Sunday, March 07, 2010
Shrinking Roanoke's footprint
Dan Radmacher
Recent columns
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- Redistricting process must be taken from pols
- A shutdown remains a very real possibility
- U.S. Navy Vets case argues for campaign limits
From the RoundTable blog
Roanoke City Council members got one of their first looks at the city's progress in its efforts to decrease the size of its carbon footprint.
Sean McGinnis, director of Virginia Tech's Green Engineering program, presented a report recently assessing the city's carbon emissions in 2008 and comparing those emissions to 2005's baseline.
The upshot of the technical report: Emissions in 2008 were down very slightly from 2005. That's good news tempered by a couple of unknowns: how much of the reduction was due to that year's mild winter and the then-deepening recession.
The reduction, a tiny 0.7 percent dip, is better than an increase, of course. But McGinnis noted in his report that council has set a goal of dropping emissions by 2 percent a year.
In an e-mail exchange, McGinnis pointed out the goal of dropping emissions by 2 percent a year is for the five-year period between 2009 and 2014, so the 2008 results shouldn't be counted as any kind of failure. The estimate for 2009 will be put together this summer.
Roanoke, McGinnis wrote, is recognized as a leader in the state because of the steps it has taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, even though those steps are still in their initial stages.
In 2006, Roanoke joined ICLEI-Local Governments For Sustainability. (ICLEI was formerly known as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.) City efforts to reduce municipal government emissions include things like a switch to biodiesel and ethanol-blended gasoline for its entire vehicle fleet and the use of high-efficiency lighting.
Council established a Citizens for Clean and Green Committee in 2008 to make recommendations for meeting Roanoke's environmental goals. It was only the second city in Virginia to begin using software to track its greenhouse gas emissions. The Clean and Green program has won several state environmental awards.
On the same day McGinnis gave his report, council also got an update on the city's efforts to increase its tree canopy -- which can have many positive environmental effects, including soaking up carbon dioxide emissions.
After eight years of effort on that, the city has already exceeded its 10-year goal, expanding the canopy coverage from 32 percent to 48 percent.
Still, there's a lot of work to be done. McGinnis said the work will only get harder after the economy rebounds and the easier steps have been taken.
In the conclusion of his report, McGinnis wrote, "The experience of many other U.S. communities indicates that even the modest carbon emission reduction goals mentioned here are difficult to meet. Achieving these goals requires both a comprehensive plan and the corresponding commitment of resources by the city."
While many environmental efforts result in significant financial savings, they also require up-front expenditures -- a difficult sell in these incredibly tight budgetary times.
McGinnis made an important point, though: Reducing the city's emissions requires broad community effort. The city itself has come a long way. Though the 2008 estimate didn't break out the municipal contribution like the 2005 estimate did, McGinnis said, "I am very confident that the municipal footprint decreased significantly more than the community-wide footprint."
In order to meet the goals, broader participation will be necessary. "We need everyone in the community to take action to make a real difference," McGinnis wrote.
How can you do your part? In an August commentary, McGinnis outlined several possibilities: You can turn your thermostat down a degree or two in the winter and up a degree or two in the summer. When you buy new appliances or electronics, make sure they are Energy Star compliant. You'll not only be green, you'll save money -- especially as electricity costs continue to climb.
If you're a city resident, take advantage of curbside recycling. There are more tips on Roanoke's Clean and Green Web site (www.tinyurl.com/yaj79a5).
In tough economic times, some may wonder whether Roanoke should continue its investment in a more environmentally sound way of doing business. Given the politicization of the global warming debate, some might even question the goal of reducing the city's carbon footprint at all.
I am not going to wade into the global warming debate in this column. The science is the science; none of the recent controversies has altered the conclusion that global warming is happening and that man's activities play a role.
Even if that weren't true, efforts to pollute less, increase the tree canopy and be more responsible stewards of the environment are eminently worthwhile on their own and fiscally responsible in the long run.
Roanoke is making fine strides. The commitment is commendable, and should endure.
Radmacher is the editorial page editor of The Roanoke Times.
