Making Sustainability Real by Kerry Miller, ANJEC Assistant Director and Michele Gaynor, ANJEC Resource Center Director Summer  2003  -- ANJEC REPORT In April 2003, US Senator Frank Lautenberg and NJ Senator Nia Gill joined the Montclair (Essex) mayor and council, environmental commission, and citizens in a ceremony to mark a major policy advance. With the passage of one of the first municipal resolutions setting environmental sustainability as a long term goal, the Montclair Township Council unanimously endorsed the concept that it should conduct all municipal operations with an eye to the needs of future generations. As a environmental commission chair James Sherman noted the resolution is "A giant step for Montclair, a small step for mankind." Sustainability refers to the practice of conducting activities in a manner that will not jeopardize the ability of future generations to enjoy the same activities. Today, concern over global climate change is motivating nations, corporations and municipalities around the world to adopt sustainability policies. Successful governments, businesses and families have always understood the need tolerate in an economically sustainable manner. In the same vein, institutions and individuals today are coming to realized they must alter their behavior to help avert irreversible environmental changes including global warming and depletion of fuels, minerals, tropical rainforests and groundwater, for which future generations will have to bear the costs. Montclair is making more than a gesture in support of sustainability. Its resolution refers to the Sustainable Montclair Planning Guide, developed by the environmental commission. This manual describes specific strategies to get the township started on the road to sustainability. These include the following tasks. Perform and energy audit of all township buildings and operations; Convert the township motor vehicle fleet to electric/hybrid and other alternative fuels; Support the conversion of private and public buses to CNG (compressed natural gas); Purchase recycled products whenever possible, paying up to a 10% premium; Convert to a "pay as you throw" municipal solid waste collection system; Adopt pesticides management in the schools and on playing fields Perform a study of the township's long-term water supply options; Designate and maintain a north-south bicycle lane through town and install covered bicycle storage sheds at all train stations; Create a townships Brownfields inventory; Improve coordination between the planning board and the environmental commission. Montclair has already taken action in a number of these tasks. The township has purchased it's first four CNG vehicles and expanded the municipal mixed paper-recycling program. The environmental commission recently sponsored a presentation on pros and cons of "Pay as You Throw" as part of its study of solid waste disposal options. And teh commission developed an RFP to identify which contractor to recommend to the council to audit all town facilities, including street and traffic lights. In addition to helping reduce the towns impact on the environment, many of Montclair's sustainability strategies have the potential for cost savings. For example, it costs the Township $62 per ton to send waste paper to the Essex County incinerator, but $30 per ton to recycle that same paper.  The road to a sustainability policy for Montclair was a long one. Its principal sponsors, environmental commission chair James Sherman, township environmental coordinator, Gray Russell, and commission member and trustee Merwin Kinkade, worked on the Planning Guide over the last two years. At the same time commission members carried out considerable education and lobbying efforts with interest groups, individual council members and other officials. The passage of the resolution made all the work worthwhile. With the resolution firmly in place, commission members are confident that Montclair will continue to reduce its contribution to global climate change and resource depletion, doing its part to make the world a better place to live, now and into the future. article: Copyright © 2003 ANJEC REPORT