CITY
OF HOMER
MEMORANDUM 07-42
To: Mayor
and Council
From: Global Warming Task
Force
Date:
Subject: Task Force Progress and
Resolution 07-42
The purpose of this memo is to 1)
provide a brief progress report on the work of the Global Warming Task Force
and 2) request support from the City Council for tools that will enable the
task force to prepare a well-researched and truly useful Climate Action Plan.
Since its first meeting in late
January, task force members have spent many hours educating ourselves on global
warming issues and strategies for local action. Using the U.S. Mayor’s Climate
Action Handbook as a guide, we formed four broad subcommittees (Transportation,
Land Use, Energy Management, and Waste Reduction) which have met several times.
In between meetings, we have been gathering information specific to these
issues, such as data on electrical use in City buildings. A preliminary outline for a final report (Homer
Climate Action Plan) was approved.
GWTF members and staff have taken
advantage of the Internet to see what other cities and towns are doing and the
resources that are available for exactly the kind of task that we are
undertaking here. Fortunately, many cities in the U.S. and around the world are
way ahead of us in developing and implementing climate action plans, and we
have the opportunity to learn from them.
In our investigation, one fact
emerged very quickly: Virtually all of the towns and cities that are working to
address global warming in a serious fashion have taken advantage of resources
offered by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, through the Cities for
Climate Protection Campaign. ICLEI is an international organization
(International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) with headquarters
in Toronto and a U.S. office in Oakland. They worked with the U.S. Council of
Mayors and the City of Seattle to develop the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Action
Handbook and are collaborating with King County, WA on a
similar handbook that will specifically address adaptation to global warming.
They sponsor or co-sponsor conferences around the world, including the one last
September in Girdwood that Mayor Hornaday attended. (Some of the materials from
that conference, along with materials from the ICLEI website are attached here.)
ICLEI and
many other groups advocating for local action on global warming stress that
decisions should be based on actual data regarding greenhouse gas emissions. As one
staffer with a climate protection organization in New Hampshire put it, “You
can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Likewise, a consultant in Aspen, Colorado
said that “If you want to do any action plan, you’ve got to do an inventory.”
If we know the sources and amounts of greenhouse gas emissions locally, we can direct
action more effectively, save more money, and assess our progress in meaningful
terms.
One of the biggest advantages of
joining the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) campaign is that Homer will
then receive software tools and technical assistance to conduct a greenhouse
gas emissions inventory. People who have used these tools in other cities say
they are excellent and that the support from ICLEI is very helpful.
The next natural question is: Who
will actually use the software and compile the data? It is probably safe to say
that no current City of Homer employee has the time, and it is too big a job to
expect from a volunteer. Once again, experience in other cities points to a possible
solution, which is to hire an intern (e.g., college graduate student) on a
short-term basis (2-3 months).
GWTF Chair Alan Parks, who is
employed with the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, has been investigating
possibilities for a global warming intern in Homer, and it looks completely
doable based on conversations with a UAA staff person and the director of the
Alaska Marine Conservation Council, Eric Siy. If the
City Council is agreeable,
The intern’s primary responsibility
will be to conduct the baseline greenhouse gas emissions inventory, using ICLEI
software, and prepare a report that others can read and understand. He/she will
receive training for this, provided by ICLEI at no additional cost to the City
(beyond the $600 annual membership fee). We recommend that at least one City
staff person also receive training, to ensure that the ICLEI tools continue to
be used to maximum benefit after the intern leaves. A telephone discussion with
ICLEI Outreach Coordinator Susan Ode indicated that ICLEI may be able to help
with travel costs to regional or national conferences. Some training and
technical assistance is provided online or during phone calls with ICLEI staff.
Homer would most likely work with the same staff person that Anchorage and
Fairbanks do – a woman named Margit Hentschel. (Margit helped
organize the global warming conference in Girdwood last September.)
We welcome participation from the
Mayor and Council in Global Warming Task Force meetings and other events, and
appreciate the support received so far. We believe Homer can become a model
community in Alaska, addressing global warming at the local level.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Resolution 07-42 regarding Homer’s participation in the ICLEI Cities
for Climate Protection Campaign, and approve the concept of partnering with the
Alaska Marine Conservation Council if