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

Putting the Heat on Salem and Medford

On February 20th, 2007, the Oregon Cities Climate Solutions Network sent a letter to Janet Taylor, mayor of Salem, and to Gary Wheeler, mayor of Medford. These are two of the largest cities in Oregon that have not yet committed to developing a comprehensive plan to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions throughout the city; OCCSN asked that they join major cities such as Portland, Eugene, and Gresham, which have already made that commitment. It is important that all the larger cities in the state contribute to the effort to combat global warming at the local level, so the success of the Salem/Medford campaign is essential. Signatures collected on the petitions sponsored by OCCSN, which ask the mayors of these two cities to take action, will help to back up the letters that were sent on the 20th.

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD AND SIGN THE PETITIONS

We need to get as many signatures as possible on those two petitions, so that Salem and Medford will have no choice but to listen to our request. The movement to make Oregon a leader in renewable energy and anti-global warming technology is well on its way, with action taking place at both state and local levels. However, there are still major cities that have not committed to joining in this effort, and that needs to change. Please sign the petitions, if you have not done so already, and urge others to sign them as well.

A Unique Chance to Make Change

All over this nation, local governments have become an essential part of the movement to stop global warming. Unfortunately, higher levels of government have often been lagging behind. This web site normally deals with Oregon issues, but right now we have a unique chance to help our fellow activists in Texas. The Texas state government plans to allow the utility company TXU to build eleven new giant coal plants that would release 78 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year. It is imperative that this project be stopped, and luckily, hundreds of people are working to make sure that plans for the coal plants are discarded. In a shining example of how local government officials can contribute to climate solutions, a coalition of Texas mayors has formed in opposition to the coal plant project - this is just the sort of thing we want to encourage in Oregon, and all over the country! Help these brave mayors out by signing a petition, sponsored by the Rainforest Action Network, which urges major banks to refuse to fund the TXU coal plants.

SIGN THE PETITION!

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION!

Hillsboro: to Sign or Not to Sign?

Hillsboro, Oregon's fifth largest city, is working on a plan to reduce its greenhouse emissions. Several important details remain unresolved, for instance, should the city sign onto the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and join approximately 400 other local governments in the US that have signed onto this document? The Mayors Climate Protection Agreement was drafted in 2005, by mayors who resolved to reduce global warming pollution in their cities by 7% below 1990 levels by the year 2012. Since then, hundreds of cities have signed on, but some cities have interpreted the Agreement differently.

CLICK HERE TO ASK OTHER OREGON CITIES TO FIND GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS

The goal of bringing emissions "7% below 1990 levels by 2012" is unrealistic for cities like Hillsboro, whose population has more than doubled in the last seventeen years. However, cities unable to meet that specific goal can develop their own target, and still sign the Agreement to show their general support for curbing global warming. The hundreds of cities that have signed the document send a powerful message: they show that global warming is an issue important to city governments. By signing the Agreement a city commits to reducing emissions in whatever way it can, but putting the mayor's signature on the document also confirms that the city is part of a nation-wide movement that confronts one of the most important issues ever taken on by local governments. So should Hillsboro sign the Agreement? What do you think?

Get involved in Oregon Cities Climate Solutions Network petitioning and campaigns - visit the OCCSN Action Dashboard

About the Oregon Cities Climate Solutions Network

Local governments across the United States are showing more and more interest in acting to reduce their emissions of harmful global warming pollutants, such as carbon dioxide gas. While the US federal government refuses to take meaningful action against global warming, hundreds of brave mayors and city councilors are picking up the slack, and doing what they can to steer us clear of the global climate crisis. That's why the Oregon Cities Climate Solutions Network was created.

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD

Several local governments in Oregon, including those of Portland, Eugene, Corvallis, and Ashland, are already formulating clearly defined goals for reducing their greenhouse emissions. Some cities, such as Beaverton, have made public statements committing themselves to reduce greenhouse emissions, even if they have not yet formed a solid plan for how they are going to do it. Others, like Hillsboro, are in the process of developing a goal and an action plan, and will hopefully be there soon. The purpose of the Oregon Cities Climate Solutions Network (OCCSN) is to encourage more Oregon cities to join in the movement, and to follow through with the lofty goals they set for themselves. Local governments in this state have accomplished a lot, but there is still much to be done. So get involved. On this site, we are collecting signatures for petitions to the two largest Oregon cities that still have no comprehensive action plan, encouraging them to join the trend. You can also find out how to make your own city government take action, and make a real difference in the fight against global warming. In this movement, individuals can be the catalyst for real change. So go out there. Or look around this website. And do something.

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD TO GET STARTED!