Improving Travel Efficiency at the Local Level

This post was originally published on the ACEEE blog.

A comprehensive approach to transportation energy efficiency must include a combination of strategies targeted at both vehicle fuel efficiency and travel behavior. While the federal government has taken the lead on fuel efficiency, local and regional policies that reduce the need for driving are also essential to achieve an efficient and sustainable transportation system.

Today ACEEE released a new local guide to help municipalities and metropolitan regions identify policies to expand transportation choices and improve transportation system efficiency. The toolkit is targeted at local policymakers and stakeholders interested in reducing transportation-related fuel consumption in their communities.

After Sandy: ICLEI’s Vision to Support Resilient Cities and Counties

Atlantic City, NJ, during Hurricane Sandy. Photo credit: New Jersey National Guard

We’ve had a week to process the devastation from hurricane Sandy, and now the hard question emerges: Where do we go from here?

As the slow road to recovery begins, we know we must do more than rebuild our cities and neighborhoods. We must make them more resilient: better prepared and able to bounce back from extreme weather fueled by climate change, not to mention energy insecurity and economic recession. When Sandy’s path of destruction will cost at least $50 billion, can anyone argue that investments in resilience are not cost-effective and a top priority?

If you’ve been following ICLEI for the past year, you know this message well. But you also know that we deliver more than just inspiring words: We develop the technical resources local governments need to achieve their goals.

New Support From ICLEI for Local Governments

In the wake of Sandy, ICLEI is ready to step up and deliver. We have a vision and a plan for how to help cities and counties like yours become more resilient in 2013—with new climate and energy tools, new training and guidance, an innovative online knowledge network, new opportunities for local elected officials to connect and share ideas, and new ways to rally local leaders and make their voices heard to federal leaders.

Updated Tool Helps State and Local Governments Make the Case for Clean Energy

EPA has just released version 2.4 of the Co-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) screening model, a free tool that helps state and local governments estimate and map the potential air quality, human health, and related economic benefits from clean energy policies or programs (due to expected reductions in particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia , and volatile organic compounds).

Federal Report: Rising Seas and Climate Change Threaten Coasts, as Local Governments Shoulder Much of the Preparedness Burden

Above: Hurricane Isabel Storm Surge at Langley Air Force Base, Hampton, Virginia, 18 September 2003. Langley AFB has a mean elevation of 3 feet, with “high” points at 10-11 feet. A 4 foot increase in sea level would inundate 40-50% of the base. Photo source: U.S. Air Force, Tech. Sgt. Ben Bloker.

A new report on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability in coastal areas of the U.S. warns that coping with sea level rise and coastal disruption "will be a challenge for coastal economies that contributed $8.3 trillion to the GDP in 2011." It says that local governments will have to shoulder much of the burden of "making the critical, basic land-use and public investment decisions and ...working with community stakeholder groups to implement adaptive measures on the ground."

The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: A Technical Input to the 2012 National Climate Assessment, says that "[i]mpacts on coastal systems are among the most costly and most certain consequences of a warming climate." It continues:

Check Out Raleigh's Innovative Stormwater Management System

Watch this three-minute video about the City of Raleigh, NC's approach to stormwater management. Their new system removes nearly 100% of contaminants, and was developed with a strong public-private partnership.

Vice Mayor Jacobs: Candidates Have Real Chance to Talk About Climate Change

Kudos to Vice Mayor Kristin Jacobs of Broward County, FL, who co-authored a powerful op-ed in the Florida Sun Sentinel about the need for federal leaders to get serious about the threats of climate change to America's communities, and for President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney to address climate change in their final debate.

She writes:

The focus of the debate will be foreign policy which is ideal for this topic since climate change is a global issue of relevance to all people, and all nations.  Southeast Florida communities have rolled up their sleeves and jumped into this challenge with enthusiasm and a "can-do" attitude.  Now is the time for a broader partnership to address this local, regional and national issue.

New Milestone: 1,000 Businesses Use ICLEI's Green Business Challenge Web App

More good news on ICLEI’s Green Business Challenge program: One thousand businesses across the country have now used our Green Business Challenge Web App to accelerate their environmental performance, saving incredible amounts of energy, money, water, and waste.

Local Governments Help Businesses Win

The Challenge is the nation’s most exciting and innovative green business program. This fun and friendly competition between local businesses rewards those who make the biggest gains in environmental performance over the course of a year. The Challenge is one of the most successful and cost-effective ways that any local government can help its local businesses go green—and make progress toward community-wide climate and energy goals.

ICLEI’s Web App is the centerpiece of any successful Challenge program—from Chicago and Houston to Bellevue and San Diego—and 1,000 users shows that this is a proven tool.

Steps to a Successful Solar RFP

With autumn upon us, we at The Solar Foundation are ready to share the fruits of our labor. That’s right: TSF has come out with a brand new informational product for you to read and share with your local government reps!

Today's release of Steps to a Successful Solar RFP builds upon our commitment to help local governments “go solar.” Our new issue brief, produced as part of our work with the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Solar Outreach Partnership, helps reduce the hurdles to going solar by providing local governments with the requisite knowledge to develop successful Requests for Proposals (RFPs). In this brief, readers will learn the essential elements of a solar RFP, receive guidance in evaluating proposals, and be directed to a bevy of resources, tools, and sample documents to optimize their solar procurement efforts.

Communities Built to Last: Charting the Road to Resilience

Communities Built to Last: Charting the Road to Resilience from U.S. Green Building Council on Vimeo.

Did you miss the National Leadership Speaker Series on Resiliency & Security in the 21st Century, hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council and ICLEI on Oct. 1 at the National Press Club? We featured three leading local elected officials who are taking steps to ensure the resilience of their communities in the face of climate and energy challenges.

The Tides They Are A-Changin’

Guest Blogger: Alden Meyer, Union of Concerned Scientists:

Even as all too many politicians continue to question the very existence of human-induced climate change, cities and counties in Florida and other coastal states are already struggling with the reality of sea level rise and are looking at billions of dollars in expenditures to deal with its impacts.

Today, more than 120 Floridians with expertise on sea level rise — scientists, engineers, city and county officials, and others — sent a letter to President Obama and Governor Romney, asking them to address sea level rise when they’re in Florida on October 22 for the final presidential debate in Boca Raton and to say what they would do to help Florida and other states deal with this very real threat.