With more than 250 people already committed to Salt Lake City's e2 Citizen program, environmental adviser Lisa Romney is happy to acknowledge that she knows about five or six of the names are city employees.

"I love preaching to the choir, because they're so supportive," Romney said. Even so, she adds, "I don't recognize a lot of the names coming in, which means that we'll be able to reach beyond the usual suspects."

The program is a citywide effort to get residents to reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions by turning down their heat, driving less, recycling more, shopping at local businesses and generally conserving energy.

Residents can measure their "carbon footprints," a rudimentary calculation based on the number of miles driven and flights per person each year, and then pledge through www.slcgreen.com to pick at least five from a list of 59 conditions for becoming an e2 citizen.

Mayor Rocky Anderson, whose carbon footprint is larger than average because of 16 flights in a one-year period, said that aside from his travel, he has done everything possible to reduce his impact on the environment. Much of that travel has centered on participation in climate-change conferences and environmental causes.

"I take light rail frequently," he said. "I drive a natural-gas car. I use very little hot water. I wash my clothes in cold water. I almost never turn on my heat. I'm putting in a solar hot-water system."

"If you weren't to add the flights — and I've taken some long flights — I would have an extraordinarily low carbon footprint, and I'm working on it all the time to get it smaller and smaller," he added.

"If you were to look at the real world, my travels, especially on the issue of climate change, end up resulting in probably thousands if not tens of thousands of tons less in carbon emissions because of the actions of other municipalities that I'm able to effectuate change."

The program encourages recruitment — one of the last pledges is to tell two friends about e2 Citizen — and the promotional events will emphasize community participation. Tonight, Anderson will kick off the program with a reception at the City Library with folk-music bands and catered snacks from 5:30 to 6:30.

"By creating a sort of community, people can see how many people are interested and involved and doing their part," Romney said. "It's not about who can do the most expensive environmentally friendly project. It's to your benefit and your bottom line if you do some conservation."

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E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com