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Kaine in Roanoke, Encourages Green Initiatives
posted 07/02/09
6:30 pm
The governor spent the day going around town, sometimes by car and other times by bicycle.
If there was one Virginia governor that is known for being an outdoorsman, it's Tim Kaine. Kaine was in Roanoke to spread praise about the city's green initiatives, starting with the Roanoke River Greenway.
"I heard about the greenway but have never had a chance to do it, so I was glad to get that in," Kaine said.
Roanoke resident Lynn Yates said, "I think it shows a wonderful support from our state government about increasing the bicycling and care for the earth and all the good things we're trying to do here."
The bike trip took just about an hour covering five miles, then it was off to the Farmer's Market for some kind words regarding the benefits of local produce.
"Roanoke is a particularly beautiful place with a population that loves the outdoors, so some of the sustainability issues take easier here in Roanoke than other places because the people that live here really value the beauty of what we have around us," Kaine said.
The big news, though, came later in the afternoon as the governor put his endorsement on Roanoke's first LEED certified building, the first of many, he hopes.
"If we become more self reliant it not only helps the environment, not only helps the bottom line pocketbook but keeps our nation safer," Kaine said.
Yates couldn't agree more. "We need a good energy policy and everyone needs to get involved including kids and people up to my age," Yates said.
Much of Roanoke's initiatives revolve around the "Clean and Green Business coalition" that involves 13 of the areas biggest companies.
In the coalition's first year of actively reducing their carbon footprint, they reduced emissions by 10,000 tons. That's the equivalent of removing 10,000 cars from the road for a year.
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