If you want to know where the real environmental activism is taking place, you don’t have to look far. Local governments, frustrated by a federal administration that is woefully inactive on the issue of climate change, are tackling global warming from the ground up. Texas cities are taking matters into their own hands with aggressive local legislation that attacks everything from air pollution to waste management. How are they able to do this? It’s simple: the citizens expect no less. As Abraham Lincoln once stated in his famed Gettysburg Address, our governments are “of the people, by the people, for the people”, and only through the people will government take action and change.
The Texas capital is leading the way as a Texas sustainable community. In February of 2007, Mayor Will Wynn and the city council adopted the Austin Climate Protection Plan. The plan is ambitious and comprehensive, committing the city to increase energy efficiency in all new construction by 75% by 2015, make all new single-family homes zero net-energy capable by 2015, render the entire city fleet carbon-neutral by 2020 through the use of electric power and non-petroleum fuels, and establish a City Climate Action Team to inventory greenhouse gas emissions from activities community-wide, among other measures .
Several factors contribute to Austin’s achievement as a sustainable community. For one thing, Mayor Will Wynn is willing to put issues of the environment and global warming in the forefront of city politics. His commitment to combating climate change has gained him, and the city he leads, national recognition. Mayors from major cities all over the world have recognized Wynn’s leadership: the mayors of Bangkok, Berlin, Cairo, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Jakarta, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo and others have listened to him speak on Austin’s green city programming .
A second significant factor working in Austin’s favor is Austin Energy. Austin Energy is a municipal energy provider. The city is thus able to control the source and efficiency of the city’s energy to a degree not usually afforded by local governments. The city of Austin has run with this advantage, pledging in the Climate Protection Plan to power 100% of city facilities with renewable energy by 2012, meet 30% of the Austin community’s energy needs through renewable resources by 2020, and establish a carbon cap and reduction plan for all utility emissions.
“We are at a distinct advantage in terms of owning our own electric utility and we are at a distinct advantage that we have a mayor who cares about these issues, but the bottom line is that none of these things would happen if [a sustainable community] wasn’t a thing the citizens expect,” says Matt Watson, executive assistant to the mayor. Ultimately, it’s the people that make the difference.
To the south of Austin is another example of a Texas city working to combat climate change. Houston’s green legislation reflects big city moderation. Above all else, the city council cites economic advantage as its reason for action. The city has replaced 300 incandescent traffic lights with LED (light emitting diodes) lights and has plans to retrofit 350 more. Houston owns over 300 hybrid vehicles in its city fleet and has passed a Green Building Resolution that requires all new construction of municipal buildings to meet LEED Silver standards. In addition, Mayor White unveiled a website for his Consumer Choice Program, which is dedicated to letting Houstonians know that they have a choice in the energy they purchase. The site allows citizens to compare their current energy providers with green energy providers, raising awareness and promoting renewable energy.
Houston sees it as a business investment. Karl Pepple, Director of Environmental Programming in the mayor’s office, cited Hurricane Katrina two years ago as the wake-up call. The hurricane’s disturbance caused natural gas prices to spike and the city of Houston to question its reliance on certain types of energy. The city set about diversifying its energy sources, investing in renewables such as wind power. Pepple describes it as an economic investment in the future: “Regardless of any sort of moral argument, it makes economic sense to do this”. Cutting back on the city’s energy use and diversifying its energy providers is a matter of “fiscal responsibility and saving taxpayer money” says Pepple. It is a matter of catering to the people: who doesn’t like saving money?
Houston is a model of big-city sustainability. On such a large scale the question becomes “Is it financially viable for our community to take on these measures?” Houston is perfect example of a successful “yes”.
For an example of what could be, an example of a sustainable community that takes environmentalism to an extreme, we look out of state at Berkeley, California. Berkeley sets the green city standard for the country. The city has a waste management program that commits to reduce the materials sent to the Berkeley landfill by 75% by the year 2010, with a further Zero Waste Goal to eliminate materials sent to landfills entirely by the year 2020. The city council has also adopted a policy specifying that all City-Sponsored Construction Projects that enter design and construction after January 1, 2006 will meet a minimum LEED “Silver” rating. Berkeley endorses the Kyoto Protocol and pledges to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions until it achieves “net-zero” greenhouse gas contribution. Berkeley’s programs are not just “lead by example” – many of the city policies extend to the entire Berkeley community, not just the buildings and cars owned by the city.
How are such radically green policies possible? The people of Berkeley expect no less. City of Berkeley official Jennifer Cogley, director of Green Business for the city, describes the atmosphere: “As a progressive community, [Berkeley] has felt some responsibility to put these issues to the front”. The citizens care enough to integrate their beliefs into their city policy.
Whatever the reason, be it moral or economic, Texas cities are making progress towards becoming healthier, more mindful, and more sustainable communities. City councils in Austin and Houston are taking the fight against climate change into their communities. They don’t do it alone however. As Cogley relates: “there is a strong connection between policy and human relations”. So how do you get your city to go green? Spread the word about climate change. Demand decisive action from your city council. Expect no less.