The International Panel on Climate Change just released its latest report on the state of our environment. It has become abundantly clear everyone needs to do all we can to reduce our carbon emissions into our atmosphere if we expect to see our quality of life preserved for ourselves and for future generations.

Local governments across the country are taking steps to reduce emissions by switching to alternative fuels and more efficient vehicles, replacing energy-hungry equipment, and requiring minimum energy efficiency standards for new public buildings. After all, what sense does it make to pump millions of tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere to produce energy that gets wasted? And why spend hard-earned money to buy electricity and fuel just to squander it on inefficiency?

The public sector, just like the private sector, is waking up to the idea that saving energy saves money. Last year a survey of about 200 cities working on global warming showed that we reduced harmful carbon dioxide emissions by 23 million tons and slashed city budget expenditures by $535 million. For local examples: when we changed out our old incandescent traffic signals for brighter, more efficient LED signals, that energy demand along with the resulting pollution was reduced by about 85%. We save about $50,000 a year, plus LED’s last many times longer than the old incandescent lights. From November 2005 to November 2006, the Fayetteville Public Library, our first municipal LEED (Leading Energy and Environmental Design) certified building, saved an estimated $43,001 when compared to average utility use by a building of similar size and purpose.

Fayetteville has been making steady progress in recent years. For instance, we are completing our biodiesel fueling station for our fleet, buying hybrids to increase fuel efficiency, and we are on a national committee to develop and test a prototype hybrid sanitation truck. Our publicly-designed Downtown Master Plan focuses on a compact, walkable city. Our growing trail system encourages people to get around town without having to burn fossil fuel. We are placing high priority on constructing buildings that are healthier and more energy efficient. We are partnering with others to improve and protect the waters that flow into the Illinois and White Rivers. We have added 1000 acres to Fayetteville’s enduring green network.

These are all important and significant steps for the City, but we must examine waste more holistically than we do now. Taking Beaver Lake water, purifying it, pumping it, building and maintaining the infrastructure to send it to your home consumes a lot of energy. Wasting water wastes that energy. The E.P.A. estimates that running water in a lavatory for four minutes uses as much energy as a 60 watt bulb uses in 14 hours, and sprinkling lawns in the heat of the day wastes over half of the water due to evaporation. Our glass recycling program is another example of our need to transform our “waste” into “resources” to be used locally. We collect glass from residences and truck it to a facility in Oklahoma where they buy it for about what it costs to ship it there. The program breaks even financially, but when we consider the carbon that trucking adds to the atmosphere, and the costs of that impact, the equation changes.

In July, Fayetteville will be the host city for the summer conference of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (I.C.L.E.I.). We have partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council, and we’re the second city to join the E.P.A.’s new Energy Star program. We were early signers of the Mayor’s Agreement for Climate Protection, and we are active members of the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s Sustainability Task Force. Indeed, Fayetteville is gaining national attention as a city that is making real progress in an area of the country that is not known for leading the way on environmental issues. We were highlighted among a handful of cities in Newsweek last month. Businesses capitalizing on emerging technologies are looking to locate here because of the fertile ground provided by the sustainability movements of Wal-Mart, The University of Arkansas, and the City of Fayetteville. If we put our shoulders to the wheel, Fayetteville is in an excellent position to become a central player in the new economy.

There are many ways we can improve our prospects for the future. I am most excited about bringing on board Austin’s John Coleman, P.E., as Fayetteville’s Sustainability Coordinator. The first public-sector sustainability staffer in the state, John’s job will be to further reduce our energy costs, develop working partnerships, shrink our carbon footprint, and outline measures that will continue to define Fayetteville as a leader in the climate protection movement.

Fayetteville has always been a community that concerns itself with doing what is right for our environment. All of us need to be involved in the solution, since all of us are a part of the problem. The lowest hanging fruit of all is for us to replace our incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL’s). They have really come down in price and multiplied in variety. Incandescent bulbs have been likened to small space heaters which happen to produce a little light. Only 10% of the energy they consume is given off in light, the rest is heat. The web site 18seconds.org (18 seconds is how long it takes to change a bulb) shows that, per capita since 1/1/07, Arkansans have bought more CFL’s than any other state. Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers is the #3 metro area in the U.S with the purchase of nearly 155,000 CFL’s, which is the equivalent of preventing 28,000 tons of CO2 from being released into our atmosphere, 886 cars off the road, and reducing our collective Northwest Arkansas electric bill by $3.2 million. Think of what we could do if we changed all the bulbs in our homes. I am reminded of the question, “How many Americans does it take to change a light bulb?” Answer: “The question is how many light bulbs does it take to change America?”

We can’t rest on our laurels and think we have done enough because we are so far ahead of most cities our size. We must recognize we have a long way to go to become as efficient as we can be. I believe we are ready to engage our opportunities. This will require public support at all levels, just like the I.P.C.C. report says. We have reached the tipping point on the issue of climate change. Even Congress is seeing the energy-efficient light. The best time to act was thirty years ago. The next best time is now. Let’s work together to fulfill Fayetteville’s climate-friendly potential.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2007 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.