FERGUSON TOWNSHIP — Rarely does a resolution from local government get a round of applause.
On June 19, members of the audience at Ferguson Township’s regular supervisors meeting were audibly pleased with the board’s approval of a resolution to develop a strategy to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions from the municipality’s vehicles and buildings by 2050.
The resolution, originally put forward by Supervisor Peter Buckland in May, was approved June 19 with no votes against and amendments only for language changes and minor edits.
Ferguson Township is the latest municipality in the U.S. to declare its intention to cut or eliminate the use of fossil fuels to combat climate change, despite President Donald Trump’s announcement that he intended to withdraw from the agreement made at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Paris climate agreement has been ratified by 148 countries, according to the U.N.
The township’s resolution cites a portion of the constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that says the state’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. “As trustees of these resources, the commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people,” the passage states.
According to the resolution, Pennsylvania contributes 1 percent of total greenhouse emissions.
The resolution also states that green building practices and standards and solar and wind electricity generation has reached price parity with non-renewable sources.
Buckland said in an interview with Public News Service on May 25 that state legislation could allow the township to then give municipally backed loans for clean development, and use zoning to encourage low-impact development and green building practices.
“I think it is absolutely incumbent on elected officials — who understand the risks, threats and opportunities of climate change — to take action,” he said in the interview. “It is our duty. It is our responsibility to do it.”
A handful of residents spoke in favor of the resolution during the public hearing portion of the meeting.
Todd Giddings, a trained groundwater geologist, suggested the supervisors add language naming geothermal technology as a possible tool. Giddings said his home, as well as his office, has been heated and cooled by geothermal for the last 30 years. His office also has solar panels to run the geothermal pumps.
