Environmentally Speaking – Who’s doing What & Where are they doing it?

Greensburg, Kansas
Their slogan on the home page of the town’s Web site now reads: “Greensburg: Better, Stronger, Greener!”

City and county officials as well as residents and business owners who call Greensburg home are creating a national model for environmentally conscious living.

Daniel Wallach, has been a driving force in helping the community adapt to this new way of life. He founded the nonprofit organization Greensburg GreenTown (http://www.greensburggreentown.org/) which provides resources and education for sustainable rebuilding.

City leaders are using wind and solar technologies to harness power and geothermal heat. To conserve energy they are building with solid concrete, their focus is on using more natural light and they are installing better insulation and state-of-the-art windows.

Greensburg GreenTown is building a series of “Eco-Homes”. Twelve green houses with energy-efficient features. Wallach wants to turn the Eco-Homes into “living laboratories” to help educate people about energy-efficient construction.

The first home being built is slated to be completed this summer. It’s a silo-shaped building and is expected to be approximately 70% more energy efficient than the average house. The Silo Eco-Home features ground-source heating and cooling, solar hot water and a vegetable garden on its roof to top it off!

The town’s new state-of-the-art John Deere dealership uses recycled oil to heat and cool its floors, wind turbines to create electrical power and lights that require no electricity.

Wallach says that the community itself will have a community-owned wind farm that will power the town’s general power needs.

“This town is definitely an example for the rest of the world. We have people from around the world coming out of their way to come to Greensburg.” “So it’s a great place for people to come and have an emerging experience with what a town of the future looks like and feels like.”