A message from Commissioner Kristin Jacobs

Hello! I hope this e-mail finds you all well and warm! I returned last night from Washington D.C., where I was representing Broward County working with a group called Climate Communities. Climate Communities is a national network of counties and cities that work together to promote local initiatives to battle climate change. This week, I joined with leaders from all over the country to lobby members of Congress and the Obama administration to include Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) in the economic stimulus package. These funds would help local governments implement strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce the total the total energy, and create green jobs. These funds could be used by local governments to : · conducting residential and commercial building energy audits; · establishing financial incentives programs for energy efficiency improvements; · grants to non-profits organizations to perform energy efficiency retrofits; · developing/implementing programs to conserve energy used in transportation; · developing and implementing building codes and inspections services to promote building energy efficiency; · installing light emitting diodes (LEDs); and · developing, implementing, and installing on or in any government building onsite renewable energy technology that generates electricity from renewable sources. Today, the alert went out from Climate Communities that Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are introducing an amendment to remove the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants from the economic recovery bill . THIS WOULD BE HUGE MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR BROWARD COUNTY. Broward County needs your help! Please contact Sen. Bill Nelson and Sen. Mel Martinez, and urge them to oppose the Nelson/Collins amendment. Below are links to their web pages where you can express you opposition to the cuts and urge their support of funding for local and state energy projects. http://martinez.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorMartinez http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm Thank you for your help! Have a happy and safe weekend! Kristin Kristin Jacobs, Commissioner Broward County, District 2 954-357-7002