Arlington, VA – November 17, 2008 – (RealEstateRama) – Arlington County today donated 1,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to three local affordable housing providers to distribute among their residents. The CFLs were presented by Board Chairman J. Walter Tejada during an event at the Gates of Ballston Community Center.
The County won the CFLs as a prize from the 2007 Change a Light Campaign, coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program and awarded to jurisdictions that are making significant contributions to conserving energy.
“The EPA’s award recognizes the many efforts that County government and Arlington residents are making to reduce the County’s greenhouse gas emissions,” Tejada said. “By giving this prize to affordable housing providers, we hope to inspire even more residents to take common sense steps to reduce their emissions and make their homes more efficient.”
The County, through its Fresh AIRE (Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions) program to reduce County greenhouse gas emissions, donated its 1,000 CFLs to encourage local affordable housing providers to install energy-saving CFLs in their Arlington units and help reduce overall energy consumption. Since announcing the AIRE program in January of 2007, the County already has given away more than 6,000 CFLs to Arlington County residents.
The Change a Light campaign challenges the public to pledge to replace traditional, less-efficient incandescent lighting in their homes with CFLs. Arlington County obtained the most pledges, in the mid-size County category, from employees and residents.
Representatives from Arlington County Department of Environmental Services, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the sponsoring agency, and the National Association of Counties (NACo) and Office Depot, who supported the pledge drive, attended today’s event. Also participating were the three affordable housing providers who received the donated CFLs – AHC Management, LLC, Paradigm Management Co., Wesley Housing Development Co., and many of their residents.
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Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the “10 miles square” parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation’s Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency’s highest award for “Smart Growth” in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world – including the Pentagon – Arlington stands out as one of America’s preeminent places to live, visit and do business.
