Greening Levittown

"'It's become very fashionable to talk about global warming,' said Mr. Suozzi, the county executive. 'But people are too busy paying their mortgages and taking care of their kids to think about ice sheets that could be melting 50 years from now. Their first reaction is: How can changing light bulbs or replacing windows in one house really make a difference? I believed that we needed a mass community movement, and we had to figure out how to do that locally.'"

"Then came a place to do it: in Levittown, which is often called the country's first suburb and is celebrating its 60th anniversary."

"Then came the way to do it: County officials would partner with eight energy, home-improvement and financial-services companies providing products, services and expertise aimed at reducing the hamlet's carbon emissions from energy use by 20 percent next year. Discounts and low-interest loans will be available for the project, Green Levittown, but residents will still pay much of the bill."