Sunday, September 17, 2006
Localities already are cleaning up
From the RoundTable blog
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Jeremy Holmes
Holmes is alternative transportation coordinator and program director for RIDE Solutions, Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission.
In her letter to the editor ("Region should develop climate protection plans," Aug. 22), Diana Christopulos of the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition does well to highlight the fact that communities of all sizes can take action in support of better environmental quality.
In the face of the large challenges presented to us, it is important to note that we don't have to wait for massive national change to initiate environmental improvement -- cities, counties and, most important, individuals can all play a part in effecting these positive changes right now, right away.
What Christopulos may not be aware of, however, is that the Roanoke region has already undertaken specific efforts in this direction through adherence to the Early Action Compact, adopted in December 2002. The compact is an agreement between the cities of Roanoke and Salem, the counties of Botetourt and Roanoke and the town of Vinton to reach EPA air quality standards for ozone by 2007.
Though it doesn't address the entire broad range of greenhouse emissions that affect global climate change, it does promote changes that have a positive effect on ground-level ozone. Through the compact, these localities have agreed to undertake specific actions to improve local air quality including, but not limited to, reducing the idle time of school buses, retrofitting older diesel buses to create cleaner burning engines and the purchase of bio-diesel and hybrid vehicles.
Local governments, businesses and individuals can also sign up for ozone alerts. These are sent out any time the ozone level for a particular day is predicted to reach unhealthy levels and allow these groups to take voluntary action to keep ozone levels low. Due in part to these actions, and those of other local agencies and the federal government, the Roanoke region has not seen an eight-hour ozone violation since 2003.
The entirety of the Early Action Compact can be obtained through the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission and contains much more detail as to what localities are doing, and what they will be doing, in support of air quality.
Fortunately, many of these efforts, particularly those in reference to transportation infrastructure and policy, reduce not only ground-level ozone, but also those greenhouse emissions with which Christopulos and her organization is concerned. As localities move toward fleets of cleaner-burning vehicles, hybrids, and efforts to reduce traffic overall, they work to improve both the regional and global environment.
I'm sure that Christopulos would agree, however, that this is not just the responsibility of government agencies: Ultimately, individuals must be involved, not just as activists, but as participants in environmental change. There are a myriad of actions that citizens can undertake in the face of global climate change, including switching from single-occupant vehicles to alternative methods of transportation -- such as walking, bicycling or using public transit.
Most localities offer easy access to these services, but where they don't, citizens can, with the help of local agencies such as RIDE Solutions, get involved by starting their own carpools or vanpools to reduce traffic and emissions. Even a simple change such as this in one's daily commute, when propagated across the entire region, can reap immense improvements in regional air quality and show the support that such environmental initiatives can receive in the valley.
Of course, there is always more work to be done, and Christopulos and her organization should be lauded for mobilizing citizens and encouraging local leaders to adopt environmentally friendly policies now, particularly in the face of broad, global climate changes.
The Roanoke region, however, should also be recognized for the investment it has already made in cleaner technologies and policies, and given credit for having already joined the list of governments responding to global climate change.
