[Vision2020] Moscow adopts climate action plan

[Ted Moffett]

Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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Below is the response to the URL (
*ci.moscow.id.us/1002/Climate-Action-Plan*
<http://ci.moscow.id.us/1002/Climate-Action-Plan> ) offered in the
Vision2020 post forwarded below:

This site can’t be reached

*ci.moscow.id.us <http://ci.moscow.id.us>* refused to connect.

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But any reference to "net zero emissions" ("...
city government operations reach net zero emissions by 2035.") should be
sliced and diced carefully to expose the potential carbon cycle greenwash
accounting that is sometimes involved in "net-zero" proposals, even by the
well intentioned.  The two articles offered below discuss carbon accounting
tricks that can be misleading:
-----------------------------
The climate crisis can't be solved by carbon accounting tricks

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/03/climate-crisis-carbon-accounting-tricks-big-finance?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR27tU_vJ07bgW9VsaBDoeKdTTeY5KUeFMNSaGOZkXZce1c7hhI5q4v73EM
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>From Gavin Schmidt ( https://www.giss.nasa.gov/staff/gschmidt.html ),
NASA's leading climate scientist, as some have claimed, the current
director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies:

https://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2021/11/net-zero-not-zero/

Is net-zero as a scientific concept different from net-zero as a slogan?

"Some parts of the climate community has been hostile to the use of
“net-zero” because, in their eyes, the “net” part allows for bad faith
actors to maintain current emissions while promising unrealistic amounts of
negative emissions in the future to compensate. This is clearly an issue.
Any net-zero pledge needs to be examined for credibility and the proposers
need to be held accountable for the claims. I think it’s inevitable that
some (maybe even all) such pledges will be optimistic about the magnitude
of plausible negative emissions. But is net-zero the same as climate
denial?"
On Tue, Oct 4, 2022 at 5:02 AM Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> 
> What can I say, but . . . Moscow cares
>
> Courtesy of today’s *Moscow-Pullman Daily News.*
>
> —————————————————
>
> Moscow adopts climate action plan
>
> Many of those in attendance at Monday’s Moscow City Council meeting
> applauded as the council adopted the city’s Climate Action Plan.
>
> The plan is a guiding document to help city government operations reach
> net zero emissions by 2035.
>
> The council and deputy city supervisor Tyler Palmer emphasized that this
> plan contains no mandatory programs for residents. It only applies to city
> government operations, though Mayor Art Bettge said he hopes that the
> community uses it as an example to minimize its effect on the climate. He
> said the city government produces only 2.4% of the total emissions in the
> community.
>
> From 2010-18 the city set and achieved its goal of reducing its greenhouse
> gases by 20%. Palmer said the city worked on the current Climate Action
> Plan for the past 20 months and sought out public comment in response to
> the document.
>
> Councilor Maureen Laflin said the city received both positive and negative
> feedback, which made it a “richer” document.
>
> Palmer stressed that the goal of the climate action plan is to be fiscally
> responsible in addition to being environmentally responsible.
>
> He said the city does not have enough money to be “flippant” with its
> dollars and the revised plan includes examples of how the city can save
> money through these practices. For example, it includes a sidebar showing
> how many dollars the city can save through purchasing hybrid police cars.
>
> Some in the public were concerned that the plan would lead to the city
> banning natural gas in new homes, but Palmer said this is not true. It
> encourages homes to use less natural gas, but there is no mandate.
>
> The plan, which can be found at the city’s website at
> *ci.moscow.id.us/1002/Climate-Action-Plan*
> <http://ci.moscow.id.us/1002/Climate-Action-Plan>, also advocates for
> participation in energy-efficient programs, developing a solar energy
> program, reducing vehicle trips, expanding recycling programs and educating
> citizens on planting native species, among other practices.
>
> According to the plan, city operation inventories will be completed every
> two years to track progress toward its goals. Moscow will also establish
> and maintain a website where the public can see its progress.
> —————————————————
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.net
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met.”
> - Roy E. Stolworthy
>
>
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