Golden Globes Winners, Fashions & Stars
Jun 19, 2008 4:40 pm US/Eastern
CBS Unveils Nationwide Green Partnership Project
CBS Corporation And EcoMedia Announce Nationwide Partnership To
"Green" Cities Across America
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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CBS Corporation is announcing today that it will be partnering with local governments across the country to support green projects. President and CEO of CBS Leslie Moonves was to unveil the project later today. (File)
CBS
CBS Corporation announced Thursday that it will be partnering with local governments across the country to support green projects.
President and CEO of CBS Leslie Moonves unveiled the entire project on Thursday at a news conference as part of the 76th Annual Conference of Mayors. Moonves highlighted the leadership from CBS4.
"First, I have to congratulate my guys at WFOR, our local station, who began this initiative from our point of view," Moonves said. "They showed us the way which we're now expanding around the country."
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz undertook the job of turning the city "green," at a time when it wasn't quite fashionable and the cost was also an issue.
"Our bonds were rated junk. So we had no, at least initially we had no apparent way to be able to fund some of these programs that were so necessary. And so the challenge is how do you finance it? Our typical budgets don't have a line item saying "the environment," Mayor Diaz said.
Diaz has since fitted city hall with alternative power sources making the Miami City Hall the first major city hall to run on solar power.
Paul Polizzoto, of Ecomedia, said the innovation of America would help in the project.
"Our goal is to help all the leaders of this country look at new ways to solve old problems and new problems, Polizzoto said. "We believe this is the type of innovation that's going to solve challenges, and we are excited about this partnership."
One aspect of the new partnership is the public will pay nothing to help grow this project between CBS, Ecomedia, and mayors from around the country.
"It's significant that a company like ours, working together, with a company like Ecomedia, and the city of Miami can make such a significant change without affecting the pocketbooks and making sure taxpayer dollars are going elsewhere," Moonves told CBS4.
The program will use funds from special advertising content and programming to install solar power, green roofs, and organic gardens at schools in Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago. The "Green Schools Initiative" will cost around $250,000 per school.
Mayor Diaz also revealed, "This is going to be first National Mayor's Conference that is going to be green, from the hotel, to the paper that is going to be used, to the lighting that will be all retrofitted in the hotels, the cars that will be used." He continued, "Those are all the things we have to look at because it makes sense and because frankly, we don't have a choice."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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