Hillsboro Commits to Fight Global Warming

Global warming is the most serious environmental problem of our time, but local governments can take meaningful action to stop it. On Tuesday, May 15th, the fifth largest city in Oregon resolved to take serious steps to address this issue that threatens life on the planet Earth. That night, the Hillsboro City Council voted unanimously to work with ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability on a plan to reduce the city's emissions of carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants. In addition, the council authorized Mayor Tom Hughes to sign the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which would also commit the city to cutting its emissions. The mayor expressed his intention of signing.

This is a big step for Hillsboro. By signing onto the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, the city will publicly state its intention to "turn down the heat." ICLEI will then help Hillsboro to measure its current emissions, devise a realistic plan for reducing those emissions, and live up to the lofty goals it has set for itself. Hillsboro will be the ninth city in Oregon to have signed onto the Mayors Agreement. Once it joins the others, five of the states six largest cities will have signed on (the only one holding out is Salem). This makes a powerful statement, which officials at higher levels of government will have to listen to. Truly, Tuesday evening was a good night for the environment.

We can make real change to create sustainable communities. Visit the OREGON LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY ACTION DASHBOARD to find out what else is going on.

Hillsboro Prepares Global Warming-Reduction Strategy

In a major victory for the Oregon movement to stop global warming at the local level, the Transportation Comittee of the City of Hillsboro unanimously approved a recommendation to the full city council, which outlines a strategy for reducing the city's greenhouse gas emissions. Months in the making, the recommendation calls for Hillsboro to work with ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability to find a realistic goal for cutting emissions city-wide, and implement effective strategies to acheive that goal. The recommendation also urges Mayor Tom Hughes to seriously consider signing onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and join the more than 470 mayors nation-wide who have already done so.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE ON THE RECOMMENDATION

The recommendation will be taken to the full city council on May 15th, and is expected to pass. Hillsboro - the fifth largest city in the state - will join several other major urban areas in Oregon that have meaningful emissions-reduction plans. These localities are proving to the US federal government that global warming solutions can be cost-effective, and improve community livability while helping the environment. The President and members of Congress should be paying attention; mayors and city councilors are exploring territories that the highest level of government is afraid to penetrate.

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD TO URGE OTHER CITIES TO FOLLOW HILLSBORO'S LEAD

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!