Press Release: BILLINGS NAMED ONE OF “GREENEST” CITIES IN U.S.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Jan. 18, 2008

CONTACT:    Eileen Morris, Northern Plains member

                        Larry Winslow, Northern Plains Staff: (406) 248-1154

 With the help of the Northern Plains Resource Council’s “green” office building, Organic Gardening magazine has picked Billings for its list of “cities that are leading the way toward a more sustainable future.”

Billings is featured along with 19 other cities big and small in the February-March edition, published by Rodale Press. It was the only Montana city so honored. The magazine ranked cities on such criteria as air quality, water quality, green space, number of U.S. Green Building Council rated buildings, availability of locally grown food, among others. Northern Plains’ “Home on the Range” received the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest possible rating last year, and is one of only 50 buildings in the United States to have been so recognized.

The article’s author Beth Huxta reported:

            In the heart of Big Sky Country, Billings has 2,600 acres of green space and the ever-expanding Heritage Trail system for biking, walking, jogging, or hiking. The Trash into Trees program has diverted 3.9 million pounds of newspaper and 68 tons of aluminum cans from landfills, and has earned $112,060 to purchase and plant 2,152 trees in Billings.
            One of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the United States houses the Northern Plains Resource Council. A solar-paneled roof, composting toilets, and many other green features have earned the building a Platinum LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Thirty years ago, Billings wouldn’t have made the list due to its poor air quality,” 31-year Northern Plains member Eileen Morris told a local TV reporter Friday at the solar-powered, water-conserving “Home on the Range” on South 27^th Street. “The Yellowstone Valley Citizens Council (Northern Plains’ affiliate group in the Billings area) formed because of the pollution from the refineries.” Sulfur dioxide pollution from the three refineries in the valley has been reduced in recent years.

“Billings should be proud to be honored by the magazine, and the people should be proud of Northern Plains and the Western Organization of Resource Councils, which shares the building, for living out their values and promoting green building construction. This building is an example for others in Billings. It uses 80 percent less energy than a similar-sized office building built to code, and uses 60 percent less water.”

Northern Plains is a grassroots conservation and family agriculture group that organizes Montana citizens to protect Montana’s water quality, family farms and ranches, and the area’s unique way of life.