Wilshire Center Cool District

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Resources & Ideas

Comments from Herb J. Wesson, Jr., Councilmember, 10th District

Article on the March 15 Eco Charrette by Cynthia Phakos and Richard Rollins

Supporters:
AIA COTE Eco Charrettes
WCK CRA

Green and Beyond, Inc.

Tools for next the 15 years which may get us to 30% reduction in GHG:

AIA Sustainable Design Assessment Team
LEED-New Construction
LEED-Existing Building
LEED-Neighborhood Development
Energy audits

Tools for the next 20 years which may get us to 50% reduction in GHG:
AIA Sustainability2030
The 2030 Challenge

Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plans

City of Berkeley's Plan

City of Cambridge's Plan

City of Santa Monica's Plan

WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING?

"Global warming, caused by a man-made blanket of greenhouse gasses (mainly carbon dioxide) that surrounds the earth and traps in heat, is well underway and if allowed to intensify over the coming years will seriously threaten our planet. Unknowingly, we are chiefly responsible for these gasses and we have a unique and historic opportunity to reverse that for which we are responsible The scientific consensus is that we must limit the rise in global temperature to less than 2° C above pre-industrial levels to avoid disastrous impacts. At 2° C, it is likely millions of people will be displaced from their homes. Impacts do not end there. Food production will decline, rivers will become too warm for trout and salmon, snow pack will decrease threatening urban water supplies, weather will become more extreme, sea level will rise inundating coastal areas, the world’s coral reefs - home to 25% of all marine species - will be destroyed, a quarter of all plant and animal species on earth will become extinct and the Greenland ice sheet will begin to melt. ( "Greenland's glaciers are melting into the sea twice as fast as previously believed, the result of a warming trend that renders obsolete predictions of how quickly Earth's oceans will rise over the next century, scientists said yesterday." By Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, February 17, 2006). At 3° C the impacts are projected to be catastrophic. We can only imagine what the socio-economic and political consequences will be given this scenario. If we continue on our present course of burning fossil fuels, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that we could reach 2° C by 2050 and 3° C by 2070. We are running out of time." a quote from Edward Mazria AIA - founder of Architecture 2030 (www.architecture2030.org)

Are climate change and global warming the same? The terms are often used interchangeably, but global warming refers to an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface. Climate change encompasses all the changes (temperature, precipitation, rainfall patterns, snow and ice cover, and wind) that last for an extended period of time.

Recent scientific predictions are that the world has just 10 years to reverse global warming or a tipping point will be reached beyond which it cannot be stopped. Scientists warn of ecological catastrophe across Asia as glaciers melt and continent's great rivers dry up.

More on the need to stop global warming here:

It is time that we lower our impact on the world. We need to do long-term planning and be willing to reconsider how we live. If we do not succeed at living within our means , "the world as a whole within the next few decades will face a declining standard of living or perhaps something worse" (from Jared Diamond's "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed".) “The lesson of “Collapse” is that societies, as often as not, aren’t murdered. They commit suicide: they slit their wrists and then, in the course of many decades, stand by passively and watch themselves bleed to death.” ““Collapse” is a book about the most prosaic elements of the earth’s ecosystem—soil, trees, and water—because societies fail, in Diamond’s view, when they mismanage those environmental factors.” “--we can be law-abiding and peace-loving and tolerant and inventive and committed to freedom and true to our own values and still behave in ways that are biologically suicidal.” - Malcolm Gladwell, with the New Yorker.

"You don't change the world by hiding in the woods, wearing a hair shirt, or buying indulgences in the form of save the earth bumper stickers. You do it by articulating a vision for the future and pursuing it with all the ingenuity humanity can muster. Indeed, being green at the start of the 21st century requires a wholehearted commitment to upgrading civilization. Four key principles can guide the way:

Renewable energy is plentiful energy. Burning fossil fuels is a filthy habit, and the supply won't last forever. Fortunately, a growing number of renewable alternatives promise clean, inexhaustible power: wind turbines, solar arrays, wave-power flotillas, small hydroelectric generators, geothermal systems, even bioengineered algae that turn waste into hydrogen. The challenge is to scale up these technologies to deliver power in industrial quantities - exactly the kind of challenge brilliant businesspeople love. (LADWP Green Power - sign up for renewably-generated green power for your home or business.)

Efficiency creates value. The number one US industrial product is waste. Waste is worse than stupid; it's costly, which is why we're seeing businesspeople in every sector getting a jump on the competition by consuming less water, power, and materials. What's true for industry is true at home, too: Think well-insulated houses full of natural light, cars that sip instead of guzzle, appliances that pay for themselves in energy savings. (LADWP energy (and water) efficiency rebates for homes and businesses and energy efficiency rebates from Southern California Gas)

Cities beat suburbs. Manhattanites use less energy than most people in North America. Sprawl eats land and snarls traffic. Building homes close together is a more efficient use of space and infrastructure. It also encourages walking, promotes public transit, and fosters community.

Quality is wealth. More is not better. Better is better. You don't need a bigger house; you need a different floor plan. You don't need more stuff; you need stuff you'll actually use. Ecofriendly designs and nontoxic materials already exist, and there's plenty of room for innovation. You may pay more for things like long-lasting, energy-efficient LED lightbulbs, but they'll save real money over the long term.

Redesigning civilization along these lines would bring a quality of life few of us can imagine. That's because a fully functioning ecology is tantamount to tangible wealth. Clean air and water, a diversity of animal and plant species, soil and mineral resources, and predictable weather are annuities that will pay dividends for as long as the human race survives - and may even extend our stay on Earth. It may seem impossibly far away, but on days when the smog blows off, you can already see it: a society built on radically green design, sustainable energy, and closed-loop cities; a civilization afloat on a cloud of efficient, nontoxic, recyclable technology. That's a future we can live with." by Alex Nikolai Steffen who runs Worldchanging.com

In about 20 years we have a convergence of two major issues that will hit us; global warming and peaking of global oil production. See article “Global Warming Impact Like ‘Nuclear War’” http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/12/3791/ To quote from a 2005 report by the US Dept. of Energy “Peaking of World Oil Production”; “Waiting until world oil production peaks before taking crash program action leaves the world with significant liquid fuel deficit for more than two decades … the problem of the peaking of world conventional oil production is unlike any yet faced by modern industrial society … without timely mitigation, the economic, social, and political costs will be unprecedented.” We need to work toward a greener and more justice planet.

COOL INDIVIDUAL PLEDGE

We need to begin reducing our global warming carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as individuals by at least 2% a year over the coming years by reducing our utility consumption, and becoming zero waste individuals by reducing, reusing and recycling. The following steps will get us there - 80% reduction of CO2 by 2050.

Step 1: Take the “Cool Individual” Pledge: The first step toward curbing global warming is to ask yourself and your family to sign on to a 2% Solution Climate Reduction Pledge. This pledge sets the goal of reducing you and your family’s global warming carbon dioxide footprint (CO2) by at least 2 percent a year for each of the next 40 years.

Step 2: Conduct a Global Warming Emissions Inventory: This step is to conduct an inventory of your current global warming emissions. This information will identify the major CO2 sources (and the greatest opportunities for reductions), and will provide a baseline to judge your progress towards the goal. One could possibly receive assistance to conduct a global warming emissions inventory from a variety of sources on the web. The City, Edison, Gas Co., State and Federal Government have web sites that can assist. There are some rebates and incentive programs. The State has a good one: www.fypower.org/. For saving water, there are suggestions at a good site: www.bewaterwise.com.

Step 3: Create a Solutions Plan: While working on the global warming inventory, develop a solutions plan to reduce emissions while lowering energy costs. The energy solutions plan includes six important strategies: Green Vehicles, Public Transportation, Zero Waste, Energy Efficiency, Water Conservation, and Renewable Energy. In some combination, these solutions will form the foundation for a comprehensive energy-saving plan. The Sierra Club's web site can assist along with many other environmental web sites. What you can do a home, office and at school.

Step 4: Implement and Monitor Progress: It is essential that you put the plan into action and monitor its progress periodically. With a strong commitment, a sound plan, and real action, you and your family will be on its way toward meeting the goals of the 2% Solution Climate Reduction Pledge.

LINKS & WEB SITES
Flex Your Power's website is your resource for energy efficiency and conservation information.
California Climate Action Team

LADWP Green Power
101 Ways to Help Planet Earth

BOMA-Top 10 Ways for Commercial Buildings to Save Energy

SolveClimate

Two Percent Solution
Sierra Club Cool Cities

SustainLA

CARBON CALCULATORS

Earthlab

The Nature Conservancy's online carbon footprint calculator

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