The 1200 block of Wolf Street competed against 74 other blocks in Philadelphia to win the first Coolest Block Contest. "I would like to congratulate 1200 Wolf Street and thank all the neighbors who came together to participate in the Coolest Block Contest," stated Mayor Michael Nutter. "Many of the row homes that give our city its unique character were built long before today's energy-conscious environment. This contest and today's legislation will help Philadelphia become a city of the future and set an example for others throughout the country."

Nutter delivered the good news to block coordinator Theresa Jack. "I went to school for environmental engineering. So," explains Jack, "this is right up my alley." She went door to door collecting her neighbors' signatures in sunny, cold and rainy weather, often with two daughters ages 2 and 4 at her side. The entire block had to agree to enter the contest. Many residents signed up just to help the block without giving much notice to the details of the prize.

Jack went on to deliver a powerful essay expressing how important the energy saving makeover is to the community. It began with "Look no further, you have just found the coolest block in Philly! The 1200 block of Wolf Street in South Philadelphia is not just cool, but literally freezing at least four months of the year. All joking aside, a $550 gas bill, unfortunately common on our block, is no laughing matter."

Row homes on the 1200 block of Wolf Street won a makeover that offers products from Dow Chemical Company. Both the contest and makeover are funded by the Dow Chemical Company Foundation. A Dow team will caulk/seal and apply insulation where needed inside the homes and cover roofs with white heat-reflective coatings to reduce energy consumption. These few steps can help homes stay cooler during the summer and warmer during the winter with less air conditioning or heating required.

"We feel this effort can be a blueprint for bringing communities together in the interest of saving energy and improving the quality of life," says Liz Robinson, executive director of the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia. "This contest is just one of many ways we hope to educate all Philadelphia residents about how to reduce their heating and cooling bills, make their home more comfortable and preserve the historic blocks that make our city unique."

City Councilman Jim Kenney so agreed with the mayor and Robinson that he sponsored a bill requiring all new commercial and residential construction to include reflective roofs. The bill was passed by the council unanimously.

The Mayor's Office of Sustainability wants Philadelphia to become the greenest city in America by reducing energy consumption 10% citywide and by retrofitting 15% of the city's housing stock by 2015.

ECA says in the past year, it provided over 40,000 low income families 86,218 energy services that included budget and energy counseling, bill payment assistance, energy conservation treatments, and energy education. The results, ECA suggests, was an average saving of 20% on energy costs, which allowed families to meet their expenses and remain in their homes.

Jack and her neighbors are simply thrilled about their upcoming energy makeover. "I'm like a little celebrity on the block the last few days," Jack states with humor. "I think it's finally hitting them, the magnitude of what we won and how it's going to affect everybody and their household bills."

For more info: visit www.retrofitphilly.com and www.greenworksphila.org.  

All rights to article reserved by Gloria Blakely. Copyright 2010.