20 February 2008

Italy’s Energy Saving Day, February 15, 2008

(The Tri-Mission supports the energy saving campaign.)

The US Embassy Rome, the US Embassy to the Holy See, the US Mission to the the UN Agencies, as well as the three Consulate Generals in Italy participated in Italy’s Energy Saving Day on February 15th. Now in its fourth consecutive year, the initiative was first started by Caterpillar, a popular RAI radio program.

The request asking to turn off unecessary lighting from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. elicited a positive response from the diplomatic mission. Enthusiasm about the event was high in the days before the initiative as numerous emails reminded people to reduce their energy consumption.

“We aren’t able to calculate how much energy we conserved,” said Richard H. Morgan, the head of the Embassy’s General Services Office (GSO), “however, I would say our participation was a success because everyone knew about the Energy Saving Day and was aware of its importance.”

The positive outcome of the initiative should also be accredited to the Sustainability Initiative- part of President George Bush’s recently enacted legislation on the environment.

The US Embassy and Consulates in Italy have been attempting to conserve energy in various ways such as: using low-energy lighting, installing sensors in offices, using automobiles with low carbon dioxide emmission, and encourgaging recyling.

Alessandro Di Maio
Domenica Sabella