| Vol. 9 | No. 1 | Winter 2006-2007 |
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Citizen Jack's Climate Campaign |
While the federal government continues to ignore the urgency of global warming, an increasing number of local governments—spurred on by dedicated constituents—are working to reduce their share of heat-trapping emissions. One such community is Medford, MA, a Boston suburb where UCS member Jack Beusmans has encouraged city leaders to adopt some effective climate solutions.
Reaching Out to Neighbors
By the time Jack and a group of fellow citizens formed the Medford Climate Action Network (CAN) in 2000, the city already had a climate action plan established the previous year under the leadership of Mayor Michael McGlynn. Medford CAN members would help the city meet the emission reduction goals set out in its action plan by focusing on the residential sector, raising their neighbors' awareness of global warming's causes, effects, and solutions.
Medford CAN has employed several strategies to educate and engage city residents over the past six years. The group has held monthly talks at the public library, addressing topics such as home energy efficiency improvements and the feasibility of bringing a car-sharing service to Medford, and conceived and promoted "Medford Sees the Light," a campaign to encourage residents to install at least one compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL) in their homes.
Suggestions for Success
Even in cities or towns that do not have a climate action plan, Jack believes citizen groups can succeed in making the community more environmentally aware. The first step, he says, is just to "show up at public meetings, whether city council, town meeting, or hearings, and learn the city government's language." Depending on local politics, "you may not even want to emphasize the global warming or environmental angle. Be practical. Focus on simple, money-saving measures like installing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in traffic signals or public health issues like cleaning up old, dirty diesel school buses."
Jack notes that such practical solutions are realistically achievable for both residents and municipal governments. "Medford Sees the Light," for example, was successful in Jack's view because CFLs are an easy sell to the public—they are energy-efficient, easy to install, and save consumers money. Achieving success through modest initial activities like this can help build support for more ambitious initiatives in the future.
Jack's role in Medford CAN led to a seat on the cityf's Clean Energy Committee, in which capacity he had a more direct role in helping Medford fulfill its climate action plan. To this end, the city has installed energy efficiency upgrades in municipal buildings and traffic lights, added electric vehicles to the city fleet, installed solar panels to power lights at the town stadium and city hall, and taken advantage of federal, state, and energy supplier grant programs to fund many other improvements. Jack understands that residents of other towns might face greater obstacles in pushing for similar action, but as he observes, "Local officials are much more likely to implement environmental programs when they know there is an active citizenry engaged in and supportive of the city's efforts."
Perhaps you can convince your city or town to join in one of these existing campaigns to reduce global warming pollution at the local level: the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign (www.iclei.org) or the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (www.seattle.gov/mayor/climate).
Also in this issue of Earthwise:
Dialogue
Since hydrogen fuel cells emit water vapor (a heat-trapping gas), what impact would a hydrogen-based transportation system have on global warming?
