar panels on office buildings. The panels convert sunlight into electricity. The town might also build a wind farm where machines called turbines make electricity from moving air.

These green communities no longer need energy from a large grid. They can make their own energy from cleaner local sources. Other green communities still rely on a regional grid. However, they use only electricity made from renewable sources.

Green by Name Greensburg Kansas, isn't green in name only. Residents agreed to go green after a tornado forced them to rebuild their town in 2007. They decided to get energy from the very same resource that caused so much damage to their small town. Most of their electricity now comes from a wind farm built nearby. The town also uses solar panels and geothermal energy, which is heat from inside Earth. It cost more at first to use renewable energy. Now Greensburg saves hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on energy. The people who live there are proud to have made a difference in the world for future generations.

A College Town Goes Green You can learn a lot in Hanover, New Hampshire. It's the home of Dartmouth College. It is also one of a few towns in the state working to go green by 2030. The town plans to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable resources. Residents have already put solar panels on many buildings. They will also buy more wind and solar power from the regional grid. Hanover has another goal as well. It intends to use only renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2050. Dartmouth College now gets heat by burning oil. Soon it plans to replace the oil with renewable resources. The college aims to cut the amount of greenhouse gases it produces by 80 percent!