Reading ready to take clean-air pledge

Speeding SUVs and plastic grocery bags may be designated endangered in Reading if the town's Advisory Committee on Cities for Climate Protection has its way.

The Board of Selectmen and town manager will lead local conservation efforts Tuesday evening by taking a pledge to do what they can to stave off global warming through conservation.

The pledge involves vows to take individual actions to reduce greenhouse gases in the community over 12 months by cutting consumption in three areas -- transportation, energy, and food.

``I think it's part of that `think globally, act locally' approach -- that we each need to be doing our part," said Camille Anthony, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen.

The pledge was devised by local members of the environmental group. But the effort is part of the city's environment al commitment since selectmen voted in February to join the Ontario-based International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives' Climate Protection Program.

Actions that count toward keeping the pledge include driving 5 miles per hour slower on the highway, leaving the car at home one day a month, and switching to a more fuel-efficient car.

Other measures include using compact fluorescent bulbs, setting the washing machine temperature to warm rather than hot, recycling one more item than you do now, and using tote bags instead of plastic or paper shopping bags.

The program has 674 communities that participate in 30 countries worldwide. In Massachusetts, Reading joins Amherst, Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Falmouth, Gloucester, Lenox, Lynn, Medford, Natick, Newton, Northampton, Salem, Shutesbury, Somerville, Springfield, Watertown, Williamstown, and Worcester.

Ronald D'Addario, chairman of the Reading group, said the pledge was inspired by a similar pledge that Salem's mayor and residents signed up to take two years ago.

``I am a grandfather and right now I am worried for my grandchildren," D'Addario said. ``What I think is, if it's not going to start at the national level, it has to start at the grass-roots level."

The environmental effort will begin with the selectmen's pledge, and then Reading residents will be encouraged to take the pledge July 17 when the group will have a table at Reading Town Day to be held downtown.

The Atlantic Supermarket has donated the funds for reusable canvas tote bags that will be given out to the selectmen and residents who take the pledge. They also will receive three compact fluorescent light bulbs that the Reading Municipal Light Department is suggesting people purchase to conserve electricity.

The international group was founded in 1990 to encourage local governments to emphasize sustainability. To be a part of the climate protection program, towns must assess the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced locally, devise a plan to reduce that amount, and measure performance.

The group provides computer software to conduct assessments.