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KUFM Commentary - January 2010 --------------------------------------------------------- "Time to Implement the Helena Climate Action Plan" It was an unseasonably warm April afternoon in 2007, when about 100 people gathered on Helena's iconic Firetower Hill to ring the bell of the old watch tower. The group was there to demand decisive action by Congress to avert catastrophic climate change. That day there were seven simultaneous rallies around Montana and more than 1,000 nationwide, all with the same message: "Step it up, Congress." Now, nearly three years later, it's time for our local leaders around the state to "step it up". Aggressive federal and international climate change agreements are more important than ever before, but we also have the opportunity to make real improvements close to home. Investments by cities and counties in energy efficiency and a commitment to smart growth planning will shore up the budgets of our municipal governments, lessen our dependency on finite fossil fuels, and increase the resilience of our food and water supplies. Action by our local governments will also send a message to Congress that Montana's communities are ready for a fundamental change in our economy: we simply must use less energy, and produce what we do use from clean, renewable sources. The City of Helena is an exciting case study of community-driven change on this front. Let me go back to that April afternoon two and a half years ago on Firetower Hill, overlooking downtown and eye level with the first visible evidence of climate change in Helena: a pine beetle outbreak that by now has killed most of the trees above town. Speakers at the rally included middle school student Sam Grassy who called on decision makers to quit gambling with his generation's future. He was joined by rancher Craig Winterburn, Trout Unlimited staff attorney Stan Bradshaw, and Reverend Stephen Brehe who all identified the risks of inaction and called for better stewardship of our earth's atmosphere. The rally closed with an appeal and commitment from then City Commissioner Alan Peura, who placed the responsibility for action on the people of Helena. Peura changed the rallying cry from "Step it Up, Congress," to "Step It Up, Helena!" Now fast-forward to September 2009. This past fall, a mayor-appointed citizen Task Force published the fruits of 18 months of work: an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from City government operations, and a series of 38 detailed recommendations to cut those emissions twenty percent from 2007 levels by the year 2020. The emissions inventory actually reported surprisingly good news. Between 2001 and 2007, City staff bucked the global trend and cut greenhouse gas emissions by eighteen percent. The deepest cuts came from innovations implemented by city staff at the water and wastewater treatment facilities. These facilities account for a huge portion of the city's energy budget, and therefore offer huge potential energy savings and emission cuts. To keep up this momentum, the Task Force recommends a series of steps, including:
The Task Force laid out eight implementation steps as well. That's where the commission needs to start this month. Some of these steps have already been taken: The City teamed up with Lewis and Clark County to hire a part time Sustainability Coordinator. Mayor Jim Smith has agreed to join more than 1,000 other cities, including Billings, Bozeman, Missoula and Red Lodge, in signing the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement. A critical next step will be to adopt the recommended twenty percent emission reduction target. The Commission needs to form a Green Team of City staff that will spearhead energy conservation among city employees. The City also needs to build on the inventory of City government emissions with an inventory of community-wide greenhouse gas emissions, and use those results to make decisions about the shape of future growth and transportation developments. Implicit within the Task Force recommendations is an underlying message that the city needs to expand its traditional cost benefit analysis to include a greenhouse gas emissions impact. In making a decision on anything from a subdivision application to the purchase of a new dump truck, the City should look at the projected change in emissions, right alongside other factors. This is the sort of paradigm shift that we need in government at every level if we're going to build truly sustainable communities, and quit gambling with the future of generations to come. I'm Ben Brouwer with AERO, Montana's Alternative Energy Resources Organization. If you're interested in pursuing a similar climate and energy planning process in your community, no matter how large or small, get in touch with us in Helena at (406) 443-7272.
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