Salem mayor taking
energy conservation steps

Friday, November 19, 2004

By Sean Corcoran

Staff writer The Salem News

SALEM- The Witch City's mayor is not much of a speed demon. Even so, the next time Stanley Usovicz settles himself in behind the wheel of his family's red Ford Explorer, he will travel 2 mph slower than usual.

And from now on, when Usovicz and his family wake up each morning, they might be a tad chillier. Yesterday the mayor programmed his home's thermostat to 68, one degree lower than usual.

The family also is willing to spend a bit more on light bulbs for the sake of the environment. Before changing the thermostat, Usovicz replaced a few of his home's incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescents.

Surrounded by environmental activists in his home at 2 Botts Court yesterday, Usovicz officially pledged to do all three of these things, and he hopes other Salem residents will do the same.

Usovicz has signed on to the Salem Alliance for the Environment's new "1-2-3 and More ..." program. Its goal is to promote renewable energy in the city and commit to energy conservation and a cleaner environment.

"These small actions really make a difference," said Karen Kahn, a member of the Salem Alliance for the Environment's board of directors.

"If each of the 18,000 households in Salem were to follow Usovicz's lead and take the residential energy efficiency pledge, emissions of carbon dioxide would be reduced by 23 million pounds per year, the equivalent of taking 2,000 cars off the road," she said.

So with the help of his 8-year-old daughter, Motoria, and his 11-year-old son, Stash, Usovicz replaced the light bulbs and used a green magic marker to sign his name on an oversized pledge card, vowing to conserve.

"What we are trying to do is raise a generation that realizes energy is not free," Usovicz said. "By taking these three small steps, my family will save almost $100 and we will prevent over 1,300 pounds of greenhouse gases from being dumped into the atmosphere."

Usovicz also signed up for the New England GreenStart program, which commits him to paying about $12.50 extra on his family's energy bill each month.

By buying into the program, the Mass Energy Consumer Alliance will add enough renewable energy to the state's power grid--energy that comes from such sources as the wind and the sun--to match his monthly contribution, said Larry Chretien, the group's executive director.

In addition, for every person who pays for the energy premium, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative of Westborough will match that amount in the form of green energy grants that will come back to the city, said Martha Broad, the group's manager.

For example, if 100 residents sign up for the program each month for a year, the city would earn between $30,000 and $40,000 in grants, Broad said.

Usovicz also has committed himself to making the city more energy efficient. In 2002, he pushed for the relighting of the city's two parking garages with energy-efficient fixtures and bulbs. His staff is now looking at making similar changes to other city buildings, including City Hall and perhaps a fire station, he said.

In the next few weeks, Salem Alliance for the Environment will send letters to about 8,000 Salem households to inform people of the "1, 2, 3 and More ..." program and GreenStart.

"This is a great initiative, and if we can get everybody to understand, and if we can get everybody to participate, we'll all be better off," Usovicz said.