Bailing while Sailing

All I can think of is a Popeye cartoon from my childhood: Popeye with one hand on the wheel and the other on a coffee can, arm windmilling, desperately tossing water off of the boat as it slowly goes under. There are no bailouts for the global climate system.

Reports today that carbon released from burning fossil fuels and cement production increased 2.9% in 2007 over 2006. Such growth is at the high end of the estimates from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for annual increases and could point to total global temperature increases of 11% by the end of the century. So-we are outside the worst case scenario.

This news comes as the first carbon cap and trade program in the United States, the 10 -state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, held its first auction this week for carbon emissions permits. The RGGI program applies only to energy producers and will achieve modest 10% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from that sector by 2018.

While RGGI is a start, and a good one, we must not lose sight of the critical components of an international climate program that are missing: Engagement with the developing economies and an urban policy that addresses the over 50% of climate emissions that are attributable to the built environment (homes and businesses).

The world's developing economies (and especially China and India) now account for 53% of total emissions. They are not covered by the Kyoto accord (which seems not to be working in any case).

Politically, as we are seeing today, the temptation is for quick fixes and bold moves. But we cannot bail out the global climate system with one national program. Rather, this will take real federal leadership to change the way we design and manage cities. Land use patterns are central to climate change. How we manage homes and commercial buildings are crucial to climate change. We need real incentives to change where we live, how we live and how we build. We need federal standards that require reductions in energy use and vehicle miles traveled, city by city, neighborhood by neighborhood, and then we need local innovation to get it done in a way that works well in each local context.

A Metropolitan Nation

I spent Monday and Tuesday in Pittsburgh speaking at the International Urban Parks Conference. One of the keynote speakers was Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institute and chief author of the Blue Print for American Prosperity.

I'll cut to the chase: the Blueprint states that Metropolitan Areas constitute the engines of American prosperity and the building blocks of the 21st Century economy. Further, the report argues that "the ability of our nation to grow and prosper and meet the social and environmental challenges of our time depends heavily on the health and vitality of our metropolitan areas." True prosperity, the report argues, is based on sustainable growth in cities that addresses climate change and helps the nation achieve energy independence.

Could I have imagined even a couple of years ago that Brookings would present at an urban parks conference? Frankly no. But there were 600 people at the conference (www.urbanparks08.org) and they included inspirational local leaders such as Luis Acosta of El Puente in Brooklyn, state environmental directors talking about urban ecology and the director of CEOs for Cities who argued that sustainable cities are crucial to global competitiveness because talented workforces demand green and sustainable metro areas. The choir is growing. The time is now.

By the way-visit Pittsburgh. I ran along the two of the three rivers and I cannot tell you what a beautiful city it has become. Most of the poorest residents lived up high, because the smoke from the smelters and the mills settled on the hilltops. As I toured August Wilson's neighborhood (The Hill District) and met local leaders of great vision and power, I saw that they too struggled with vacant lots and disinvestment--but now their hilltop neighborhood is the highlands of one of the cleanest and most beautiful cities in America-poetic justice and hope for the future.

Wayne's World

How do you get the most out of a gallon of gas? Visit Wayne Gerdes' website to find out: http://www.cleanmpg.com/.

Wayne Gerdes is not an environmentalist. Wayne coined the term "hypermiler" and he seemingly invented the sport of driving for maximum fuel efficiency, but he did not do it because he cares about global warming. Wayne invented hypermiling after 9/11 because he realized that some part of every dollar he pays for gas ends up financing Al Quaeda. Now Wayne and his buddies drive 50 MPH on the right side of the highway and do all they can to avoid braking or stopping at lights. It works: Wayne won the 2008 hypermiling competition with an average fuel afficiency of 180 mpg, and he was not driving a hybrid. But he does drive with the windows up and no AC on an 80 degree summer day. Admirable, but is there a better way?

Yes-how about eliminating Waybe's two hour commute to the nuclear power plant where he works? All of us can learn from Wayne about driving smarter and driving better. I have the utmost respect for what he is doing and why-the more we connect environmental goals and national security issues the better answers we will find for both. But-really, the best thing for Wayne and for all of us is not to drive better it is to drive less. The best way to ensure we drive less as a country is to build sustainable cities where people can and do choose to live.

Tree, Crime and Climate Change

Is it possible that a simple tree in the city could address climate change and the growing inequality between rich and poor? Seems too good to be true but its not. Check out this story on the super powers of the urban forest.

As scientists and social planners are discovering, trees are far more than mere ornaments to the urban landscape. The urban forest is a powerful force for social and environmental change. Trees reduce air and water pollution, save energy, increase property values, and improve the social networks that are the backbone of a healthy city.

A recent study in Baltimore by Morgan Grove of the US Forest Service shows that neighborhoods with higher tree cover had stronger social connections, and residents had a significantly lower desire to move away, presumably because trees increase the attractiveness of the area.

A landmark Harvard University study of a dozen Chicago neighborhoods found only one variable that explained lower crime rates in otherwise virtually identical communities: the extent of social cohesion. The critical factor is “people’s willingness to look out for each other and especially for each other’s children,” according to the study, which pointed to an urban garden as emblematic of the sort of neighborhood collective action that is at the core of increased public safety.

The data suggest that community tree planting projects in cities across the country are a crucial component in building safe urban neighborhoods. The available evidence also suggests that social and environmental transformations in cities are inextricably linked.