Resident Helps Lead Dearborn Sustainability Commission

Name: Mary Ann Baier

Green Dream: My hope is that environmental sustainability is a way of life. I think that is in our reach. I know that choosing organic food at the store is costly, but as the demand goes up, the price will go down.

I choose to buy biodegradable cleaning products, biodegradable lawn fertilizer, biodegradable pest control for my garden, use CFL light bulbs, insulated my house, new windows, sealed the leaks, low-flow toilets, low-flow faucets, energy saving curtains, programmable thermostat. I've done this over many years.  I realize that there is a high cost to being energy efficient, but over a period of many years it really helped the utility bill.

Now I took the plunge and had solar panels installed through DTE solar energy program. It is exciting to watch the kWh accumulate on a sunny day.

Why go green? Going green is a process. I started with recycling, then I started thinking about how everything adds up with everybody. I try to look at my actions and purchases with one more aspect: How does this affect the earth? If I buy a packaged item, the package should be recyclable/biodegradable, otherwise I won't buy it.

The reason to go green is to use our resources wisely and treat our environment with respect. Going green is using our resources efficiently and may even save money in our budgets. No one likes a dirty house, and no one wants the earth to be "dirty" either.

The Dearborn Sustainability Commission is currently working on making Dearborn one of the Sierra Club's Cool Cities. Together, the group is working with the city to reduce Dearborn's contributions to global warming.