Global Warming and raspberries
Those raspberries you’re enjoying this winter are contributing to global warming
So says David Carroll, the county’s environmental czar.
Carroll was appointed director of sustainability in May. He explained that a big portion of his mandate is looking at changing “how we live today, so we don’t diminish the quality of life tomorrow; looking at how we use energy, how we use products.”
And that brings us to raspberries. Those winter berries are grown in places such s South America and flown up here.
“Are raspberries really necessary in the middle of winter?” Carroll asked. “All these uses of energy for a product that is not absolutely necessary all have high energy costs and high greenhouse gas costs.”
Carroll realizes that not everyone is going to give up fresh berries in February but believes it’s part of his job “to make policy statements about” greener living.
Carroll has been spending a lot of time thinking about this as part of his appointment as county’s director of sustainability.
On Nov. 21, County Executive Jim Smith endorsed a proposal spearheaded by Carroll and his volunteer Sustainability Network committee to cut county government’s greenhouse gas emissions 10 percent by 2012.
Carroll’s doing his part, and it’s not just about not indulging in out of season fruit.
“I no longer user hot or warm water when I do the laundry,” Carroll said, adding that most laundry soaps are formulated to work in cold water.
“It cut my energy bill by 20 percent,” he said.
“It’s little stuff like that,” Carroll said. “Are we going to mandate that? No, we’re not going to mandate that.”
Carroll said he believes that county residents will be willing to make those little changes when they see there are also some financial benefits, as well.