Small Steps

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD TO URGE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ACT AGAINST GLOBAL WARMING

What are you willing to do to stop global warming? What is each one of us willing to do, individually? To stop the catastrophic effects of climate change, worldwide greenhouse emissions must be cut more drastically and more quickly than any country is currently planning to cut them. If the United States had signed onto the Kyoto Treaty, that would not have solved our problems; it would have been a start, but Kyoto does not call for reducing emissions by anything close to the amount needed to avoid disaster. What we need is for the United States - the largest emitter of carbon dioxide - to develop a plan that is much more aggressive than Kyoto, and dramatically reduce its contributions to global warming within the next few decades. However, the federal government has refused to take any action at all, while need for it grows all the time. So how are we going to pull through this crisis?

I will now provide a link to the OCCSN Action Dashboard, where you can urge cities to reduce their greenhouse emissions. Check it out, by all means - but the point I'm making in this post is slightly different from usual.

It may be hard, but we will all have to pitch in if global warming is going to be stopped. Maybe soon the federal government will do something meaningful, but politics in our country - largely controlled by corporate interests - is unlikely to allow the action of the kind we need. States will still have to do their part. Cities and counties will have to do their part. And individuals will have to help, too.

Are you willing to mow your lawn by hand, instead of using a motorized lawn mower? Are you willing to ride a bike to the grocery store, instead of driving in a car? Are you willing to take a walk outdoors for exercise, instead of walking on an electric treadmill? Are you willing to do all of this so that civilization - and the world - can have a future? I'm not trying to be like Al Gore, who stands up in front of Congress asking for change, but at home uses twenty times as much energy as the average American. I actually walk the walk, as best I can. I take public transportation; I use fluorescent lighting, instead of incandescent bulbs; I keep the thermostat low; I purchase locally grown food. I am doing what I can - and so are hundreds of other people across the country. But what we need is not action from hundreds of people, but millions. Global warming could be stopped without any action from the federal government at all. The question is: are you willing to do what it takes?

Fossil Fuels Are Weapons Of Mass Destruction!

Upwards of 10,000 people gathered in downtown Portland yesterday, to protest for peace and justice in US international policy. The point the protesters were making was clear: the United States should bring soldiers home from the Middle East, and end a war that was initiated to provide out country with easy access to oil. Our president and members of Congress are trying to play on our fears, convincing the public that nuclear weapons in developing countries are the greatest threat to US security, and that military force will be an effective way to counter the threat. In reality, the real weapons of mass destruction are being discharged right here in the United States; coal plants, oil refineries, and natural gas terminals are threatening to make our planet unlivable through global warming. Wouldn't it be ironic if, while pursuing a losing strategy to rid other countries of nuclear weapons, our own nation set off a destabilization of the climate just as devastating as nuclear war? Let's make sure this doesn't happen.

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING IN OUR CITIES!

OCCSN wholeheartedly supports the efforts of the Portland activists who made Oregonian headlines this week. Let's get the US military presence out of the Middle East, and focus efforts on curbing global warming at home.

Our Greenest City Gets Greener

The Oregonian reported today that the Portland City Council is expected to pass a resolution that will set a goal for reducing the city's consumption of oil and natural gas by 50% by the year 2030. It is an ambitious goal, but a highly admirable one.

TELL OTHER OREGON CITIES TO GET IN ON THE ACTION AT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD!

Portland's city commissioners say the move is made necessary by the threat of global warming, and a rise in the price of oil that is expected to accompany a worldwide oil shortage. We are draining our last reserves of fossil fuels, and the planet has already been severely affected by our burning of oil, natural gas, and coal. Cities across the country are going to have to adjust accordingly. Portland was already the most environmentally responsible city in Oregon, and this new step makes its commitment even clearer. When that ever-lasting supply of fossil energy turns out to have a limit after all, Portlanders will sail through the crisis more easily than most.

Wouldn't it be great if all Oregon's cities were as progressive as Portland? VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD, AND TELL SALEM AND MEDFORD TO TAKE ACTION!

The Scope on Hillsboro

The city government of Hillsboro, Oregon's fifth largest city, has been talking for months about forming a detailed plan to reduce greenhouse emissions. When the discussions started, Oregon had six Cool Cities that had signed onto the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Now two more cities - Beaverton and Gresham - have signed on, and Hillsboro is still talking. What is going to happen in this city?

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD, AND EMAIL THE HILLSBORO CITY COUNCIL!

Although things are not exactly happening fast in Hillsboro, the good news is that the city government is serious about developing some kind of action plan - eventually. Many cities that have signed the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement have signed on readily enough, but still have no concrete plan to follow through with their lofty goals. Hillsboro doesn't want to do that. "We can't sign onto an agreement without having some idea how we're going to follow through," said city councilor Joe Keizur, at the February 27th meeting of Hillsboro's Transportation Committee. "That's bad policy."

Hillsboro officials are inviting staff from ICLEI - the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives - to make a presentation to the Transportation Committee in March, and make suggestions about how the city might get started on a plan to reduce emissions. Members of the Transportation Committee also hope to speak with staff from the city government of Eugene - which has signed the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement - about the implications of signing the Agreement for Hillsboro. There is a lot hinging on the Transportation Committee's activities in March, and what recommendation the three city counciors on the committee - Ed Dennis, Aron Carleson, and Joe Keizur - decide to make to the mayor. Hillsboro has been slow in jumping on board this movement. However, if things continue to move in the right direction, the city could come away with one of the best greenhouse emission-reduction plans in the state of Oregon. This is a crucial time.

EMAIL HILLSBORO'S CITY COUNCIL AT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD!