Climate Change Action Network

City of Sandpoint Update

Sandpoint was fortunate to have Mayor Ray Miller sign and get a head start on the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement.

Our new Mayor Gretchen Hellar plans to continue full steam in this direction. She asked City Council to set up a formal Climate Advisory Committee to the city, but they denied her request. Not to let that stop her, she now plans to establish an informal committee.

The city did allocate money in October to join ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability). http://www.climatecan.org/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,24/Itemid,23/

ICLEI will provide the software to conduct the city and community baseline study of greenhouse gas emissions. It is imperative to get baseline data of GHG before developing a Climate Action Plan. As one of its first issues, the Climate Committee will decide the best way to accomplish this study, whether through student interns, community volunteers, etc.

Here's what Ray Miller said he did for climate change while mayor. (All of these are after ClimateCAN asked him to sign the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement):

    * One of six Idaho Mayors to sign the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement
    * Only city in Idaho to host the nationwide Discussion on Climate Change
    * Instituted City Hall recycling
    * Retrofitted lighting in City Hall and Community Hall for 50% reduction in energy
    * Converting the Wastewater Digesters from natural gas to methane, app. $90,000 p/yr savings
    * Working with Northern Lights to install power generator in the Sand Creek Water Treatment Plant.      We will become self-sufficient and sell power back to power company.
    * Exploring installing generator in the Wastewater Plant's effluent outflow.
    * Will be increasing insulation in City Hall to reduce heating consumption 2008.
    * Experimenting with energy recovery at the Wastewater Pre-treatment plant (now called Energy     Recovery Center).

How can I help save forests?

Three things you can do to help save our forests:

1. Buy paper products with recycled content - especially post-consumer fibers.

2. Tell tissue manufacturers to stop using virgin wood for throwaway products and don't buy their products until they do. Comanies to encourage to change policy and avoid until they do include Bounty, Scott, Viva, Kleenex, Charmin, Cottonelle, and Puffs.

3. Buy paper products made with clean, safe processes. Look for products labeled totally chlorine-free (TCF) or processed chlorine-free (PCF).

Half the world's forests are now gone, and well over 30 million acres more are lost each year. In the U.S., more than half our national forests have been logged, mined or otherwise industrialized. We depend on these forests for many things, but in the scope of climate change, we need them to clean the air.

For more information on the impact disposable paper products have on our forests and what you can do to take action go to http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/tissue.asp

Leonardo DiCaprio’s new environmental film,

"The 11th Hour"

'We have the technology today to reduce 90% of the human global foot print."

"The hope is us. Let's begin."

^{The recently released feature-length film produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio – The 11th Hour.}^{http://www.11thhouraction.com/}

^{It’s an action film so to speak, about taking action. In DiCaprio’s own words: "The film documents the environmental crises we face and the solutions we must begin to implement." This hopeful film invites the viewer to "Turn Mankind’s Darkest Hour Into Its Finest." It’s no surprise that Al Gore endorses seeing it.}

^{The film was created using over 150 hours of interviews with over fifty of the brightest minds on the planet, including reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai. Yes, it documents the gravitas – global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, depletion of ocean habitats – but the film’s portrayal is one that also offers hope and practical solutions that can be addressed by reshaping human activity. Think lifestyle change. As DiCaprio says in a catchy phrase: "The hope is us. Let’s begin.’"}

^{ClimateCAN co-sponsored a showing of the film at The Panida Theater on September 20th. We presented the film with The Idaho Mythweaver, a Sandpoint-based nonprofit educational media organization, whose mission is to support the authentic presentation and preservation of cultural traditions of Western Native peoples within the context of their relationship to Mother Earth is presenting the film with, Jane Fritz, a non-Indian oral historian and radio producer who has worked with area tribes for over 15 years, says that tribal traditions, oral histories, and oral literature are inextricably linked to the natural world.}

^{"I can only imagine how tribal people, especially the elders and spiritual leaders of the peoples – the culture-bearers – must feel observing the destruction of the planet," says Fritz. "What’s inherit in their stories is a strong respect for nature."}

^{Former Mythweaver president, Francis Cullooyah, cultural director of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, shared his tribal perspective on the current state of planetary environmental affairs in a brief address before the film.}

^{"The film speaks for itself," said Cullooyah. "We’re at the 11th hour. We need to wake up and recognize that progress without caution is going to kill us all.’"}

Local Progress Report

An update from the mayor of Sandpoint, Idaho, on the city's progress since signing the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement on April 19, 2007.

Mayor Ray Miller: Working within the budget I was able to gleen $15,000. We then studied the Avista analysis and contacted several contractors. We have determined the best use of the funds would be to retrofit the lights both in City Hall and the Community Hall. Total will be about $18,000 with the difference contributed by Avista.

In September we will begin the upgrades at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and convert from natural gas to methane. Our utility costs there run about $180,000 a year and natural gas is about half of that.

One speed bump we have hit is Green House Gas analysis. I wrote to Dan Redline Regional Air Quality Manager for DEQ and asked for an assessment of the City.

DEQ is not ready to do assessments yet so we may want to get together and brainstorm how we might establish a base.

Sandpoint Mayor Ray Miller Signs Climate Protection Agreement

Join the "climate conversation" at Sandpoint Mayor Ray Miller's Citizen Blog

http://sandpoint-mayor-raymiller.tripod.com/CITIZENSBLOG/

SANDPOINT, Idaho ~ Mayor Ray Miller became the first mayor in

North Idaho to sign the U.S. Mayor¹s Climate Protection Agreement Thursday,

committing his city to cutting greenhouse gases that contribute to global

warming.

"Taking steps to save energy just makes good sense," Miller said to a crowd

of high school students, business leaders and supporters attending in the

blustery pre-Earth Day weather at Sandpoint City Beach. "Whether you¹re

doing it for the economy or for the environment, it just makes sense to do

these things."

Miller joins five mayors in southern Idaho and another 453 mayors across the

country who have signed the agreement, and formalized their commitment to

become more energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gases.

Miller also announced Thursday that the city has hired Avista Utilities to

do an energy analysis of the city¹s facilities and has contracted with an

engineering firm to determine how to capture and convert to energy methane

gas at the wastewater treatment plant.

The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement urges federal and state

governments to take action to address global warming, and commits the city

to become more energy efficient, reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and

educate the public in order to meet or exceed the goals set forth by the

Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement to address climate change.

Coldwater Creek founder and CEO Dennis Pence attended Thursday's ceremony to

praise Sandpoint and emphasize the importance of clean energy for the

planet¹s future. Coldwater Creek was awarded the 2006 Green Power Leadership

Award for offsetting 100 percent of its energy use by purchasing wind power.

Miller was asked to sign the agreement by Climate Change Action Network

(ClimateCAN) and the Idaho Conservation League.

"The climate is changing. We need to act swiftly and decisively to reduce

our global warming pollutants, and we need to prepare for the changes that

are to come," said KarenLamb, interim director for ClimateCAN.

"ClimateCAN is thankful to be working with a mayor who is as

forward-thinking as Mayor Miller," she said.

ClimateCAN is a new grassroots organization in Idaho dedicated to promoting

policies and practices that increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse

gases. The group formed following a fall conference on climate change

sponsored by the Idaho Conservation League, whose mission is to protect

Idaho¹s wildlands, clean water, clean air and quality of life.

"Idahoans live close to nature and we can¹t help but notice the impacts of

global warming from shrinking snowpacks and river runoff, to more frequent

droughts and forest fires," said Susan Drumheller, North Idaho Associate for

the Idaho Conservation League.

"The scientific jury has determined that global warming is real, it¹s

happening," Drumheller said. "But I¹m heartened by the fact that Mayor

Miller is taking a leadership role in helping North Idaho face up to this

challenge."

As part of the agreement, Sandpoint will create a Climate Action Plan to

guide decisions and policies that will help it to achieve its goals. One of

the first steps is to conduct a baseline inventory of the city¹s global

warming pollutants so it can identify where reductions can be made.

The city won¹t be undertaking the work alone, however. ClimateCAN has made a

commitment to assist with any research and logistics necessary to create the

plan, drawing from both its membership and a strong network of national

resources. ClimateCAN is committed also to educating the public on how the

community as a whole can become part of the solution.

"ClimateCAN looks forward to working with the Mayor Miller and the city on

this venture, as well as with the community and, hopefully, the county,"

Lamb said.

The group has held education events to involve everyone in protecting the

planet's future. Individual actions can be as simple as replacing

incandescent light bulbs with florescent light bulbs or consolidating

errands to use less gas.

"Collectively, we will all make a difference. We must take action to protect

the quality of life we enjoy now for our children and grandchildren," Lamb said.

Miller challenged community members to get involved by joining a "community

conversation" on a new website he's created, http://sandpoint-mayor-raymiller.tripod.com.

For more information about the U.S. Mayor¹s Agreement, go to www.coolmayors.com

Court Backs Environmentalists on Power Plant Cleanup

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: April 2, 2007

Filed at 11:40 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court gave a boost Monday to a federal clean air initiative aimed at forcing utilities to install pollution control equipment on aging coal-fired power plants.

In a unanimous decision, the justices ruled against Duke Energy Corp. in a lawsuit brought by the Clinton administration, part of a massive enforcement effort targeting more than a dozen utilities.

Most companies settled with the government, but several Clinton-era cases involving more than two dozen power plants in the South and the Midwest are still pending. The remaining suits demand fines for past pollution that if levied in full would run into billions of dollars.

The justices ruled that the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., overstepped its authority by implicitly invalidating Environmental Protection Agency regulations in a way that favored Duke. The case now returns to the lower courts.

The appeals court's decision ''seems to us too far a stretch,'' Justice David Souter wrote.

The enforcement program is aimed at reducing power plant emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide that contribute to smog and acid rain. Sulfur dioxide is the leading cause of acid rain.

The utility industry has long resisted installing costly pollution controls under the program called New Source Review. It waged vigorous campaigns against the program starting in the 1980s and more recently by battling it out with regulators when sued in federal courts.

Greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the landmark environmental law, Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion.

The court's four conservative justices -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas -- dissented.

Many scientists believe that greenhouse gases, flowing into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, are leading to a warming of the Earth, rising sea levels and other marked ecological changes.

The politics of global warming have changed dramatically since the court agreed last year to hear its first global warming case.

Democrats took control of Congress last November. The world's leading climate scientists reported in February that global warming is ''very likely'' caused by man and is so severe that it will ''continue for centuries.'' Former Vice President Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth -- making the case for prompt action on climate change -- won an Oscar. Business leaders are saying they are increasingly open to congressional action to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, of which carbon dioxide is the largest.

Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas are burned. One way to reduce those emissions is to have more fuel-efficient cars.

The court had three questions before it. Do states have the right to sue the EPA to challenge its decision? Does the Clean Air Act give EPA the authority to regulate tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases? Does EPA have the discretion not to regulate those emissions?

The court said yes to the first two questions. On the third, it ordered EPA to re-evaluate its contention it has the discretion not to regulate tailpipe emissions. The court said the agency has so far provided a ''laundry list'' of reasons that include foreign policy considerations.

The majority said the agency must tie its rationale more closely to the Clean Air Act.

On the Net:

Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov

US Court Rules Against Bush in Global Warming Case

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - In a defeat for the Bush administration, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a U.S. government agency has the power under the clean air law to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that spur global warming.

The nation's highest court by a 5-4 vote said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "has offered no reasoned explanation" for its refusal to regulate carbon dioxide and other emissions from new cars and trucks that contribute to climate change.

The ruling came in one of the most important environmental cases to reach the Supreme Court in decades. It marked the first high court decision in a case involving global warming.

Greenhouse gases occur naturally and are also emitted by cars, trucks and factories into the atmosphere. They can trap heat close to the earth's surface like the glass walls of a greenhouse.

Such emissions have risen steeply over the past century and many scientists see a connection between this rise and an increase in global average temperatures and a related increase in extreme weather, wildfires, melting glaciers and other damage to the environment.

Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the court majority, rejected the administration's argument that it lacked the power to regulate such emissions. He said the EPA's decision was "arbitrary, capricious or otherwise not in accordance with law."

In sending the case back for further proceedings, Stevens said the high court did not decide which policy the EPA must follow. "We hold only that EPA must ground its reasons for action or inaction in the statute," he wrote.

The Bush administration has consistently rejected capping greenhouse gas emissions as bad for business and U.S. workers.

The court's four most conservative members -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, both appointees of President George W. Bush, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas -- dissented. (Reporting by James Vicini, editing by David Alexander; Reuters

The Hellish Vision of Life on a Hotter Planet

Published on Saturday, February 3, 2007 by the Independent / UK

The Hellish Vision of Life on a Hotter Planet

by Mark Lynas

Buried within the newly released IPCC report is an apocalyptic warning: if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at current rates, global warming by the end of the century could total 6.4C. The scientists don't say so explicitly, but a rise in temperatures of this magnitude would catapult the planet into an extreme greenhouse state not seen for nearly 100 million years, when dinosaurs grazed on polar rainforests and deserts reached into the heart of Europe. It would cause a mass extinction of almost all life and probably reduce humanity to a few struggling groups of embattled survivors clinging to life near the poles.

An eco-alarmist fantasy? Unfortunately not - having spent the past three years combing the scientific literature for clues to how life will change as the planet heats up, I know that life on a 6C-warmer globe would be almost unimaginably hellish. A clue to just how unpleasant things can get is contained within a narrow layer of strata recently exposed at a rock quarry in China, dating from the end of the Permian period, 251 million years ago. For reasons that are still not properly understood, temperatures rose by 6C over just a few thousand years, dramatically changing the climate and wiping out up to 95 per cent of species alive at the time. The end-Permian mass extinction was the worst ever: the closest that this planet has ever come to becoming just another lifeless rock orbiting the sun. Only one large land animal survived the bottleneck: the pig-like Lystrosaurus, which for millions of years after the disaster had the globe pretty much to itself.

Clues as to how the world looks in a long-term extreme greenhouse state also come from the Cretaceous period, 144 to 65 million years ago, when there was no ice on either pole and much of Europe and North America was flooded by the higher seas. Tropical crocodiles swam in the Canadian high Arctic, whilst breadfruit trees grew in Greenland. The oceans were incredibly hot: in the tropical Atlantic they may have reached 42C, whilst at the North Pole itself, the oceans were as warm as the Mediterranean is today. The tropics and sub-tropics were so hot that no forests grew, and desert belts probably extended into the heart of modern-day Europe.

During the Cretaceous, of course, species evolved over millions of years to be able to survive on a much hotter planet. Nowadays very few species could survive such a sudden transition. Cold-adapted species like polar bears would obviously be an early casualty, and coral reefs will also disappear from the tropics. The Met Office's Hadley Centre has predicted that the Amazonian rainforest could start to burn as early as 2050, gradually transforming towards desert as temperatures soar in the interior of South America. Ash and smoke would blanket much of the southern hemisphere, and nearly half of the world's terrestrial biodiversity would be wiped out at a stroke.

How people might fare is anyone's guess. With the tropics too hot to grow crops, and the sub-tropics too dry, billions of people would find themselves in areas of the planet which are essentially uninhabitable. This would probably even include southern Europe, as the Sahara desert crosses the Mediterranean. As the ice-caps melt, hundreds of millions will also be forced to move inland due to rapidly-rising seas. As world food supplies crash, the higher mid-latitude and sub-polar regions would become fiercely-contested refuges. The British Isles, indeed, might become one of the most desirable pieces of real estate on the planet. But with a couple of billion people knocking on our door, things might quickly turn rather ugly.

Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas will be published by Fourth Estate on 19 March.

Global Warming: Take Action Now.

We need mandatory limits on global warming pollution NOW.

	Here's how we can drastically reduce global warming pollution.

	Big Business joins the call to action. Check out www.us-cap.org.

President Bush finally talked about climate change but not about cutting global warming pollution. TELL CONGRESS to pass strong global warming legislation now.

Big Oil Loses House

House Votes to Rescind Oil Drillers’ Tax Breaks -- House Democrats passed legislation Thursday that would rescind $14 billion in tax breaks & subsidies for oil drillers & reserve the money to develop alternative energy projects and conservation technologies. The measure passed 264 to 163, with many Republicans joining a bloc of Democrats. Passage came despite opposition from the oil industry and the Bush administration.

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Glacier & Flathead River Threatened

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