This editorial appeared in The Kansas City Star.
President Barack Obama has breathed new life into this nation's environmental movement, which helps make this year's Earth Day more notable.
Obama's administration already has shown it will aggressively protect the environment and promote renewable energy far more than the last administration.
Over the last three months Obama has halted federal plans to drill for offshore oil and given a thumbs-up to stricter energy efficiency guidelines.
Closer to home, a collection of environmental groups, elected officials, the Mid-America Regional Council and KCPT are promoting ways to protect the environment.
While there are many ways to reach these goals (see excerpts below), it's important to emphasize several tactics locally. Among them:
• Conserve energy to save money and reduce pollution.
Kansas Citians who insulate their houses save on energy bills. So do homeowners who set their thermostats lower in the winter and higher in the summer, and who use more efficient light bulbs. While the amount of savings vary widely from house to house, the U.S. Department of Energy provides valuable information on insulation and other energy-related issues at www.energystar.gov.
• Build more trails to protect natural resources, preserve wildlife corridors and provide miles of walking and biking paths.
To read the complete editorial, visit The Kansas City Star.