Juicing Orange County press release

If you didn't get this on my distribution, here is the Sierra Club's press release. I am so proud that I remembered to send it out and of the response! OC Register story.

For Immediate Release                        Contacts:     Chuck Buck, (714) 773-1190   
December 5, 2009                                Paul Carlton, (949) 661-9505

ORANGE COUNTY IS TAKING ENERGY REDUCTION SERIOUSLY
Cities Are Taking Actions To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Save Taxpayer Dollars

ORANGE COUNTY, CA – As world leaders prepare to tackle the next stage of international negotiations addressing carbon emission limits and trading, city leaders in Orange County, California are not waiting for a mandate. Results from a forthcoming report by the Orange County Global Warming Committee of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club shows that cities across the county, both large and small, are taking actions to reduce energy consumption which in turn reduces the County’s carbon footprint.

“Results are in from 26 cities in the County. Large and small, city governments are looking for creative ways to decrease their energy consumption”, said Paul Carlton, Co-Chair of the Orange County Global Warming Subcommittee.

Overall, the survey found that cities are tackling the low hanging fruit to reduce energy consumption and costs where possible. For example, nearly all survey respondents are using LED and CFLs in city facilities, street lights and traffic lights. Also, cities are engaging in modest civic education about how taxpayers can reduce their carbon footprint and build greener. Highlights of the findings are noted below:

• 80% of respondents have taken or are in the process of conducting an energy audit. An energy audit is the first step for a city to assess how much energy it consumes and to evaluate what measures to take to make the city more energy efficient.
  
  
• 76% of respondents have identified a responsible party for energy efficiency. Of the 19 cities with parties identified, seven have committees and eleven have individual city staff assigned to the duty. One has both an oversight committee and a city official working on energy efficiency.
  
  
• 83% of respondents have installed motion detectors in city buildings to turn of interior lights when they are not needed. Nearly all cities noted that they have employee policies to turn off lights and electronics over night and weekends.
  
  
• Nearly all respondents are tracking fuel and investigating hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles. Today, less than 25% of most city fleets are green vehicles.
  
  
• 40% of respondents have implemented city green purchasing policies, where city purchasers evaluate goods and services with reduced environmental impacts compared to those with baseline impacts.
  
  
• 31% of respondents have an employee telecommuting policy that is one strategy to decrease employee carbon emissions from commuting to and from work.

Chuck Buck, Co-Chair, Orange County Global Warming Subcommittee, further noted, “I am highly encouraged by our findings so far. The results show us that local leadership isn’t waiting for Sacramento or Washington, DC to dictate how we can curb carbon emissions. In light of the recent California Air Resources Board’s proposed cap and trade program, we are reporting some real actions by city governments as we consider how their efforts will play into the state program.”

The Orange County Global Warming Committee plans to release the full report in Spring 2010. For additional information, please visit http://angeles.sierraclub.org/ocglobalwarming.

About the Sierra Club
The report is the culmination of the Juicing Orange County campaign which is an effort to engage city leaders in Orange County to enact responsible, climate aware policies and programs. This program is led by the Orange County Global Warming Committee of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club. Since 1892, the Sierra Club has been working to protect communities, wild places and the planet itself.

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I made it in! Start of the oddessey

So far, I realized my packing skills are poor when you are on limited sleep. BUT, I actually made it to the airport on time, survived LAX security and did my amazing "sleep on the plane" treatment which worked! For a 10 hour flight, I slept through most of it. My apartment here in Copenhagen is cute. I am in the Vesterbro neighborhood which has some cute shops. More on my stay later.

"Action on climate change requires the current generation to make decisions about the reallocation of resources that will have profound implications for future generations, for distribution within generations, including among those living now, and for the plant and its entire species." Nicholas Stern, The Global Deal.

This next weeks starts the negotiation of my era. For others, the tearing down of the wall or the fall of the Soviet Union will be what "commemorates" Generation X. For me, it is this treaty. Stern continues in his book, "fighting world poverty and tackling climate change, must be tackled as an integrated whole by a united world." While poverty has been a continuing issue since the start of humanity, this new aspect of international interaction does not permit inaction any longer. We will see what the strength of world leaders will be to do something.

For those of my friends and family who continue to say, there is no since for Climate Change, I honestly can't say I care. So enjoy the snow in Houston that apparently happened. John - hope you were eating it up! Snowing in Houston in December. Love it. But whether the science on climate change is correct or not doesn't change the fact that we are spewing known carcinogens into the air. It doesn't change the fact that there is not enough oil or coal to fuel the entire world for the rest of human existence. It doesn't change the fact that our oceans are warming. Our polar regions are warming. And darn it, mosquitoes are taking over. If we don't watch it, we are setting up the next world leaders to be cockroaches and mosquitoes. And yes, some could say that this already describes American lawmakers.

Since my last installment, there have been a flurry of items that have been released. But I first want to address the issue that I think is big - but as a lawyer this minutiae things are what I love. It may not be big. So India and China put out their commitments, as did President Obama. All of them use the 2005 carbon emissions level as the basis.

Earlier reports I included in my blog about the American commitment were incorrect. From the White House Press Release, "the President is prepared to put on the table a U.S. emissions reduction target in the range of 17% below 2005 levels in 2020 and ultimately in line with final U.S. energy and climate legislation.  In light of the President’s goal to reduce emissions 83% by 2050, the expected pathway set forth in this pending legislation would entail a 30% reduction below 2005 levels in 2025 and a 42% reduction below 2005 in 2030."

So where does this compare to the House and Senate bill along with the Barcelona agreement?

To standardize things, lets use EIA numbers for carbon emissions (btw, they have such a great site).

World Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Consumption and Flaring of Fossil Fuels, 1980-2006
(Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide)
Country	1980	1990	2000	2005	2006
United States	4,788.65	5,028.46	5,860.38	5,994.29	5,902.75
China	1,460.20	2,293.39	2,966.52	5,429.30	6,017.69
India	293.17	583.25	1,012.34	1,194.01	1,293.17

I earlier went over the House and Senate legislation along with where the current treaty text stands.

Well the math is depressing. And remember, I went to law school and not math school so if my algebra doesn't make sense, let me know!

1990 levels U.S. commitment		1990	2005	EQIVALENT	Reduction over 2005 levels
League	0.75	5,028.46	5,994.29	0.629156	37.08%	25%
House	0.83	5,028.46	5,994.29	0.696266	30.37%	17%
Senate	0.8	5,028.46	5,994.29	0.6711	32.89%	20%
COP	0.75	5,028.46	5,994.29	0.629156	37.08%	25%
	0.6	5,028.46	5,994.29	0.503325	49.67%	40%
2005 levels		1990	2005	EQIVALENT	Reduction over 1990 levels
Obama	0.83	5,028.46	5,994.29	0.98942	1.06%	17%
China	0.6	2,293.39	5,429.30	1.420423	-42.04%	40%
China	0.55	2,293.39	5,429.30	1.302055	-30.21%	45%

So, what Obama committed to was a 1% reduction over 1990 levels. I am depressed. My League is asking for 25 percent reduction which would be 37% over 2005 levels. There is a reason they changed the discussion for China. There reduction is between 130-140% over 1990 levels. This is great. BUT, America - man we are hosing the world.

More later...wading through the list of all the events and still trying to figure out what I want to do about registration. I am told it is going to be a zoo.

• Total registrations for COP 15 may well exceed 25,000, against prior expectations of under 20,000.
• The UNFCCC main office in Bonn is still struggling to finish data entry of several thousand name.
• Those not yet in the registration database may not be able to register until Sunday afternoon or possibly Monday afternoon.

We sent our delegation in on October 26, so I am hoping we are good! More tonight (it is 4:44 am here).
j