Sep 3, 2008 6:00 pm US/Eastern
Md. Elementary School May Be Going Green
HOWARD COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) ―
Lawmakers in Howard County are finding new ways of going green.
Jessica Kartalija reports they want to make a Maryland elementary school the first in the state to use the sun's energy.
A century-old farmhouse is more alive than ever.
"The siding is made up of two types of materials. The gray siding is asphalt shingles and it's a roofing product," said Stan Sersen.
Sersen, an architect, uses recycled materials from the original farmhouse: recycled rain to water plants and all-natural light.
"What we are trying to show everyone through example is that this is really a cost-effective way of doing it, but it creates a healthier environment--not just inside but also for the tributaries and Chesapeake Bay," he said.
The Envirocenter is one example of how Howard County is going green. County Executive Ken Ullman has already replaced over 10% of cars used by county workers with hybrid vehicles. Now he wants to cover the new Cut Road landfill with solar panels to provide power to nearby Worthington Elementary.
"Folks are ready to employ solar and wind all over this country," Ullman said. "It's critical for our environmental future. We have to get it done."
Ullman, along with U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and Governor Martin O'Malley, are pushing to extend a Dec. 31 deadline giving tax breaks to companies who use renewable energy.
"You are not going to have businesses use solar energy unless the investment tax credit is there. That's why they are doing this," Senator Cardin said.
Sixty votes are needed to extend the tax incentive. It has already failed to pass eight times. Lawmakers hope Congress will finally get the message.
"That federal tax credit is very important. Without it, it undermines all of the efforts of our state and our county governments in trying to incentivize more solar panels, more solar energy, cleaner renewable sources," Governor O'Malley said.
If all goes as planned, they will vote on an extension later this month.
The goal is to extend the tax incentive another eight years.
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