Club Grassroots Cool Cities Efforts Gather Momentum

June 3, 2013

by the Eastern Missouri Group Energy Committee

Reducing energy consumption in our communities can reduce or even eliminate the need for dirty, expensive new coal-burning power plants that dump tons of air and global warming pollution into our environment.

That’s one reason why the Club’s Cool Cities campaign, to solve global warming one city at a time, has taken off both here in Missouri and around the country.

What’s Cool Cities? In a nutshell, Cool Cities is a campaign that takes the “act locally” approach to global warming. It frames practical solutions under three headings: Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, and Green Car Fleets. And it draws on proven examples. By looking at how cities around the country are already reducing their dependence on coal, oil, and natural gas, we can duplicate those solutions, and more, in our own communities.

The cornerstone of Cool Cities is the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement. The agreement, initiated by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels last year, is a pledge which mirrors the international Kyoto Treaty on climate change. It calls for citywide carbon dioxide reductions of 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

The Agreement offers something for every city no matter how large or small by suggesting a wide array of actions to choose from. (See excerpted Agreement, sidebar). By early February this year, 210 mayors from 38 states representing 42.5 million Americans had signed the pledge and are in the process of developing action plans and implementing energy-saving measures which also save taxpayer dollars.

At press time, seven Missouri mayors were on board, thanks to the Sierra Club’s grassroots efforts. Here’s how the EMG Energy Committee did it—and how you can get your mayor to take action.

First, at numerous Club meetings and at community events where the Sierra Club has a table or booth, volunteer energy activists have asked literally hundreds of citizens to sign letters asking their mayor to sign onto the Agreement. After sorting them by city, we mailed those letters to the mayors with a copy of the Agreement to sign.

Individual volunteers then followed up with phone calls to their own mayors. They explained what the Agreement is and provided additional information such as the Sierra Club’s informative, full-color “Cool Cities” guide and website: http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/coolcities.

In several cases, volunteers have had face-to-face meetings with their mayors or the mayor’s staff. Sometimes, volunteers have asked influential community leaders to get involved, such as pastors of churches, business owners, and education or health representatives.

To bring in greater expertise on specific solutions and to create even broader community support, we have joined forces with partners like the U.S. Green Building Council of Greater St. Louis, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, and the St. Louis Community Air Project.

And we are using media strategically: we’ve generated a number of news stories about mayors signing the Agreement, urging other mayors to follow suit. News stories not only develop broader public awareness, they can also influence mayors who are considering joining the effort.

The result of this strategy? In St. Louis alone, the mayors of St. Louis City, Clayton, University City, Florissant, Maplewood, and Sunset Hills have signed onto the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, and many other mayors are seriously considering it. We haven’t stopped there; to underscore the need for action, we continue to send these mayors “Thank-you” and “Reminder” letters, urging them to implement specific energy-saving measures. We plan to hold an Earth Day news event to thank these mayors for their leadership and highlight the cities’ action plans.

In Kansas City, too, energy activists are helping to develop a strong action plan that reduces the city’s energy consumption and the need for a new coal-burning power plant.

To some, global warming seems overwhelming. The key is thinking globally and acting locally, starting with our own communities. By working together to accomplish clearly-defined goals, we can turn wishes into reality. Successful campaigns breed more success, inspiring others to work toward solutions.

Make your city a Cool City! For helpful materials and resources, please go to http://missouri.sierraclub.org.

The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (abbreviated)

We will strive to meet or exceed Kyoto Protocol targets for reducing global warming pollution by taking actions in our own operations and communities such as:

Inventory global warming emissions in City operations and in the community, set reduction targets and create an action plan.

  • Adopt and enforce land-use policies that reduce sprawl, preserve open space, and create compact, walkable urban communities;
  • Promote transportation options such as bicycle trails, commute trip reduction programs, incentives for car pooling and public transit;
  • Increase the use of clean, alternative energy by, for example, investing in “green tags”, advocating for the development of renewable energy resources, and recovering landfill methane for energy production;
  • Make energy efficiency a priority through building code improvements, retrofitting city facilities with energy efficient lighting and urging employees to conserve energy and save money;
  • Purchase only Energy Star equipment and appliances for City use;
  • Practice and promote sustainable building practices using the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program or a similar system;
  • Increase the average fuel efficiency of municipal fleet vehicles; reduce the number of vehicles;
  • launch an employee education program including anti-idling messages; convert diesel vehicles to bio-diesel;
  • Evaluate opportunities to increase pump efficiency in water and wastewater systems; recover wastewater treatment methane for energy production;
  • Increase recycling rates in City operations and in the community;
  • Maintain healthy urban forests; promote tree planting to increase shading and to absorb CO2; and
  • Help educate the public, schools, other jurisdictions, professional associations, business and industry about reducing global warming pollution.

To read the full agreement and get the sign-on page to give to your own mayor, please go tohttp://seattle.gov/mayor/climate, or email jill.miller@sierraclub.org.