Maroondah residents are being asked to sign an online petition, Give Our Streets the Green Light, to lobby the government to fund a changeover to energy-efficient street lighting.

In Maroondah the upfront costs of replacing more than 5500 mercury vapour globes currently lighting Maroondah’s streets is about $2million.

The goal is to reduce Council’s greenhouse emissions and create a sustainable and more energy-efficient future:

• By changing all local road street lights from the mercury vapour 80W lamps to a more energy efficient lighting it would not only benefit the environment but it would save on electricity costs.
• Council estimates that 36% of its green house gas emissions and 39% of its electricity costs are generated by street lighting,
• Electricity is predominately generated by burning brown coal which results in significant greenhouse gases.

The Give Our Streets the Green Light campaign aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 78,000 tonnes over the life of the lights. That equates to about 31.2 billion black balloons or 341,917 cars off the road for a year.

Pledge your support by signing an online submission at www.greenlightourstreets.org.au or by sending a letter to your local Member of Parliament.