MAYOR BILL WHITE NAMED ONE OF NATION'S TOP ‘ECO-MAYORS’

June 17, 2009 -- MNN (Mother Nature Network) has named Houston Mayor Bill White among the nations top “eco-mayors” for his work making Houston among the country’s leaders in environmental and sustainability practices.

The green network, cited Mayor White, along with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles.

They “represent leaders who have significantly shifted the sustainability landscapes in their cities,” said the MNN announcement.

Mayor White was recognized, said MNN,  because of  his “ commitment to improving Houston’s sustainability record is both genuine and remarkably effective.”  MNN cited expansion of the city’s curbside recycling program, and the increase in Houston’s available green space, among other milestones.

“I’m gratified by the recognition,” said Mayor White. “With a lot of people working together, including our City Council, we’re making a lot of progress.”

Houston is the nation’s  No. 1 government entity in purchasing green energy and despite double digit growth has decreased it’s power consumption by about 6 percent. Houston ranks No. 1 among the top 10 U.S. cities in total acreage of parkland. The City of Houston has more than 500 hybrid vehicles in use, including hybrid dump trucks. Also, the City is using state-of-the-art Infrared cameras and a cutting-edge mobile air monitoring lab to target and stop harmful air emissions.  To learn more about Houston’s  sustainability record under Mayor White’s leadership, see www.greenhoustontx.gov.

ABOUT MNN (http://www.mnn.com): The new earth-first website was founded by Chuck Leavell, the environmental activist who for 25 years has anchored the legendary Rolling Stones on keyboards. 

In an online world cluttered with environmental sites designed for experts and scientists, the mission of MNN is to be the one-stop resource and an everyman's eco-guide to environmental news, featuring breaking stories, original programs, articles, blogs, and video reports from around the country in a voice the average person can understand. Contact: Dan Beeson, 404-856-7026 .dbeeson@mnn.com.