[This is an EXCERPT: read the whole article here.
While classifying gases as solid waste might strike a dissonant note for the literally-minded, this motion by the board of Babylon is allowing them to make loans to homeowners that are very similar to California's new program. -Ed.]

by Chau Lam

Carbon is now classified as solid waste in Babylon after the town's five-member board voted yesterday to change local laws.

The move will allow Babylon officials to use a portion of an estimated $28.7-million surplus in the town's residential garbage district to finance Green Long Island Homes, a town program to reduce carbon emissions. Environmentalists and green building advocates hailed the initiative as cutting edge at a public hearing yesterday.

Babylon plans to use at least $2 million of the surplus to pay up-front costs for any homeowner in the residential district who makes such energy-efficient renovations as upgrading heating and cooling systems, officials said.

Homeowners will have up to 12 years to repay the funds, as much as $12,000 per house, at about 3 percent interest, Supervisor Steven Bellone has said.

Photo credit: Cezary Okupski