The Mayors
Both Dr Dieter Salomon and Boris Palmer, from Germany's Green Party are in office as City Mayors, working hard to make their cities more 'green' and taking responsibility for the environment.
Boris Palmer
Boris Palmer, age 35, has been in office since 2006 as Mayor of Tubingen, a city with a population of 87,000.
If he had not worn a suit, I would have mistaken Boris Palmer for one of the students that had come to hear him speak. He looks youthful, and relates to his listeners in a relaxed and friendly manner.
It was easy to imagine him on the election campaign that he describes: "The first step in my initial campaign was to identify problems that my competitors ignored. I saw that there was a gross disproportion between the 25% of the population that travel in the city by bicycle, the small number of bicycle routes and the large number of parking spaces designated for cars, which are mainly servicing out of town commuters.
So, I organized a protest in which we drew bicycle routes in chalk, and then blocked cars from parking in these 'future' bicycle routes. The message was clear - if elected I would develop bike routes at the expense of car parking spaces."
Palmer further explained that contrary to the former Mayor, who drove around in her gas guzzling Mercedes, he travels by bus and on a bicycle - making it much easier for him to communicate his eco friendly campaign.
Dr Dieter Salomon
Dr Dieter Salomon, age 47, has been in office since 2002 as Mayor of Freiburg, a city with a population of 218,000.
Dieter Salomon described his first year as Mayor of a large city, "After being elected you receive a lot of support but always sense you're being tested… I felt the need to prove to the people that had elected me that they were right to believe in a 'green' mayor… Suddenly I found myself managing 5000 city employees and on the board of a few companies. I felt as if I were the captain of a ship and that I not only needed to navigate - but to change its course as well."
Going Solar
"Environmental quality is the fastest growing economic field in Europe" continues Salomon. The city of Freiburg already decided in 1996 to reduce the percentage of gas emissions it produced, and this was done mainly with the help of solar energy - a subject the city of Freiburg has taken to heart. Salomon committed more than two million euros of the city budget to this end.
He explains, "We created a city plan; and accordingly, we placed solar panels on the roof tops of all the buildings belonging to the city such as: government buildings, schools, preserved houses, the stadium and university buildings. These panels provide all the electricity for those buildings. Right now we are considering making it a law that photovoltaic systems (solar converters that allow the direct output of electricity) be installed on the roofs of all new constructions and renovations."
Focusing on alternative energies is also reflected in the economics of the city with more than 700 companies working in this field, including research groups, international organizations, and businesses dealing with solar and renewable energies that have decided to settle in Freiburg.
In addition, the city of Freiburg excels in green public transportation - more than two thirds of inner-city travel is done by using public transportation, bicycles or by foot; and the air pollution caused by motor vehicles has been reduced drastically.
The Key To Encouraging Public Transport
These are impressive results especially when compared to other German cities and Salomon explains the strategy: "I am in favor of economic incentives. The cost of parking in the city is very expensive, intentionally, so that the cost of public transportation can be cheaper. We developed a cheap regional travel pass that includes all public transportation. Only city residents have their own parking areas, at a reasonable price. We continue to develop our public transportation all the time".
In 20 years the number of residents using public transportation has increased by three times, and contributing to this are the Freiburg University students that arrive at their classes quickly and efficiently thanks to 500 kilometers of bicycle routes designated to the city.
Palmer, who set the very ambitious goal of reducing carbon gas emissions by 70% in the city of Tubingen, started his term in office by mapping the sources of polluting gas emissions. He discovered that aside from the one third of the carbon emitted by industry, he could influence the other two thirds of the emissions created by certain habits of the citizens, and decisions that rested in the hands of the city administration.
He has found many solutions; simple ones like encouraging workers to turn off computers at the end of the day and more sophisticated solutions like heating houses in the winter using energy converted from the city sewage system (that maintains a steady temperature throughout the winter).
An additional problem that exists in the city of Tubingen is flooding cause by rain. The solution for this is sufficient absorption of the rain into the ground - something that is hindered by all the paved areas in the city. Palmer, interested in having more unpaved parking areas in the city, suggested that the city council advance an economic incentive that would be called "Less absorption - more money" - a higher city tax payment for paved areas that block water absorption.
It's Up To Us
The example set by the German cities of Freiburg and Tubingen send a clear message: a mayor can do a great deal to advance environmental changes in a city. The responsibility, the key is in our hands - if we just decide that it is.
If we really do care about our environments, we can elect candidates with the right kind of 'green' environmental agendas who are willing to help us clean up our cities and live more eco friendly sustainable lives.
In conclusion, Boris Palmer says, "Even if the government does not succeed in solving the global warming problem, it does not release the city from its responsibility… it is possible that we will fail to save the planet; but, we have many opportunities to succeed in front of us - and of course, we will certainly fail if we don't try."