(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers.)

To the editor:

Somerville’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2050 is one major reason why I live here. So I was heartened to read Mayor Curtatone report on progress to the Somerville Times. To be sure, the 10% reduction we’ve experienced is the low-hanging fruit. It will be harder to make progress from this point forward.

The Mayor also notes, “When the new high school is complete … our overall energy use will likely increase.” This is of course because the City didn’t pick the biggest, ripest fruit. When the City put out the call for a transformative $250-million new high school, it left out the crucial design specification of being a net-zero building (that is, not adding a single greenhouse gas molecule to the City’s municipal emissions).

Fortunately, the Mayor has an opportunity to right that wrong with the Central Hill campus plan. While planning meetings have touched upon sustainability in the campus design, Mayor Curtatone should make a public commitment to a net-zero central campus to make sure the City’s own footprint doesn’t trip up achieving its carbon-neutral goal.

Larry Yu
Somerville