Paris Accord - local initiatives

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PV1

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Messages
3,241
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
I'm sure by now that most members here are familiar with the comments made about our fearless leader being elected by citizens of Pittsburgh and not Paris. I'm not interested in political talk, but rather the fallout from this particular comment.

Bill Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, has just released an executive order setting the following objectives for 2030:

1. 100% renewable electricity for city operations (this alone is a big deal, given heavy gas operations surrounding the city).
2. Zero waste citywide.
3. Reduce citywide energy consumption by 50%.
4. Reduce transportation emissions, citywide, by 50%.

If anyone has traveled through Pittsburgh, then you ought to know that the city has no decent beltway, resulting in a lot of highway traffic being forced through downtown. This makes the Parkways (divided highway Interstate connectors) rolling parking lots for at least 5 hours each day. This order can potentially cause drastic improvements in air quality and ease traffic. Mayor Peduto has already installed protected bike lanes along several high-traffic routes, and casual observation notes more bike traffic than car traffic :mrgreen: . Despite the "bike lash" from suburban commuters, automobile traffic has been courteous for the most part, at least for the month or so that I've started riding through Downtown.

Has anyone else's town/city/county started any initiatives in response to the US leaving the Paris Agreement?

(As a moderator, I know this is treading dangerously close to politics, but please limit this conversation to environmental initiatives and not political preferences. Thanks.)
 
Our California's governor Brown's reaction to the Paris Agreement rejection was swift -
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/gov-...paris-agreement-hurts-america-will-cost-jobs/

Living in a state that enacted emissions-control legislation over 50 years ago, I'm happy to say that we walk the talk. Note the legislation for the first automotive emissions control technology in the nation in 1961:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/html/brochure/history.htm

Although we ride bicycles recreationally (my wife just did a Century ride in Northern California), where we live just does not lend itself to bicycles as feasible daily transportation. I personally will be redoubling my effort to cajole my friends into going BEV … my personal scorecard so far in convincing friends is eight BEVs and two PHEVs…

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Back on topic, here's a NY Times overview of reactions by cities across the country -

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/02/climate/trump-paris-mayors.html

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Not to stray too far off-topic, for those who might be interested, here are a few sources debunking the arguments presented as reasons for withdrawing from the Paris Agreement -

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ent-doesnt-make-sense/?utm_term=.9610a1d2051a

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...hecking-donald-trumps-statement-withdrawing-/

http://www.businessinsider.com/fact-check-trump-reasons-for-leaving-paris-agreement-2017-6

https://thinkprogress.org/trillions-cost-no-c617bc9ff0de

Really SAD, on so many fronts, for our nation and the world...

Edit 4 June, 2017: deleted yet another political comment.
 
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