The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program requests nominations for the 2012 Transportation Planning Excellence Awards. The award program, sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in partnership with the Transportation Research Board, recognizes outstanding initiatives across the country to develop, plan, and implement innovative transportation planning practices. Nominations for individuals or organizations that used FHWA/FTA funding to develop a plan, project, or planning process that demonstrates excellence in planning will be accepted. Winners will represent a variety of planning organizations from across the county, and will receive awards at the Transportation Research Board Summer Meeting in 2012.
The application period will be open from October 1, 2011 through December 1, 2011. For more information, visit www.planning.dot.gov/tpea2012.
***
State and local officials interested in additional information about developing and implementing cost-effective climate and energy strategies that help further environmental goals and achieve public health and economic benefits may visit: http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate.
Several Republican presidential candidates — Texas Gov. Rick Perry at the fore — are dismissing climate change as a concoction of misguided or self-serving scientists.
But a growing number of Main Street and regional business leaders, types often viewed as Republican-leaning, are taking the issue ever-more seriously, if not to save the world, at least to serve their bottom lines.
Each year the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, Partners for Livable Communities and the Institute for Sustainable Development give out "Green Plus" awards to local chambers and communities that have launched exemplary, communitywide efforts to "go green" with varieties of carbon-saving initiatives. Winners for 2011 include Cleveland, Chattanooga, Tenn., Savannah, Ga., North Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Gatlinburg, Tenn.
]]>Washington, D.C. – One day before Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman highlights the clean energy jobs created with support from the Obama Administration, the Energy Department announced that the weatherization program under the Recovery Act has now made more than 500,000 low-income homes nationwide more energy-efficient. The weatherization program is helping families save hundreds of dollars a year on their energy bills, while employing more than 14,000 workers across the country and countless others throughout the supply chain.
The Department of Energy also today released a new video showing the positive impact that the Administration’s clean energy investments in advanced battery manufacturing have had on Michigan workers. Listen to Annette Herrera, an employee with A123 Systems, an advanced lithium-ion battery manufacturer, tell her story. The company also recently announced it has hired its 1000th clean energy employee in Michigan, many of whom were previously out of work.
“Our investments in clean energy innovation are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs around the country, developing entire industries and supply chains, and helping to make American companies to more competitive,” said Deputy Secretary Poneman. “We are in a race to capitalize on the huge economic and job growth potential of the clean energy economy. Other countries like China are already moving aggressively to develop and deploy these technologies, but with continued investments in innovation, this is a race we can win.”
Earlier this week, the solar industry also released a new report showing the tremendous growth in solar energy jobs over the last two years, in large part because of the leadership of President Obama. The new figures from the nonprofit Solar Foundation showed that the number of workers in America’s solar energy has more than doubled – growing from 46,000 workers in 2009 to more than 100,000 today. The Solar Energy Industries Association also released a report on Tuesday that found the demand for U.S. solar photovoltaics grew by nearly 70 percent from the previous year.
News Media Contact: 202-586-4940
A high-powered investment coalition assembled by Richard Branson, the eccentric British billionaire, is offering Sacramento a shot at hundreds of jobs through a $100 million energy-efficiency program.
Sacramento is one of two cities chosen by Branson's nonprofit Carbon War Room group for a privately financed effort to retrofit office buildings and other commercial properties. The other city is Miami; the program would total $650 million.
As rising sea levels eat away at the California coastline over the next century, the advancing ocean could cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to beach communities as tourism and tax revenue is swept away, according to a state-commissioned study released Tuesday.
As climate change warms and expands the ocean, increased storm damage and erosion will narrow the state's beaches and diminish their appeal to both tourists and wildlife, economists at San Francisco State predict.
]]>This message announces the availability of nearly $155 million in current or upcoming funding opportunities for state, local, and tribal governments from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that can be used to support climate and energy initiatives, including energy efficiency, regional planning, and renewable energy. For full eligibility and application details, please visit the links provided below.
*** DOC Economic Development Administration Public Works, Economic Adjustment, and Global Climate Change Mitigation Programs Opportunity – Likely ~$25 million
Application Due: September 15, 2011
Eligible Entities: State and local governments, federally recognized tribes, nonprofits, private institutions of higher education
This grant program supports projects that foster economic competitiveness while enhancing environmental quality. The funds will be used to advance the green economy by supporting projects that create jobs through—and increase—private capital investment in initiatives to limit the nation's dependence on fossil fuels, enhance energy efficiency, curb greenhouse gas emissions, and protect natural systems. Available funding is likely to be near $25 million. For more info, including regional contacts, go to: http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=58457.
*** HUD’s FY2011 Community Challenge Planning Grant Program– $28 million
Application Due: September 16, 2011
Eligible Entities: State and local governments, including U.S. territories, tribal governments, political subdivisions of state or local governments, and multi-state or multijurisdictional groupings.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s $28 million Community Challenge Planning Grant Program fosters reform and reduces barriers to achieving affordable, economically vital, and sustainable communities. Such efforts may include amending or replacing local master plans, zoning codes, and building codes, either on a jurisdiction-wide basis or in a specific neighborhood, district, corridor, or sector to promote mixed-use development, affordable housing, the reuse of older buildings and structures for new purposes, and similar activities with the goal of promoting sustainability at the local or neighborhood level. This program also supports the development of affordable housing through the development and adoption of inclusionary zoning ordinances and other activities to support planning implementation. For more information, visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/sustainable_housing_communities/HUD-DOT_Community_Challenge_Grants.
*** Model Forest Policy Program – 2012 Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies – $60K
Application Due: September 19, 2011
Eligible Entities: Local communities
The Model Forest Policy Program is now accepting applications for 2012 Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies. This program offers rural U.S. communities the opportunity to be part of climate adaptation solutions urgently needed across the country. Rural local governments are invited to apply. Six communities will be provided $10,000 scholarships. For more information and to apply, visit http://www.mfpp.org/csu/.
*** NOAA FY 2010-FY2011 Broad Agency Announcement
Application Due: Sep 30, 2011
Eligible Entities: Individuals, state, local and Indian tribal governments. Institutions of higher education, nonprofits, commercial organizations, and international or foreign organizations or governments.
The NOAA FY 2010-FY2011 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) requests proposals for special projects and programs associated with NOAA’s strategic plan and mission goals, as well as to provide the public with information and guidelines on how NOAA will select proposals and administer discretionary federal assistance under this BAA. This BAA is a mechanism to encourage research, education and outreach, innovative projects, or sponsorships that are not addressed through NOAA’s competitive discretionary programs. Funding for potential projects in this notice is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2010, Fiscal Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations. Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been appropriated for any proposed activities in this notice. For more information, visit http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=L9nbTqxF2TYLQLdTypyqNnVsxpyNDXKnMWv5QJXQqF256Btmvqs4!1090492312?oppId=51101&mode=VIEW.
*** HUD’s Energy Innovation Fund – Multifamily Pilot Program – $25 million
Application Due: October 20, 2011
Eligible Entities: National, regional or local private or non-profit entities currently administering affordable housing development and rehabilitation programs; special purpose financing entities; nonprofit or for-profit organizations that own or control a portfolio of Eligible Multifamily Properties
HUD’s Office of Affordable Housing Preservation is issuing a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Multifamily Energy Innovation Fund. This fund provides a total of $25 million in grants to be used for the purpose of energy efficiency upgrades at multifamily properties. The overall objective of the Energy Innovation Fund is to help catalyze a home energy retrofit market in the United States by accelerating private investment in cost-saving energy efficiency retrofits in the residential sector. The Energy Innovation NOFA can be found at:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa10/grpeif.cfm.
*** EPA FY 2012 National Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant Program – $10 million
Application Due: November 4, 2011
Eligible Entities: State and local governments, U.S. territories, federally recognized tribes, others
EPA, states, tribes, and territories are working together to implement the Exchange Network, a secure, Internet- and standards-based way to support electronic data reporting, sharing, and integration of both regulatory and non-regulatory environmental data. The Exchange Network Grant Program provides funding to states, tribes, inter-tribal consortia, and territories to develop and implement the information technology and information management capabilities they need to actively participate in the Exchange Network. This grant program supports the exchange of environmental data and collaborative work within the Exchange Network. Grantees may also use grant funds for the standardization, exchange and integration of geospatial information to support work to preserve and improve the environment, natural resources, and human health. In FY 2012, EPA expects to award about $10,000,000 for 40 to 50 grants of up to $350,000. The exact number of grants will depend on the final amount of EPA’s appropriation for the grant program, the number of applications submitted to EPA by the application deadline, the amounts of proposed budgets, and the outcome of application reviews. For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/grants/index.html.
*** HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program Advance Notice – $67 million
HUD has released advance notice of funding for the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program. This program supports metropolitan and multijurisdictional planning efforts that integrate housing, land use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure investments in a manner that empowers jurisdictions to consider the interdependent challenges of economic competitiveness and revitalization; (social equity, inclusion, and access to opportunity; energy use and climate change; and public health and environmental impact. HUD is not yet receiving preapplications or applications. Specific questions regarding program requirements should be directed to sustainablecommunities@hud.gov or through www.hud.gov/sustainability. To download the advance notice of requirements, visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=ascrp01nofa.pdf.
***
EPA State and Local Climate and Energy Program LogoState and local officials interested in additional information about developing and implementing cost-effective climate and energy strategies that help further environmental goals and achieve public health and economic benefits may visit: http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate.
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced 16 projects supporting activities in 24 states and the District of Columbia to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in communities across the nation, and seven additional projects in seven states to help prepare college students for careers designing and building advanced vehicle technologies.
“By developing the next generation of automotive engineers and preparing communities for plug-in electric vehicles, these projects will help reduce our nation’s dependence on oil imports, create jobs, and help America capture the growing global market for advanced vehicles,” said Secretary Chu.
Projects to support community planning for plug-in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure will receive $8.5 million through DOE’s Clean Cities initiative to facilitate local public-private partnerships that will develop EV deployment strategies. The funding recipients range from communities with extensive EV planning experience to those that are eager to begin, but have not previously had the resources to do so. These one-year projects will help communities address their specific needs, which include updating permitting processes, revising codes, training municipal personnel, promoting public awareness, or developing incentives, and each will create a plan that will be publicly available so that other stakeholders can learn best practices.
To view a map of the award locations and read the full list of Clean Cities’ award winners, visit HERE
DOE’s Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) initiative will award $6.4 million over the course of five years to support seven Centers of Excellence at American colleges, universities, and university-affiliated research institutions. The awardees will focus on three critical automotive technology areas: hybrid propulsion, energy storage, and lightweight materials. By funding curriculum development and expansion as well as laboratory work, GATE allows higher education institutions to develop multidisciplinary training. As a result, GATE promotes the development of a skilled workforce of engineering professionals who will overcome technical barriers and help commercialize the next generation of advanced automotive technologies.
To view a map of the award locations and read the full list of GATE award winners, visit HERE
DOE announced the availability of funding for these projects in February and April 2011. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) invests in clean energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce dependence on foreign oil. Visit EERE's Clean Cities and GATE websites for more information on the work being done under these initiatives to reduce petroleum consumption in the transportation sector. In addition to EV infrastructure planning, Clean Cities supports a broad portfolio of technologies, including alternative and renewable fuels, fuel economy measures, idle reduction technologies, and emerging technologies. Since its inception in 1993, Clean Cities and its stakeholders have decreased the equivalent use of more than three billion gallons of gasoline.
News Media Contact: 202-586-4940
]]>Clean Fund
Innovative Finance Structure Gaining Momentum
SAN
RAFAEL, California – September 7, 2011 – Codding Enterprises,
developers of Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park, CA, announced
they have received approval for $1.6 million in funding from Clean Fund
LLC provided through the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program
(SCEIP). The funds received will help pay for a second 1MW solar
electric system, allowing Sonoma Mountain Village to cover 100% of its
electric needs from on-site renewable power. The groundbreaking
transaction was structured and financed by Clean Fund of San Rafael, CA.
The
SCEIP was initially set up to provide Property Assessed Clean Energy
(PACE) financing using the County’s Treasury funds. On March 1, 2011,
the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to extend the
capital resources available to SCEIP and allow private financial
institutions to fund projects through the Program. Clean Fund’s
financing of the Sonoma Mountain Village project makes it the first PACE
project to be privately financed. Most cities and counties
contemplating PACE finance programs lack the ability to fund those
programs themselves. The successful pairing of the PACE structure with
private capital is a requirement for nation-wide PACE adoption.
Sonoma
County is one of the United States’ pioneers in enabling local
businesses and residents to finance energy efficiency and renewable
generation improvements using the PACE structure. PACE programs provide
long-term financing for energy improvements through special tax
assessments. “Our Energy Independence Program is creating significant
numbers of high quality local jobs while allowing us to make
environmental progress in a business friendly way,” according to Efren
Carrillo, Chairman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “It’s
extremely satisfying to see the strong support this program has gained
from across Sonoma County’s community.”
The Sonoma business
community is an enthusiastic proponent for the SCEIP. “Long term PACE
financing allows us to make energy investments that support our long
term business goals” says Brad Baker, President and CEO of Codding.
“Sonoma Mountain Village is the first One Planet Community in North
America and has received LEED-ND Platinum status from the US Green
Building Council for its project plan. This additional 1MW photovoltaic
system moves us closer to generating 100% of our power needs for the
planned community with on-site renewable energy.”
Sonoma Mountain
Village is a 200 acre mixed-use, solar-powered, zero-waste community
under development in Sonoma County, CA. The community currently has
over 30 businesses and 800 employees in its existing commercial, office
and industrial space. Plans for residential options including
apartments, condominiums and single-family homes; and an array of
hospitality, entertainment and athletic services are currently planned.
In 2008, Sonoma Mountain Village was awarded California’s highest and
most prestigious environmental honor – the Governor’s Environmental and
Economic Leadership Award as a model for comprehensive land use
planning.
“Sonoma Mountain Village delivers exactly the kind of
environmental, economic and community benefits the PACE financing
structure of the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program is designed
to promote,” according to Donna Dunk, Auditor – Controller – Treasurer
–Tax Collector of Sonoma County. “The complexity and large size of the
Sonoma Mountain Village PACE project gave us the impetus we were looking
for to bring the expertise and financing resources of private
investment firms like Clean Fund into the SCEIP program.”
“Clean
Fund would like to thank the folks at the Clinton Climate Initiative and
Hannon Armstrong for leading the development of the owner-arranged PACE
model” said John Kinney, CEO of Clean Fund. “It’s an honor for Clean
Fund to provide the first proof of a concept designed to enable large
scale private investment in improving the energy efficiency of
commercial and industrial buildings worldwide.” The owner-arranged PACE
structure that relies on private capital providers for project finance
is the foundation of the commercial PACE programs being developed across
the country, including the County of Los Angeles, the City of San
Francisco and the District of Columbia.
About Clean Fund:
Clean
Fund provides project finance for energy improvements to commercial and
industrial properties. Clean Fund uses the Property Assessed Clean
Energy (PACE) structure to provide 100%, long term, low interest
financing that lets long payback energy improvements make economic sense
today. For more information visit www.cleanfund.com or contact Derek Brown, Managing Director, derek.brown@cleanfund.com, (415) 256-8000 x102.
About Codding:
Codding
is an investment holding company with investments in commercial real
estate, commercial construction, alternative energy and a subsidiary
that develops deeply sustainable mixed-use communities such as Sonoma
Mountain Village. For more information visit www.codding.com and www.sonomamountainvillage.com or contact Tina Montgomery, tinam@codding.com, (707) 795-3550 x138.
About Sonoma County:
The
Sonoma County Energy Independence Program provides financing for
private property improvements to increase water and energy efficiency or
produce renewable energy. More information is available at www.sonomacountyenergy.org or contact Diane Lesko, Assistant Program Manager, at (707) 565-6477.
Los Angeles councilman's proposal would allow grocery stores to give away or sell only reusable tote bags, or risk a fine.
Paper or plastic? For shoppers in Los Angeles, the choice may soon be neither.
Hoping to reduce the billions of grocery bags circulating throughout the city, an L.A. councilman Tuesday called for a sweeping ban on single-use paper and plastic bags.
By including paper bags in the ban, the proposal goes beyond similar measures taken recently by other California cities and counties. Although L.A. County, Santa Monica and other municipalities have banned plastic bags in recent years, most have allowed stores to sell paper ones for a small fee.
THERE are many places in Illinois where you expect to find a prairie. The roof of City Hall in Chicago is not among them. Yet there it is—20,000 square feet (almost half an acre) of shrubs, vines and small trees, 11 storeys above LaSalle Avenue. Planted in 2000, City Hall’s “green roof” reduces the amount of energy needed to cool the building in the summer; captures water during rainstorms, thus reducing the amount of water flowing into Chicago’s already overtaxed sewers; and combats the urban “heat island” effect, which makes cities warmer than nearby rural areas. On average, air temperatures above City Hall are 10-15°F degrees lower than those above the adjacent black-tar roof of the Cook County Building; on hot summer days the difference can be as great as 50°F.
Large as it is, City Hall’s roof accounts for a small proportion of Chicago’s total green-roof space. And those roofs are just one part of Chicago’s Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which was launched in September 2008 and was preceded by years of green initiatives during the tenure of Richard Daley, who from 1989 until earlier this year was mayor of Chicago. CCAP aims to reduce Chicago’s greenhouse-gas emissions to 75% of their 1990 levels by 2020, and to just 20% of their 1990 levels by 2050. In the two years after CCAP’s launch public-transport ridership rose, millions of gallons of water were conserved, hundreds of hybrid buses were added to Chicago’s fleet and over 13,000 housing units and nearly 400 commercial buildings were retrofitted for energy efficiency.
>> Read the Full Article
]]>
SACRAMENTO — Many Californians tend to associate car exhaust and factory emissions with greenhouse gasses blamed for climate change brought on by global warming.
But how about paper, cardboard, old lumber and plastic? What role do those waste products play by being thrown away instead of being recycled?
Apparently, one big enough that the state is preparing a new mandatory commercial recycling program designed to reduce the volume of goods produced with new raw materials at fossil-fuel burning plants that emit greenhouse gasses.
]]>City of San Carlos
8/3/11
San Carlos, CA – August 3, 2011 – The City of San Carlos announced today that it has been accepted in the Institute for Local Government's awards program – the Beacon Award: Local Leadership Toward Solving Climate Change. San Carlos is one of 20 cities and 3 counties in California to have been approved to join the program and is the first City in San Mateo County and the second City in Silicon Valley (after Santa Cruz) to receive this recognition.
The first of its kind in California, the Beacon Award recognizes and celebrates cities and counties that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy, adopt policies and programs to address climate change; and promote sustainability. The program features three award levels that call for increasing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy savings in agency facilities and operations as well as the community as a whole.
San Carlos is being recognized in the Beacon Award program for its work in Green Programs and Sustainability. The City has completed Greenhouse Gas Emission inventories for the community and government agency operations, a Climate Action Plan and has met the State’s Recycling Goals pursuant to AB 939 and SB 1018. These are Beacon Award requirements.
San Carlos has also been a leader in many aspects of sustainability and climate protection. This includes receiving three awards for innovation in community planning for their work on integrating the San Carlos Climate Action Plan with the General Plan 2030, conducting a community solar discount program to accelerate solar panels in the residential homes, pilot programs for cell phone and battery recycling and residential food scraps and organics recycling, adoption of a Mandatory Commercial Recycling Ordinance, collaborative work on Climate Protection with local, countywide, regional and state groups and a number of projects that are detailed on the Beacon Award web site.
"The Institute of Local Government is delighted to have the City of San Carlos participate in the Beacon Award program," said Hal Conklin, chairman of the Institute’s board of directors. “We’re looking forward to celebrating San Carlos’ leadership, following its accomplishments, and sharing its best practices with other cities and counties around the State."
San Carlos Mayor Andy Klein said "San Carlos is proud to be one of the small group of cities and counties in California that have received approval to join the Beacon Award Program. I have been impressed with the Institute for Local Government’s work to share best practices in Green Programs, Climate Protection, Sustainability and Public Engagement with cities and counties from around the State. I know that San Carlos has some impressive work in this area to share in this area with other agencies through the Beacon Award Program. I look forward to working with the Institute, the Beacon Award participants and cities and counties around the State as we work to make California more sustainable."
About the Beacon Award & the Institute of Local Government
To learn more about the Beacon Award: Local Leadership Toward Solving Climate Change, visit the Beacon Award section of the Institute for Local Government web site at http://www.ca-ilg.org/BeaconAward.
The Institute for Local Government is the non-profit research and education affiliate of the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties. Visit http://www.ca-ilg.org to learn more about the Institute and its work.
The Beacon Award program is funded by California utility ratepayers and administered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas Company under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.
Santa Rosa, CA – On Tuesday, August 23, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI) Interim Executive Director Michael Schmitz presented a Milestone Achievement Award to the Board of Supervisors recognizing the County’s leadership and significant progress toward climate protection. The County of Sonoma is one of just three Bay Area governments, including the cities of San Francisco and Berkeley, to have completed all five steps of ICLEI’s Five Milestones for Climate Mitigation process. Each milestone represents one of the five concrete steps that local governments can take to inventory greenhouse gas emissions, set realistic goals, develop hands-on climate action plans, and implement those plans in a measurable way that will yield results.
Chairman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Efren Carrillo commented, “Sonoma County is proud to be recognized for our sustainability efforts. We have led the way in developing innovative ways to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and save our tax payers money by doing so. We are truly appreciative of this important recognition from ICLEI, and look forward to continued success as the County moves forward with our Green House Gas Reduction initiatives.”
Sonoma County officially began the Five Milestone process in partnership with ICLEI when in 2002 it conducted a baseline emissions inventory and forecast, and adopted a target reduction of 20% below 2000 levels to be accomplished by 2010. The Climate Protection Action Plan (CPAP) adopted in 2006 provided a roadmap with specific actions to help the County meet the above emissions reduction goals, save money and natural resources, and create a more livable community.
“The County of Sonoma is a vital part of the effort in California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said ICLEI California Director Mike Schmitz. “ICLEI is proud to acknowledge achievement of the important Milestone Five.”
Since adoption of the CPAP, the County has implemented various measures and policies contained therein to achieve reduction targets, and consistently monitored and verified results. Among the projects included in the Plan and implemented over the previous four years are lighting, heating, cooling and water-system upgrades on over 20 buildings on the County campus, a 1.4 megawatt hydrogen fuel cell to power the County administration center, and a 750kW solar array at the Juvenile Justice Center. On April 5, 2011, General Services Energy & Sustainability staff released the final results of the CPAP reflecting a 30% cut in overall emissions over 2000 levels – thus exceeding the 2010 goal.
The attainment of the county’s ambitious goals are the result of close collaboration with community residents, business leaders, experts in the fields of building, energy, and transportation, and through the County’s membership with Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI). “Through the success of the Five Milestone Process, local governments are on track to reduce GHG emissions by 1.36 billion metric tons by 2020 – the equivalent of taking 25 million passenger vehicles off the road for ten years – an incredible achievement being led by our local governments,” said Martin Chávez, Executive Director of ICLEI USA and three-term Mayor of Albuquerque, NM.
In Chula Vista, Calif., new waterfront buildings will be required to have higher foundations because of an expected rise in sea levels.
In Chicago, where flooding is predicted to worsen, residents can get rebates for putting rain barrels, compost bins and native plants in their yards.
And in New York City, where rising tides are also projected, wastewater treatment plants will elevate their pumps.
While some members of Congress debate the scientific validity of climate change, these U.S. cities are going beyond efforts to mitigate it with lower greenhouse gas emissions. They're at the forefront of an emerging trend: adaptation.
"It's a new field," says Brian Holland, director of climate programs at ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA. His association launched a Climate Resilient Communities program last year to help cities study effects of climate change and finance ways to adapt. Nearly 600 local governments, representing one-fourth of the U.S. population, have signed on.
]]>*** HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program Advance Notice – $67 million
HUD has released advance notice of funding for the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program. This program supports metropolitan and multijurisdictional planning efforts that integrate housing, land use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure investments in a manner that empowers jurisdictions to consider the interdependent challenges of: (1) economic competitiveness and revitalization; (2) social equity, inclusion, and access to opportunity; (3) energy use and climate change; and (4) public health and environmental impact. HUD is not yet receiving preapplications or applications. Specific questions regarding program requirements should be directed to sustainablecommunities@hud.gov or through www.hud.gov/sustainability. To download the advance notice of requirements, visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=ascrp01nofa.pdf
]]>