In late March, residents and local municipal officials in southeastern Pennsylvania were invited to attend a seminar on global warming. The seminar was designed to helo local officials create and, more importantly, implement local action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (the primary cause of global warming) in their communities. Communities who are doing so are finding collateral benefits of improved health and growing local economies. In this podcast, PennFuture’s Joy Bergey explores a variety of strategies with speakers at the seminar and the seminar sponsor, State Representative Greg Vitali (D-PA 166).
Jim Yienger, Director of the ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, or ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability) USA Policy Institute, talks about the Cities for Climate Protection program. More than 700 cities have signed on; in Pennsylvania, only Philadelphia and West Chester are part of the program so far. With 18 percent of human greenhouse gas emissions represented by the 700 participating cities, it will be a significant positive impact on the problem when full implementation is achieved. Each city creates an action plan that links climate change mitigation with actions that improve local air quality, reduce local governments’ operating costs, and address other existing municipal concerns.
Joy next talks with Dan Desmond, Deputy Secretary for the Office of Energy and Technology Development with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Pennsylvania has great capacity for becoming one of the nation’s leaders in biofuels and biodiesel. Both offer benefits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for improving Pennsylvania’s economy.
Kim Lundgren serves as the Northeast Regional Director for ICLEI, and she expands on the role that local government plays in reducing global warming. Kim is responsible for supporting 60 local governments within the region on implementing climate change prevention policies and programs. Additionally, she manages various grant programs that are focused on Northeast communities and sustainability and furthers the network of greenhouse gas emission reductions within this region.
Finally, Joy talks with Rep. Vitali, who believes that the future for making real progress in combating climate change, especially in light of the lack of leadership at the national level, lies with state and local governments. Rep. Vitali introduced legislation with bipartisan support from 49 co-sponsors, aimed at assessing Pennsylvania’s contribution to global warming. The bill, called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, would require that the state report on global warming impacts and economic opportunities; conduct an inventory of Pennsylvania’s greenshouse gas emissions; and create a plan of action for the Department of Environmental Protection.
On the other side of the state, Sierra Club just announced that it is initiating a campaign in Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh called "Cool City, Cool County." The goal is to get Pittsburgh and the county to take action to reduce their contributions to global warming, and to adhere to the limits set forth in the Kyoto Treaty. For more information on the campaign and how you can get involved, contact Rachel Martin at the Sierra Club in Pittsburgh.
PennFuture has a statewide campaign called CoolPennsylvania, aimed at battling Pennsylvania’s contributions to global warming at the state level. With nearly 150 endorsing organizations (and growing!) including houses of worship, businesses, and non-profits, CoolPennsylvania has already achieved one critical goal: passing Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. Your participation is encouraged. You can join the campaign as an endorsing organization, or become one of the more than 1000 citizens across the state who has signed a petition to Governor Rendell to take action on global warming. To stay up to date on campaign actions and ways you can help, join our list-serve.
