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Mary Rogers
“An Inconvenient Truth” doesn’t have to be inconvenient. Energy efficiency is becoming increasingly available through a variety of sources, such as wind power, solar power, and wave power. Lemont’s location near polluting factories causes the need for slowing carbon emissions through green energy.
As a growing community, Lemont needs to be aware of rising carbon emissions due to more people and their homes, cars, and appliances. A car emits CO2, carbon dioxide, every time a person drives. The energy used to power home appliances, as well as to heat or cool a family’s home also emits CO2. Carbon emissions are bad for the environment because too much carbon in the atmosphere adds to global warming by trapping the suns rays inside earth’s atmosphere.
Lemont can help stop the global warming crisis. Promoting the use of solar panels in Lemont area homes would help slow CO2 emissions. In addition, having a “Plant a Tree Day” would continually provide a source to combat the rising CO2 in the atmosphere because the trees take in CO2 and release oxygen, which people breathe. The grade schools currently plant trees for Earth Day, but it would be form a day for the whole community to plant. This day would bring the community closer together by supplying a good meeting place – where the trees are planted – for the community to come and work together to help improve our environment.
According to Sprint Recycling,1 “Paper waste comprises 40% of our municipal solid waste stream.” Although I have seen many recycling bins in community centers, more recycling bins in places such as the parks and downtown Lemont would be good for the environment by cutting down on waste and reusing the recycled items. For every garbage can, there should be a recycling bin for bottles, plastics, and paper. If Lemont can recycle just one ton of paper in community centers, Sprint Recycling says that one ton “translates into the savings of 17 mature pulp-producing trees, 78.75 gallons of oil, 7,000 gallons of water, and 41,000 Kilowatt hours of energy. Additionally, air pollution is reduced by 60 pounds, and three cubic yards of landfill space are conserved.”
The community of Lemont should invest in one or more wind turbines, which could potentially supply energy to all of downtown Lemont. Because Lemont has hills, we would be a good place for turbines. Also, Lemont’s community could get involved with the project by having local artists compete to create a design that could be painted on the turbines. Energy supplying wind turbines do not diminish earth’s natural resources such as oil, coal, and gas, which are used now to generate electricity. An old concern about wind turbines used to be about the noise the turbines make. Modern turbines have been made to be much quieter due to changes in the thickness of the turning blades2. There are cost benefits to using wind power, as well. It is estimated by the American Wind Energy Association that, “state-of-the-art wind power plants at excellent sites are generating electricity at less than 5 cents/kWh.” Cents/kWh means cent per kilowatts an hour. Because wind turbines only need minimal care, they do end up paying for themselves in the long run. There are many different sizes of wind turbines, ranging from less than 100 Watts to 50 kilowatts. The village of Lemont can decide which sizes would be most practical.
As the global eye turns toward environmental issues, Lemont has the opportunity to help the earth through green energy. Recycling, planting trees, and installing wind turbines are just a few ways to resolve earth’s problems. As every single community member of Lemont emits CO2 into the atmosphere, every single community member must offset the effects of their emissions.
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Stephanie Mikel
Marcus Tullius Cicero once asked, “What is more agreeable than one’s home?” I have pondered that question, and came to find that for me, nothing is more agreeable than Lemont. Having lived in Lemont for six years, it is easy to see the beauty and history throughout the village on a daily basis. Lemont is known for its historic charm and quaint downtown, but it is also my village, and the place I call my home. I believe though that for Lemont to be competitive with other nearby towns and villages; there are several issues that need to be resolved for the village to flourish. A few of these issues include a more aesthetic gateway to our village, diverse businesses, and parking.
Many neighboring bedroom communities have enhanced the marketability of their town and diversified their community to meet the changing needs of their residents. For example, the village of Burr Ridge recently constructed a premiere retail center and upscale apartments located in their downtown community. They have added several hotels along the I-55 corridor so those traveling to the metropolitan area have accessibility for hotel accommodations. Their new downtown area offers a plethora of restaurants and numerous apparel stores tailoring to the needs of the community.
Several towns to the north, the village of La Grange, over the last decade, has transformed their downtown into a much sought after retail and dining experience. The development of the downtown area included chain restaurants, coffee shops, an updated library, improved parking, and boutique stores. These improvements to the downtown area have increased retail sales immensely and the village has benefited with increased sales taxes. They are currently in the process of building a substantial retirement home that will meet the needs of their senior citizens. They were aware of their deficiencies and through long term planning, met the needs of current and future residents.
I realize that my recommendations that I would like to see implemented can cause a financial burden on the village of Lemont. Over the long run though, these improvements will benefit Lemont tremendously.
Thousands of people travel through Lemont on a daily basis. It would be wonderful if we could spruce up our village with a beautiful entryway. Most people have a negative view of our village due to the barges, junk yards, and unkempt buildings that first greet them at the Archer and Main Street intersection. I believe this intersection has the potential to be reconfigured with extensive landscaping to make the entrance to Lemont more pleasing and attractive. I think that a waterfall with large trees and flowers would make a great statement. Old fashioned street lamps would also bring back old world charm, and leave an impression on people passing through.
Although Lemont has numerous businesses in the downtown area, I personally believe that we need to offer more viable choices so residents will patronize local retailers, which would bring additional revenue into Lemont. I would like to see more family sit-down chain restaurants such as the Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, etc. Along with restaurants, the need for clothing stores for men, women, and children would also be beneficial so residents could shop locally for necessities. Another business that would be advantageous to the village would be banquet halls due to the many churches in our village. These banquet halls in addition to weddings could be used for business seminars, social events, and expos. I believe that these businesses need to be brought into our village because so many residents travel to Orland Park, Oak Brook, Bolingbrook, and Lombard to shop and dine. So let’s offer residents what they want, the choice to shop and dine in town.
I hate to admit that many people are turned off by the parking situation in downtown Lemont. The new apartments and townhomes being built downtown are only going to contribute to the congestion that we currently face. I think that the village of Lemont needs to improve the parking dilemma soon. My suggestion would be to build a large parking garage. Towns like Downers Grove, La Grange, and Burr Ridge built parking garages in their downtown areas to alleviate parking congestion. I would also like to see trolleys in the downtown area to shuttle patrons to and from a predetermined route that would allow residents to be dropped off at movie theaters, restaurants, and the train station.
Lemont is a wonderful community to live and work in. We must be cognizant of the ever changing economy by offering new business ventures that will benefit Lemont and its residents. I would look forward to see Lemont grow and change and be the village that people want to be a part of. I believe that Lemont is a diamond in the rough that is beginning to shine. |
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