[Vision2020] U of I Argonaut 8/27/2010 "Halfway There: City Council takes more steps to lower greenhouse gas emissions"

[Ted Moffett]

I'm happy something is being done to lower greenhouse gas emissions in
Moscow.  This is a far better attitude than expressed by some anthropogenic
climate warming denialists, who argue there is no substantial scientific
reason to lower emissions.

The "Halfway There" part of the headline means there has been close to a 12
percent reduction in emissions from a 2005 baseline, on the way to 20
percent by 2020.

The headline might have read ""Not all the way there..." as in a paucity of
brain function and/or research, an absence of the most cursory discussion of
what the best climate science indicates is a percent reduction in emissions
necessary to substantially address anthropogenic climate warming.

Total historical CO2 emissions must be considered, given CO2 atmospheric
lifespan (read "Storms of My Grandchildren" by NASA climate scientist James
Hansen:( http://www.stormsofmygrandchildren.com/ );  therefore a 20 percent
global emissions reduction from a 2005 baseline will not prevent a high
probability of radical climate change.  CO2 would still increase in level in
our atmosphere, absent extreme changes in other variables, given a 20
percent reduction from a 2005 level is still above the emission rates from
previous decades when CO2 was increasing in atmospheric level.  Some of the
CO2 molecules my family and I were adding to the atmosphere in the 1950s
when gasoline was 28 cents a gallon and we crossed the US numerous times in
our gas hog Ford, are still in the atmosphere, contributing to climate
change.

Read about the "Earth Policy Institute" *80 by 2020* plan, where they
discuss "worldwide mobilization at wartime speed" to achieve 80 percent
global reductions in emissions by 2020:

http://www.earth-policy.org/datacenter/pdf/80by2020notes.pdf
-----------------------
http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/view/10557/48:testset/

Halfway There
  Written by Kristen Whitney - Argonaut     Friday, 27 August 2010
*City Council takes more steps to lower greenhouse gas emissions*


Jake Barber/Argonaut
Moscow City Council is encouraging residents of Moscow to find ways to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as riding a bike instead of driving,
and remembering to turn off lights to conserve electricity.

Since the baseline inventory in 2005, Moscow has lowered its green house gas
emissions by nearly 12 percent, a significant step toward the goal of 20
percent by 2020, according to the Greenhouse Gas and Energy Efficiency
Report.

“We have a measurable baseline and a very rational approach to save money in
addition to reduce our effect on the global climate,” said Mayor Nancy
Chaney.  It’s been a long time coming, because this was one of the
initiatives I undertook when I first came into office and I had a number of
people kind of cranking on my arm saying, ‘Just set the targets.’”
The Greenhouse Gas & Energy Efficiency Report, published Aug. 2, outlines
the City Council’s current efforts and future plans for lowering greenhouse
gas emissions.

“I come from a scientific background — my graduate work is environmental
science ... so I wanted a measureable baseline,” Chaney said.

Included in the Greenhouse Gas & Energy Efficiency Report are plans to
upgrade streetlights to be more efficient.

 Chaney said each LED retrofitted street light saves the city over $1,000
per year.  Each upgraded light saves 629 tons of CO2.

Future changes to reduce GHG will include more investment in public
transportation and expansion of pedestrian and bike paths.  The
Hamilton-Lowe Aquatics Center, one of the city’s top producers of GHG, may
also undergo some changes.

“We still have designs on making changes out at the swimming pool because
that’s one of our big users of natural gas, so conceivably there would be
some kind of solar installation — that might be panels, or solar tubes.
We’ve looked at some kind of treatment involving the heat absorption of the
asphalt,” Chaney said.

Brian Henry, the project coordinator for the sustainability club and a
graduate student in architecture, said students can do their part to help
lower GHG.

“Ride a bike instead of driving and conserve energy in your dorm room or
apartment by turning off lights and use compact florescent bulbs.  Also plug
your TV and DVD player into a power strip and turn the power strip off when
you’re not using the TV because even though it says it’s off, it’s still
using power,” Henry said.

In addition to these ideas, Mayor Chaney recommended weatherizing one’s
home, or she said, “If you’re not a property owner, hang some heavy window
coverings in the winter time to keep the heat in and the cold out.”

“We want to be efficient in our buildings, because buildings are big wasters
of energy if they’re not well-insulated — if the windows are not adequately
sealed” she said.

Throughout the nation other cities have made pledges to lower their GHG.
Since levels were tested in 1990, Los Angles aims to lower its GHG 30
percent by 2030. Chicago vowed to lower GHG by 25 percent by 2020 and Denver
pledged 10 percent by 2012. The U.S government has undertaken the goal of
lowering overall emissions 17 percent by 2020, according to the U.S. EPA
Website.
-----------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20100827/b474a560/attachment.html