House Democrats go green with enthusiasm

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House Democratic leaders yesterday adopted an "aggressive" blueprint for making the U.S. Capitol carbon-neutral, including a recommendation to buy up to $1 million in carbon credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, announced that the House office buildings have begun switching out 12,000 light bulbs as part of the "Green the Capitol" initiative.

"Global warming is one of the biggest challenges of our time. ... It's time for Congress to act on its own carbon footprint," she said, pointing to the glare emitted by the new fluorescent bulbs in her conference-room chandelier.

The Democrats said the Capitol complex can be carbon-neutral by the end of the 110th Congress in 2008 by:

c Buying 100 percent of the Capitol's electric power supply from renewable sources such as wind power.

• Improving the efficiency of the distribution of heating and cooling by plugging leaks in heating ducts.

• Encouraging Capitol Hill staffers to use mass transit instead of driving to work.

• Replacing all of the light fixtures and turning off lighting in the evening when the House is not in session.

"We believe we had to get our own house in order before we launched a sweeping global warming and energy independence agenda for the rest of the nation," Mrs. Pelosi said.

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Florida Democrat, detailed the preliminary report with Mrs. Pelosi.