Glaciers are disappearing all over the world.  The hottest 22 years on record have occurred since 1980.  The burning of oil, coal and natural gas … primarily from smokestacks and tailpipes … has accelerated carbon dioxide concentrations (CO2) in the atmosphere.  CO2 acts like a “blanket” over the earth. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, hurricanes … global warming.
 
Without people joining together to implement measures to reduce carbon emissions, global temps will alter the earth’s ecosystems and their ability to sustain life:
    •    Encroaching seas and stronger storms and hurricanes will put enormous pressure on coastal areas where more than half of all U.S. residents now live.
    •    Heat waves have become the leading weather-related cause of death in the U.S.
    •    Higher temps are melting the snow pack that provides much of the water supply for people in the western U.S., and experts predict the region could lose nearly half its water by 2100.
    •    Wildfire season in the West has grown to lasting two months longer.
 
Joining to spur action on climate change are faith leaders from across the country who are working to mobilize a religious response to protecting God’s creation. Additionally, our military sector is taking action. The U.S. Air Force has become the largest purchaser of clean renewable energy in the U.S.  Our U.S. Navy is working to enhance energy security for its facilities to lessen our nation’s dependence on foreign fuel supplies. Yes, this has become an interconnected ‘call to action’ across party lines, religious affiliations, class divisions, and demographic distinctions.  It is about much more than the environment … it is about moral values.
 
In the past year and a half, 320 mayors, including myself, have signed on to the Mayors for Climate Protection Agreement for cutting greenhouse gases.  Many cities already have saved millions of dollars through measures to improve energy efficiency, upgrade waste management and transportation, and promote renewable energy and sustainable building.  Our Dubuque city government is in the process of inventorying its programs and practices as part of its participation in a grant application process with The Durrant Group, which, if successful, would bring in a team of experts to assess our city in the various areas of environmental sustainability and to help us to determine a logical path to an environmentally healthy future.
 
In July 2005, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, together with the Sundance Preserve and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, co-hosted the Sundance Summit: A Mayors’ Gathering on Climate Protection.  That inaugural event both catalyzed and showcased the power of local leadership on climate protection.
 
This fall, as the first year of my service as Dubuque’s mayor was drawing to a close, I was honored to receive a letter of invitation, from summit co-host, filmmaker and long-time environmentalist Robert Redford, to join in the 2006 Summit.  I learned that this was an invitation-only, non-partisan, sponsor-funded gathering, held in Redford’s ski and meeting resort in American Fork Canyon.  What I experienced over an agenda-packed two days was the opportunity to hear, and to hold, informative and engaging discussions with national and local leaders on ways to cut the amount of fossil fuels consumed, both by city governments and by the residents they serve, as our legacy to future generations. As summit co-founder Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said, “The successes in municipalities are going to help lead to a sensible national policy.”
Joining Anderson in presentation were Mr. Redford, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, former Colorado Senator Gary Hart, authors and national scientists. It was encouraging to learn about some of the local-level programs committed to long term gas reduction goals which have collectively reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 23 million tons, in addition to saving $535 million in the process!
 
We all came home to our respective communities with tangible communication tools and resources which will help us to help our governments and citizens understand how collective action can create real, long-term solutions. I’d like to offer, for starters, some easy, efficient and economically beneficial actions that were identified for individuals, city government, businesses:
 
FOR OUR CITIZENS: (Also, for more information on improving home efficiency, please visit the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy at www.aceee.org).
·       Choose to replace incandescent lights with ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).  If every one of our households in Dubuque joined with the 100 million+ households across the country and replaced a single 60-watt incandescent bulb with a 15-watt compact fluorescent bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power 2.5 million homes, equal to taking 800,000 cars off the road!
·       Make your next car a fuel-efficient model. Exhaust from cars, trucks and other transportation is responsible for one-third of America’s global warming pollution. We can cut our car-related pollution in half with a highly efficient engine which offers saving at the gas pump and will double your car mileage.
·       Upgrade old appliances with energy efficient models.  In most homes, the cost of using appliances and heating and cooling equipment averages more than $1,200 a year.  By replacing a 20-year-old refrigerator, for example, with a new energy-efficient model, you will reduce your home’s CO2 contribution by about one ton per year and save $65 through reduced electric bills.  $65 may not seem like a lot to some, but the point is, you are helping the environment through the reduction in carbon emissions and, essentially, will get “paid” for doing it!
·       Insulate your home’s windows, doors and water heater.  Especially in older homes, there is significant waste in the amount of energy used for heating and cooling through cracks in doors and windows, and from poorly insulated water heaters.
FOR OUR CITY:
·       Install LED and CFL bulbs in city-owned lights. LEDs use 83 percent LESS energy than traditional bulbs and last six times longer!  CFLs are 50-75 percent more efficient and last 8 to 10 times longer!  Both bring substantial energy savings, reduced maintenance costs and reductions in global warming pollution.
·       Capture and sell methane from the city landfill.  Rotting garbage in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, but also a valuable fuel that can be captured and sold for use in power plants and for heating and cooling.
·       Invest in a more efficient city vehicle fleet. Cities that replace aging or inefficient city vehicles with modern, fuel-efficient models are playing an important role in reducing global warming and air pollution.
·       Invest in energy efficiency upgrades for city buildings.  Energy efficiency, e.g. retrofitting public buildings such as police stations, libraries, and transit facilities with more efficient equipment for heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation, is the fastest, cheapest, most reliable way to lower a city’s expenses and prevent tons of pollution annually.
FOR THE BUSINESS SECTOR:
·       Improve the energy efficiency of manufacturing processes.  Most businesses can realize substantial financial savings and reductions in pollution by auditing their energy use to identify waste.  The US Department of Energy can assist many businesses with this process through its Office of Industrial Technologies energy assessment project.
·       Purchase “green tags” for clean, renewable energy.  By purchasing clean energy directly, either through the local utility in the form of green tags, or by contracting directly with a clean energy supplier, businesses can guard themselves against fluctuating energy costs, lock in long-term rates for power and dramatically reduce their global warming pollution.
·       Upgrade old equipment with ENERGY STAR-compliant appliances.  Office equipment is one of the fastest-growing electricity uses in commercial buildings in the US, directly consuming 7 percent of total commercial electric energy which translates into $1.8 billion in electricity costs to businesses.  By purchasing ENERGY STAR-qualified equipment, a business with 100 employees, e.g. 100 computers, 10 laser printers, 4 copiers, 4 fax machines and 2 scanners, can cut its annual electricity costs by over $5,000 a year compared to an office without ENERGY STAR-qualified equipment.
·       Invest in efficient heating, ventilation and cooling equipment (HVAC).  Air conditioning accounts for the second highest use of electricity in commercial buildings.  The energy savings potential is huge.  By completely replacing the current stock of HVAC systems with high efficiency models, the potential to reduce electricity use by 1.65 million megawatt hours annually will eliminate 750,000 tons of CO2 pollution.
A sobering reflection remains … we are headed for worldwide disaster if we don’t all do our share.  For most US cities, global warming pollution comes from three primary sources:  (1) Electricity uses in homes, businesses, and factories; (2) the burning of fossil fuels by industry; and (3) pollution from cars, trucks, SUVs and other transportation.  As I take this show on the road, so to speak, I invite the community to share its environmental efforts, and ultimately the results, with me directly at rdbuol@cityofdubuque.org.
 
I believe this is a premier opportunity to “write” a very significant chapter in our city’s history.  Through our renowned spirit of collaborative, courageous and far-sighted actions, today’s Dubuquers can make a difference. They can ensure our community’s economic prosperity as a healthier, cleaner, safer and more desirable place to live for generations to come!  The future is not yet written.  We “Can Do” it!