Where is the action on climate change issues going to come from?
Every day, we see the media discuss what each of us can do individually to “green” our country. Individual action is important, but results in small steps toward reducing fossil fuel use will lower our country’s dependence on foreign oil and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
Nationally, a subcommittee of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee began hearings on a measure introduced by Senators Lieberman and Warner. This plan will cover a large majority of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and is a needed step to guide our nation to a low-carbon world.
I argue that real action on climate change will be taken by our local and regional communities. Two great examples have emerged from the central Ohio community. A few weeks back, the Mayor of Columbus along with 10 suburban mayors, the Franklin County Commissioners, and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) signed a 10 point “Green Pact.” This pact contains measures ranging from finding ways to decrease fuel use, to buying sustainable and recyclable products, to cataloging the region’s carbon emissions. These leaders collectively represent over one million people and these initiatives will have a large, measurable effect not only in environmental quality, but also in cost savings.
To highlight and expand the efforts already underway in the central Ohio community, MORPC will be hosting the first annual Sustainability Conference featuring local, state and national leaders. The purpose of this conference is to bring together stakeholders for a conversation not focusing on national problems, but local solutions. Local municipalities are preparing and embracing a cap and trade legislation as an opportunity for economic development and growth. I hope that when our legislators come home, they take a look around.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 11:51 am and is filed under Climate Change, Oil and Gas, Politics/Government . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
