$25,000 EPA grant awarded to support Lighten Up, Frankfort! initiative to reduce local carbon emissions
Frankfort, Kentucky, August 2, 2010 - Frankfort Climate Action Network (FrankfortCAN) and Appalachia - Science in the Public Interest (ASPI) have jointly received a $25,000 Environmental Justice Small Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The funds will be used to advance FrankfortCAN’s Lighten Up, Frankfort! project.
FrankfortCAN is a community group in the Frankfort/ Franklin County area that works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a more sustainable community. In 2009, FrankfortCAN launched Lighten Up, Frankfort! Participating households work together in small teams and over the course of four meetings, analyze their carbon footprints and create an action plan to lower their carbon emissions. In the last 12 months, 45 households have reported annual cuts of nearly 700,000 pounds or 350 tons of carbon dioxide. The project goal for the next 12 months is to cut an additional 650 tons to reach cumulative cuts of 1,000 tons of carbon emissions.
ASPI is a non-profit organization with offices in Frankfort and Mount Vernon, Ky. For over 30 years ASPI has worked as an advocate for environmental protection, sustainability and social justice, using appropriate technologies that empower people to improve their lives and communities. Their Sustainable Energy Program advocates for effective solutions to the climate change crisis and works to advance renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation in Kentucky.
The EPA grant will be used to hire a part-time project coordinator for Lighten Up, Frankfort!, to promote participation in the project, and to organize a series of community workshops about energy efficiency and climate change.
The grant comes from the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). The purpose of its Environmental Justice Small Grants Program (EJSG) is to support and empower communities that are working on local solutions to local environmental and/or public health problems and to create self-sustaining community-based partnerships that will continue to improve local environments in the future.
“FrankfortCAN’s approach of working with local organizations to form Lighten Up teams may have been key to our selection by the EPA,” said Fonda McWilliams, a Lighten Up, Frankfort! organizer and team leader. “We appreciate all of the organizations and individuals that have contributed to the success of the Lighten Up, Frankfort! initiative. We hope more and more people will join this effort to make changes in our lives that save money, save energy and achieve a lifestyle that is sustainable.”
The following local organizations have formed one or more teams in the past year: Envision Franklin County, First Christian Church, First United Methodist, Frankfort Chapter of the United Nations Association, Franklin County Cooperative Extension, Frankfort Electric & Water Plant Board, Kentucky State University, South Frankfort Neighborhood Association, South Frankfort Presbyterian Church Frankfort and the Unitarian Universalist Community of Frankfort. Teams have also been formed by individuals not connected with any organization.
More information about FrankfortCAN and Lighten Up, Frankfort! is available at www.frankfortclimateaction.net, via email at lightenupfrankfort@gmail.com or by calling 520-320-3275. |
