Op-Ed | Local | Idling Reduction: A Common Sense Plan

Old habits are hard to break. To most, idling a car may seem fairly harmless, but in fact, there are many adverse effects. Carbon emissions have a major impact on air quality, with implications for public health and the environment, as we all know. One way to lessen these emissions is to reduce needless pollution from idling. However, most drivers don’t think twice about running their engine while the car is not in motion. For this reason, the City of Portland and Multnomah County need to work together to create idling regulations for passenger vehicles.

The two municipalities have worked together briefly on this issue before, during the “Idling Gets You Nowhere” public outreach campaign in the summer of 2011. As part of that effort, Mayor Adams’ office convened an idling reduction task force to look into various options for addressing the issue.  Multnomah County took the lead on outreach by creating an informational website, hanging “Idling Gets You Nowhere” banners across the Hawthorne Bridge and mobilizing volunteers to hand out postcards explaining the dangers of vehicular idling during bridge lifts and at community events.

The partnership makes sense in light of the two municipalities’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions. In 2009, the City of Portland joined forces with Multnomah County to adopt the ClimateAction Plan, a three-year plan to put us on a path to achieve a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and an 80 percent reduction by 2050. “The Climate Action Plan commits the City and Multnomah County to 93 actions over the next three years and establishes 18 objectives for 2030 (City of Portland, 2009).” However, in the whole 70 page document, idling is mentioned only twice.

STOP: take a step... For a new healthy Air in Portland

According to The National Air Toxic Assessment’s (NATA) 2005 map, Portland has very high levels of Toxics exposed in the air which would affect and risk people’s health with dangerous diseases like cancer and other health issues if it didn't take the right steps to stop the causes (U.S enlivenment protection agency). I was shocked when I saw the map because I always thought Of Portland as one of a kind city known with its beautiful and healthy nature. We should start thinking about out future.

Fossil Fuel Reserve Pricing

I just watched this interesting clip from the Economist and thought that I would share. It was about the large disconnect between Governments and large fossil fuel companies and the amount of carbon emission they say they will reduce compared to how large their fuel reserves are. It is estimated that we can only burn 1,000 gigatons of carbon to stay within the desired limits and to not raise the risk of global warming. This is interesting because there is currently 3,000 gigatons of reserves.....

NYC Carbon Emissions Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation

 NYC Carbon Emissions Visualization

New York City emitted 24 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2010.  This is a very large amount, but on a per-capita basis New York's 6.5 tons of CO2 equivalent per capita is the smallest of all large American cities.  Transportation accounts for a total of 21% of NYC's citywide CO2 emissions - 18% on the roads, 3% from transit.

From Inventory of New York City Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Can Denver become a low-carbon city?

Compared to cities across the globe, Denver ranks as one of the highest per capita contributors of carbon emissions. (Kennedy et al 2009) Denver also ranks high within the United States, as total GHG emissions in Denver are 21.5 metric tons per capita, 25% higher than the national average of 17.2. Denver's per capita GHG emissions are double that of New York City, and 65% greater than Los Angeles. (Kennedy et al 2009) Coal-based electricity and a relatively cold climate, which requires more heating, drive the majority of Denver's emissions, but transportation is still responsible for 30% of total output. (City of Denver 2005) 

Mexico City's Plan Verde

Mexico City’s Plan Verde (Green Plan), launched in 2007, got one of the largest and most polluted cities in the world to lower their greenhouse gas emission by 6.28 tons between 2008 and 2011. The capital city received massive acclaim when they proposed to lower their greenhouse gases by 7 million metric tons by 2012. Nearly to their goal in 2011, the city continues to introduce measure to lower GHG emission, reduce traffic and preserve water.