West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka was joined by New Haven Mayor John DeStefano and representatives of SmartPower and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund at the Town Hall last Thursday, Aug. 18 to make a friendly wager between the two cities to see which municipality will be the leader in clean energy by Earth Day 2006.
Currently, West Hartford and New Haven are leading the state when it comes to the number of residents who have signed up for the clean energy option on their electric bill, West Hartford with 275 residents and New Haven with 192, which allows them to get their power from solar, wind, hydro and other clean energy sources.
In January, the West Hartford Town Council passed a resolution stating that the town will purchase 20 percent of its energy from clean energy sources by the year 2010.
Thursday's ceremony began with some words from Slifka, who said that he was confident that West Hartford would be ahead of New Haven in the number of residents who have switched to the clean energy option by the next Earth Day on April 22.
"West Hartford has been greatly impressed with the clean energy program for some time and we have already pledged to have 20 percent of the energy we use come from clean energy sources by 2010," Slifka said. "This is an issue that affects everyone in the state and we are proud to be at the forefront of this important program."
While Slifka remained confident that his town would lead the way over New Haven, Mayor DeStefano argued that New Haven would, in fact, be the leader in clean energy when the deadline comes in April.
"We are making a choice for a cleaner, safer and healthier environment by participating in this program and look forward to meeting the challenge that West Hartford has brought before us," DeStefano said. "This is something that I take very personally because it is about everyone's quality of life and a chance for each of us to make a choice for a better tomorrow."
To make their wager official, both Slifka and DeStefano agreed to wear a T-shirt from the other's city during a day of public events if they lost the bet.
"The challenge that these mayors are making today is a testament to the fact that clean energy is real and it is working," SmartPower President Brian Keane said. "These two men know that the prospect of a humbling day wearing the other city's T-shirt is far outweighed by the benefits this challenge will bring, not only to their respective communities, but to our entire state."
"Today is a special day as we have two of the state's leading cities in clean energy going against each other," Bryan Garcia, the director of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund said. "These two cities have not only pledged to have 20 percent of their energy come from clean energy sources by the year 2010, they have also challenged the rest of us to strive for this goal as well."