Ewing seeks sustainability

Thursday, June 4, 2009

By JOAN GALLER
Staff Writer

EWING — Just ask any kid who ever sang the signature tune of “Sesame Street’s” beloved
Kermit the Frog, “It’s Not Easy Being Green.”

But that’s not stopping Ewing Township from joining more than 139 municipalities across New
Jersey that have already gone green.

The Ewing Environmental Commission is taking steps towards registering Ewing to participate
in the statewide Sustainable Jersey program, thus making Ewing eligible for free “green” training
programs, grants and incentives to control costs through energy conservation.

The township council on April 14 passed a resolution of intent authorizing participation in

Sustainable Jersey. The environmental commission must register that resolution with
Sustainable Jersey and indicate what actions Ewing is thinking of taking and what it would like
in the way of free training.

Municipalities are certified after creating their own “green team” and completing at least 100
action points from a long list of possible projects, but they are not bound to undertake the
projects.

Mayor Jack Ball last night said he has already created a green team, whose members have not
yet been formally announced. Ewing is joining other towns in Mercer and Burlington counties
that earlier this year jumped on Sustainable Jersey’s bandwagon as it rolled across the Garden
State.

Princeton Township, Princeton Borough and Hopewell Borough were among the first 40 to sign
up, followed later by Lawrence and Hamilton townships, West Windsor, Hightstown, Burlington
Township, Willingboro, Mount Laurel and Bordentown City.

Sustainable Jersey is a certification program for municipalities that want to control costs and
save money while taking steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term, chiefly through
energy conservation, or going green.

Unveiled with fanfare in February 2009, Sustainable Jersey is the brainchild of the New Jersey
League of Municipalities’ Mayors Committee for a Green Future, the Municipal Land Use Center
at The College of New Jersey, New Jersey Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers University, the
state Department of Environmental Protection, Rutgers Center for Green Building, state Board
of Public Utilities, and a coalition of New Jersey non-profits, state agencies, and experts in the
field.

For more information, visit www.SustainableJersey.com.

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