Oregon Local Sustainability Blog Has Moved!

The Oregon Local Sustainability Blog is becoming an official Greenpeace blog, so as to be more accessible to those who care about preventing climate change. The new location is http://members.greenpeace.org/blog/engel

From its new page, which is connected to the Greenpeace website, the Oregon Local Sustainability Blog will continue to report on local actions being taken to prevent global warming in Oregon, and provide you with the tools you need to help.

Adopt-a-Mayor is Here

By working with your own local government, you can make a real difference to the environment. A priority of Oregon Local Sustainability is to get people in different cities and towns across the state working with their own city governments to bring about change; this site will help you start a campaign for sustainability in your own community.

Here's how to begin:

1) Find out what your city is already doing to become more sustainable and reduce its contribution to global warming. Click here to see if your city is already on Oregon Local Sustainability's list of communities that are working to prevent climate change.

2) Once you know a little about what your city is or is not already doing, it's time to contact the mayor or a city councilor. If your city already has some kind of policy or formal agreement on sustainability, it will be your job to help it live up to its lofty goals. If the city currently lacks any such policy, then formulating one might be a good place to start. Consider asking your city to sign onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement as a possible means to get the community started on thinking about climate change. For a more detailed step-by-step plan of action to get your city working on sustainability, click here.

3) Report back to Oregon Sustainability about the progress you make. Leave questions or comments on this site's main page. The purpose of this site is to help you accomplish change in your community,

If we can get enough people in different cities working on sustainability and reporting back to this site, we will soon have a statewide network of activists accomplishing real change. But this all depends on people like you beginning to work with your city government. There's no time like the present to get started.

Just Imagine....

Imagine an Oregon in which several of our largest cities are working together to reduce greenhouse emissions. What if our local governments decided to make agreements amongst themselves on a timeline for reducing emissions, while sharing ideas with one another on how to achieve their goals? It could happen. Five of Oregon's six largest cities have signed onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement; it's unclear how serious some of them are about taking urgently-needed action, but the public statement they have made by signing the Agreement could make it more likely that they would be willing to talk about cross-city emissions-reduction goals.

Oregon cities like Portland and Eugene are already leading the way to a sustainable future; if the rest of our large urban areas get in on the action, the effect could be profound. And it's not just about the big cities - smaller suburbs and towns have can make a difference, too! Imagine a conference where representatives from cities across the state of Oregon sat down and made plans to reduce their collective greenhouse emissions. So far, this is just a theoretical concept - your help is needed to turn it into reality. The Adopt-a-Mayor program, soon to be launched by Oregon Local Sustainability, will encourage the local governments to get involved in global warming solutions. The work of individuals who care about the environment can turn Oregon's cities into leaders in local sustainability.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY ACTION DASHBOARD

Corvallis City Council Sides With Industry, Not People

On June 4th, the Corvallis City Council voted unanimously to approve the conversion of 40 acres of native oak savanna to sprawling suburbs. Legend Homes - a known creator of sprawl in Oregon - has received permission build approximately 220 houses on the land, obliterating a remnant of one of the most threatened habitats in North America. This would be a bad thing for the environment all around; increased sprawl will also mean longer commutes by more drivers, adding to the city's greenhouse gas emissions.

The city council showed itself to be definitely on the side of industry in its decision. Councilors York and Daniels stated that the city council would be respecting the will of the voters by approving the development, since Corvallis voters originally approved annexation of the Witham Oaks parcel into the city. However, the idea that the peoples' will was the council's primary concern is hard to take seriously; a public city council meeting that discussed the fate of the Witham Oaks parcel was held last month, and the room was packed with citizens opposed to the development. Exactly one person (from the Chamber of Commerce) testified in favor of granting Legend Homes permissions to go through with the project. The final decision of the city council seems to have had more to do with a commitment to pleasing industry, and promoting growth at any cost, than it had to do with the voters' interests. Councilor Mike Beilstein summed up his own position, and apparently that of the whole council, with the statement, "I'm in favor of growth." Beilstein and Councilor George Grosch - both members of Oregon's Pacific Green Party - shocked members of their political party by supporting this project so at odds with environmental health.

It is to be hoped that the Witham Oaks struggle is not yet over. The city council's decision can still be appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals. Despite a disheartening setback, there is still an opportunity to save this remarkable parcel of land.

VISIT THE LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY ACTION DASHBOARD TO PREVENT GLOBAL WARMING IN THIS STATE

Is Your Mayor Serious About Climate Change?

Many cities across the state of Oregon have taken at least tentative steps toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Ten of our cities have signed onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Several are working with the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to bring emissions down. But it's safe to say that the number of mayors who have made lofty statements about confronting climate change exceeds the number of cities that are really doing what is required to curb global warming. Take, for instance, the city of Beaverton. Beaverton mayor Rob Drake has signed the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and says the city is commited to fighting climate change. It is far from clear, however, that his city really intends to back up these brave words with meaningful action. The situation in other cities is similar to that in Beaverton. Given all this, how can concerned citizens be sure that their city government really takes climate change seriously?

What is needed is a state-wide network of people who are willing to push their governments for real change, keep tabs on some of the emission-reduction projects in their cities, and report on what they find out. Oregon Local Sustainability will soon be introducing the Adopt-a-Mayor program, to make this vision a reality. Oregon Local Sustainability will provide you with as much information as possible about the current status of emissions-reduction projects in your city. Concerned citizens who wish to participate will then be able to push their city towards taking the next step toward real progress. Questions or comments about the Adopt-a-Mayor program can be posted on this website; your inquiries about how to get started will be answered by someone with experience convincing a local government to reduce emissions. If you are interested in participating, look for a new post on this blog soon, with more information about Adopt-a-Mayor. City be city, we will move Oregon toward carbon neutrality.

MEANWHILE, THERE ARE OTHER INITIATIVES ON THE LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY ACTION DASHBOARD THAT CAN GET YOU STARTED ON MAKING CHANGE

Hillsboro Argus: Global Warming is Not a Priority

On May 15th, the Hillsboro City Council voted unanimously to work with the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions, and authorized Mayor Tom Hughes to sign the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. This was a landmark moment in the effort to make the city more sustainable. It's importance, however, was lost on the press; the city newspaper, the Hillsboro Argus, has not reported on the victory, and does not plan to do so. An Argus reporter was present at the public city council meeting at which the vote was made, but does not consider the decision to be worth writing about. This is a confirmation of a sad fact; even at this time when "green" issues are getting more attention from the public than they have for years, even in the environmentally renowned Northwest, it is hard to convince people that the health of the planet is not just a "side issue" to the mainstream news.

THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE. CLICK HERE TO PROTECT OREGON'S ENVIRONMENT

Twice in the past year, the Argus did report on the city's efforts to do something about global warming. The first article was as much a human-interest story as an environmental one, as it covered the role of a Hillsboro student in convincing the city council to look at further reducing greenhouse emissions. The second article, a 223 blurb printed five months later, briefly stated the city council's intention to vote on the resolution that ended up passing on May 15th. With a third, slightly higher-profile article reporting on the adoption of the resolution, the Argus could have done a reasonably decent job following the global warming story. But no such article is going to come out of the paper. The reporter who wrote the first two articles states that she feels she has "already covered [global warming] sufficiently." Apparently, environmental crisis is a minor concern, worthy of a short piece here and there when the paper has a shortage of good stories. This generation of Americans' response to global warming could be the defining feature of the early twenty-first century. But someone forgot to tell the Argus.

With or without a blessing from the press, we must make real environmental change. VISIT LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY'S ACTION DASHBOARD TO GET STARTED

Decision on Witham Oaks Postponed Until June 4th

On Monday, May 21st, the Corvallis City Council listened to the arguments for and against supporting the city Planning Commission's decision to grant Palisch Homes (a subsidiary of Legend Homes) permission to obliterate a native oak savanna, and replace it with 40 acres of urban sprawl. The room was packed with people opposed to the development project, many of whom testified vehemently against granting Palisch permission to build on the Witham Oaks parcel. There was only one speaker, from the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce, supportive of the Palisch project. The eloquent speeches in favor of preserving the oak savanna, however, seem to have fallen on deaf ears. By the end of the meeting, it was apparent that Palisch would probably triumph.

The final decision will be made by the City Council at their next regular meeting, on June 4th. Despite the stunning opposition to the development project marshaled by the community, the city government is likely to side with corporate power, rather than people-power. Does this mean Witham is doomed? Fortunately, no. The City Council's decision can still be appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals. Now, more than ever, it is important to keep tabs on the progress of this effort. We must not let the development project occur; oak savanna is a threatened habitat that is declining across the country, and destruction of this ecosystem will severely impact biodiversity in the Corvallis area. Oregon Local Sustainability will be reporting on the outcome of the June 4th meeting, and on how Witham Oaks can be saved.