August 19, 2021
To the Editor,
Thank you for your August 18 coverage of the protest in Beloit against the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline project.
Your article states that both the City of Beloit and the City of Janesville have passed carbon neutrality resolutions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. However, only Janesville has. Encouragingly, though, on March 15, 2021, the Beloit City Council issued a proclamation to reach carbon neutrality by 2040.
The Beloit League of Women Voters encourages the Beloit City Council to move from proclamation to resolution, a step that will commit Beloit to taking action to achieve carbon neutrality, as it did in Janesville. We understand that sustainability will be integrated into the City’s current strategic planning, and applaud that decision.
For well over a decade the City of Beloit has sought to incorporate sustainability practices into its operations. This not only makes sense for the environment and for the health and well-being of Beloit’s residents, but for the economy. Fortunately, resources are available to city governments and communities to provide both expertise in developing sustainability plans and access to resources to implement plans.
We endorse the City’s on-going efforts. The time is now to move from carbon neutrality proclamation to carbon neutrality resolution, and we encourage the City Council to do so.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Brewer, Beloit LWV Sustainability Committee Co-Chair
Susan Adams, Beloit LWV President.