Lawmakers want Capitol to go green

WASHINGTON – Congress says it is going to join the war against global warming by cleaning up its own backyard, now cluttered with a coal-burning power plant, a fleet of fuel-inefficient vehicles and old-fashioned lights.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a goal of making House operations carbon neutral during this session of Congress, meaning the House would remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it adds by the end of next year.


“The House must lead by example and it is time for Congress to act on its own carbon footprint,” Pelosi said in announcing the initiative that would also shift the House to 100 percent renewable electric power.

Sen.
John Kerry, D-Mass., has sponsored legislation with the long-term aim of making the entire Capitol complex, 23 buildings where some 15,000 people work, carbon neutral by 2020.

AP