Confident that the reports I heard were exaggerated, I dismissed the voicemails from friends saying that my hometown was wiped off the face of the earth by one of the largest tornadoes on record. Out of state, hours from my family, I was glued to the news reports the next day that confirmed the panicked messages of my peers—the town of my childhood was all but totally destroyed.

On May 4th, 2007 life in the small, rural Kansas town of Greensburg changed drastically. Once a town with big, beautiful trees and 100-year-old homes, Greensburg was reduced to rubble. A lot of rubble. With less than 5% of the town’s structures surviving the EF5 tornado, Greensburg was faced with what many saw as two options: move on or start over.
It didn’t take long for the community to reach their decision. Greensburg would start over. And Greensburg would rebuild “green.” This small town took advantage of the rare opportunity of rebuilding a town from scratch and came together to make their “new” town a model for all to follow. Businesses, homes, schools and churches would be built to the highest standards of energy efficiency and sustainability.

Greensburg was afforded the perfect opening to situate herself as a blueprint for others to follow, a model for towns to mimic, and a sparkplug to ignite the green initiative across the nation. If this sounds overly idealistic, you should see the progress that is being made one year after the destruction.

The First, But Not the Last
Receiving official certification in the first week of June 2008, Greensburg is home to the only LEED Platinum rated (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s highest rating in green design) building in the state: The 5.4.7 Arts Center. The arts center will be a national attraction, not only for commemorating the events of May 4th, 2007, but because it is the first of its kind in Kansas. The building itself utilizes energy from wind turbines and solar panels, making more energy than it can use. In its construction, the use of recycled wood, orientation of the building, and the “living roof” which captures rain water and cools the building, are a few of the aspects that contribute to the platinum-level rating.
What’s more, The 5.4.7 Arts Center is the first of many LEED Platinum buildings to come to Greensburg. In January of this year, a resolution passed stating that all city-owned buildings would meet the same, rigorous criteria, making Greensburg the only city in the nation to commit to such. Additionally, the buildings that don’t reach for the platinum rating will still be, by all accounts, extremely green. From the First Baptist Church to the John Deere implement dealer, renewable resources and energy efficient standards are just good business.

“Home, Green Home”
Farrell and Debby Allison’s house was destroyed by the storm and now they are rebuilding with some of the latest green-building materials. Using insulated concrete forms (panels of insulating foam filled with reinforced concrete), geothermal heat, and double-paned argon-filled windows, the Allison’s home will be much more efficient (58 percent, to be exact) than building codes stipulate. While this process is important to these longtime residents, they also comment on how exciting it is.
Prior to the tornado, Scott and Jill Eller’s heating bills ran up to $400 a month. They knew they needed to make a change, and new energy efficient construction wasn’t a hard decision to make. The Eller’s new 3,000-square-foot, passive solar geodesic dome home—built with Styrofoam-sandwiched panels—should cost about a dollar a day to heat. “I knew we needed to do something to reduce our bills, and since we were starting over, it was a no-brainer,” said Eller.
Such examples have profound implications for Topeka and other communities in the state and across the nation. While most will not be working with a blank slate, Greensburg has provided us with a picture of what energy efficiency and sustainability could look like for us here in the capital city and beyond.
“It’s about scale,” comments Chris Christenson, 5.4.7 Arts Center board member, whose house was damaged but not destroyed. Christenson and his wife, Sheryl, replaced doors, showerheads, and other fixtures with more efficient materials—steps every person can take. “Start small. Most people can’t afford a dozen solar panels, but they might be able to afford two. We should do what we can with what we have. Every little bit helps.”
While there can be a high initial investment in retro-fitting one’s house with the newest green materials, the return is so fast that there really isn’t a better investment. Daniel Wallach, director of Greensburg Greentown, says that one great step to take is “tightening the envelope (the roof and walls) of your house,” which is done with caulk, insulation, and solid double-paned windows. Wallach strongly suggests getting an energy audit on your home to determine the best course of action. The fixes recommended after energy audits “are not overly expensive and the payback is immediate and long term.”
“It’s about respecting each other and our communities in the choices we make. This isn’t about guilt for not doing “green” a certain way. This is all about how we can work together to solve enormous challenges,” counsels Wallach. “If we can get one of the most conservative states in the country to embrace the green movement, we can go anywhere.”
“Green” has truly transcended the political realm here in Greensburg, where 81 percent of the residents are registered Republicans. Perhaps the most encouraging news from Greensburg is that this issue has been largely de-politicized.
More than anything, though, the people of Greensburg hope their journey toward a sustainable future will spur on other communities to embrace “green.”
TK