Posted on 02/08/2007 6:07:04 AM PST by Arrowhead1952
Mayor proposes strongest policies of any American city.
Austin will attempt to take the lead among the nation's cities in the race to curb global warming with an aggressive climate protection plan unveiled Wednesday.
Mayor Will Wynn and several other city officials said Austin will cut its emissions of polluting carbon dioxide to almost nothing by 2020, increase the use of renewable energy sources, boost energy conservation, and require better efficiency for homes and commercial buildings. Elements of the proposal could be controversial.
"Climate change may be the most critical issue we face today," Wynn said. "That may seem like a dramatic statement, but all the science points to catastrophic results if we don't quickly get a handle on this growing problem."
The broad goals proposed Wednesday did not include cost estimates, details or timelines. That information will come incrementally as the City Council considers individual proposals.
Though the problem is daunting, Council Member Lee Leffingwell said the solution must start somewhere.
"The sum of all local policy is global policy," said Leffingwell, who joined Wynn for the announcement along with some other council members and City Manager Toby Futrell.
Environmentalists offered quick praise for the plan, which the City Council will consider Feb. 15.
"This plan launches the city to the forefront of the fight against global warming," said Jim Marston, a regional director of Environmental Defense, a national environmental group.
The city has long drawn national accolades for its energy conservation programs, but Wednesday's announcement would push those programs further.
Austin homeowners and ratepayers might pay a price for the city's pioneering spirit.
"The truth is, this will be ahead of the market and ahead of technology," Wynn said. But he added that Austin must also consider "the true cost of energy that we're consuming."
Harry Savio of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin cautioned against being too ambitious.
"The worry is that Austin may outstep or outreach what is practical or acceptable to the market," said Savio. Members of his group are involved in a city task force developing policy for new homes to be ultra-energy efficient by 2015.
"What we're hoping is that the task force will listen to the practitioners, to the guys that are actually working in the field, who are knowledgeable, learned and care about this is as an issue and respond to their counsel on timing and technology," Savio said.
Renewable energy might be one area where Austin's ambition could get costly.
The plan lifts the target for renewable sources such as wind and solar energy to 30 percent of Austin Energy's power by 2020, up from the current goal of 20 percent.
"It is not going to be cheap," said Roger Duncan of Austin Energy, the city-owned utility.
"We just have to be more aggressive . . . in finding the resources and getting them contracted and/or constructed."
But the move also recognizes that electric utilities will probably face limits on their carbon emissions soon. This step addresses that likely change, Duncan said.
This plan comes as Austin Energy considers a new power plant in Matagorda County that might use cutting-edge coal technology that involves capturing the carbon and storing it underground. No decision has been made about whether to go forward with a plant or what technology might be used.
Another policy change included in the plan is a mandate that city vehicles run on either electricity or a clean-burning fuel when possible. Any remaining emissions will be offset through tree-planting and other programs.
Austin now operates about 4,800 vehicles, most of which use diesel fuel or gasoline. Starting immediately, replacement vehicles will be hybrids or those that can run on biofuels. The total cost of a typical midsize sedan, including fuel and maintenance, is 45 percent less than a hybrid, according to a city analysis.
Home buyers could also bear some new responsibilities through a proposal that homes undergo an energy efficiency upgrade when they are sold. A new ordinance, which would require separate council approval, could mandate new appliances, weatherization and other improvements.
"This is going to be controversial, and there is going to be opposition," Wynn said.
David Foster, president of the Austin Board of Realtors, said he had not seen the proposal and could not say what the Realtors' position would be.
"We err on the side of the consumer on matters like this," Foster said.
Paul Robbins, an environmental activist and Austin Energy watchdog, lauded Wynn for tackling the mandatory retrofitting issue specifically because it would be controversial.
"For an elected official to have the guts to say that really is . . . political courage," Robbins said.
Hmmmmm ....So HOW MUCH $$$$ would it cost
to physically MOVE Austin to Kalifornia ???
That would be a tough thing to do. I don't think all of those Kaliforians would want to go back.
hahahahahaaaa! :^D
Hey there Meekie. Long time, no see. Methinks the mayor of San-Fran-Austin has lost the few brain cells he had left. Most homeowners keep their major appliances, refrigerators, washer and driers when they move. I don't understand his thinking, but this is one of those things that the average liberal DUmmie in Austin will do to "save the planet".
Howdy! Howdy!Yep, it's crazy !!
Somebody needs to make an engine that runs on carbon dioxide and produces oil.
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