Stop Urban Sprawl: Save Witham Oaks!

Urban sprawl is a bad deal for the environment. Not only has it contributed to habitat destruction all across the United States; perhaps even more importantly, sprawling suburbs encourage people to commute long distances to work, contributing heavily to global warming. The sprawling cities of the US are one of several reasons why our city emits much more carbon dioxide per capita than most of Western Europe, where living conditions are at least as good as they are in this country.

Given all this, why would a city that has allegedly made a commitment to fight global warming be making plans to replace 40 acres of a threatened habitat with a controversial development project that would contribute to urban sprawl? You might think the idea sounds unlikely, but this is just what is happening now in Corvallis. Under former mayor Helen Berg, Corvallis signed onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. The city therefore has a responsibility to work on reducing its greenhouse emissions. And yet it may be about to let the developer Palisch Homes, which has a history of creating urban sprawl, build 221 suburban houses on a large section of oak savanna in the parcel of land known as Witham Oaks.

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP SAVE WITHAM OAKS

Oak savanna is one of the most threatened native habitats in North America, having been reduced to a tiny fraction of the area it formerly covered. The ecosystem provides habitat for declining plant and animal species, and the 40 acres of vegetation slated for development in Corvallis of course remove many tons of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Yet on April 19th, the Corvallis Planning Commission voted 4-2 to approve the development project submitted by Palisch. Luckily, an appeal followed that ruling, and on May 21st the Corvallis City Council will decide whether or not to overrule the Planning Commission, at a public hearing; both in-person and written testimony will be accepted. And even if you are not a Corvallis resident, you can email the mayor and city council.

CONTACT THE CORVALLIS CITY GOVERNMENT TO VOICE YOUR CONCERNS

Note: Photos on this post come from the "Keep Witham Wild" website, http://www.keepwithamwild.net/

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

OCCSN to Salem: We Need Climate Solutions

The movement to fight global warming at the local level is growing. Hillsboro, Oregon, is about to adopt a strategy for reducing greenhouse emissions. Portland is looking into the banning of plastic bags in stores. Nine cities in Oregon have signed onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD AND TELL OTHER CITIES TO ACT

In contrast to all this good news, the city government of our state's capital, Salem, has still not taken firm action to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Salem is the largest city in Oregon that is not yet taking global warming seriously, and the Oregon Cities Climate Solutions Network wants to make sure that changes. At the end of this month, OCCSN will ask the city council in Salem to take action. We need to have 100 signatures on our petition to Salem by the time this happens. Will you help us reach the goal of 100 signatures by the end of April? If you haven't already signed the petition, now is the time to do so!

VISIT THE OCCSN ACTION DASHBOARD, and you'll be one click away from our petition.

Together, we can stave off a climate catastrophe. However, it will take the efforts of every level of government to stop global warming, and there's no time to lose. Tell Salem to get in on the action!

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!