Yesterday, 300spartansgym wrote a diary at SquareState announcing Gov. Bill Ritter's "Strategy to Address Global Warming". [applause for Gov. Ritter and 300spartansgym] That diary was posted while I was reading through the governor's plan and formulating what I wanted to cover. Next time, I'll read and post faster!
More seriously, I wanted to present some of the details of the plan and share my viewpoint on them, in the hope that doing so will produce some discussion.
The pdf version of Ritter's plan is here.
There's a lot of 'there' there, so I'm going to submit two diaries: one today and hopefully one tomorrow. I welcome others' thoughts and reactions to the plan.
Let's get to it...
First of all, I want to talk a little about the overarching language and framing that the Governor used in this report. His opening message identifies global warming (GW) as our generation's greatest environmental challenge. He unequivocally states that "the scientific evidence that human activities are the principal cause of a warming planet is clear". That language is exactly what our elected officials need to be using. The issue really isn't left or right, it's non-political. The time for action is now and Gov. Ritter has risen to that challenge.
Another important message is seen further into his opening message: "We can reduce global warming and keep our economy strong and vibrant." The choice Republicans frequently offer, that of the economy or our globe, is false. The exact opposite has been shown to be true: transitioning our society to reduce our impact on our planet boosts the economy. New technologies and new jobs are invented and created. Everyone will end up benefiting from the necessary changes before us.
If nothing else, take a few minutes to read the report's executive summary. It identifies broad methods to address the situation and includes some details and goals under each. I do like the fact that Gov. Ritter's office has obviously spent a good deal of time taking an honest look at what Coloradans will need to do moving forward. He recognizes that since GW affects everybody, we all need to do as much as possible to address it.
Gov. Ritter also recognizes that future events will likely shift from how we think they'll turn out. He conscientiously labels his plan a living document. As someone who is trying to pay close attention to this issue, I'm grateful Ritter recognizes the uncertainty involved with correctly diagnosing conditions. I think the current state of our climate system is in worse condition than most people realize. I worry that a climate system tipping point, one of the largest unknowns in climate dynamics, may already have been reached. I am heartened however that we in Colorado have a Governor who is finally willing to do something about it.
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The paper presents the science surrounding GW. I will assume that readers know these basics and make only one point: when scientists state that the global average temperature increased by 1.4 degrees F in the last century, keep in mind the Earth is pretty big compared to us. Local effects might differ markedly from that average, as the map on this National Geographic page demonstrates (press continue on the main page to see the map). Large temperature increases at the poles can have calamitous effects on the remainder of the globe.
The report continues by identifying impacts on Colorado, both today and in the future. I hope we're all aware that we could be forced to deal with short, warm winters with little snowfall. That directly impacts water availability. We could see longer periods of intense drought. The most recent drought wasn't extremely severe, but remember the effect it had on reservoir levels. With shorter winters comes more beetle damage in the mountains. Wildfire seasons might become longer and more intense. The energy grid will be more stressed as more people run air conditioning to help stay cool. This would come at the same time that we need to reduce our dependency on the old, polluting energy systems.
As opposed to our last governor, Ritter recognizes the value that places like NREL and research universities possess. They can, should and will partner with businesses to help move all of us into a new way of doing things.
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Where do greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from in Colorado? According to the report, the biggest three sources are electricity consumption (36%), transportation (23%), and residential/commercial use (10%). Other big contributors include industrial fuel use, agriculture, and the fossil fuel industry.
Two big goals are presented, and this is where my first disagreement with the plan appears. By 2020, Ritter wants to reduce Colorado's GHG emissions by 20% from 2005 levels. By 2050, the goal is an 80% reduction from 2005 levels. I don't think this is aggressive enough. I would really prefer the same reductions referenced to an earlier date, such as 1990. I fear that as a result of discussing solutions with all parties, Ritter ended up weighting the business side of things a little too much. I realize cutting our emissions to 20% of 2005 levels will take effort and require capital. I don't think business people and economists are taking into account enough the cost of less aggressive reductions in the long-term. Part of that problem is correctly identifying what those costs are and right now, I also don't think a robust assessment exists. But that's why I'm glad the plan is living. As more evidence of effects come to light and we understand those costs, I think the goals will grow more aggressive.
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The next part of the report is where all the details come into play. I'm going to cover most of them in my next diary.
I think it's incredible that we have elected officials responding to a large population within the state who care about this issue. They've made their voices heard, in many cases for many years. Finally, we're seeing real policies to deal with global warming come to reality. I think this serves as proof that acting locally can have an impact on the larger political scene. And the more good policies get enacted at the city and state level, the more pressure is placed on the federal government to act in kind. So let's keep the pressure on and change that national picture!
Cross-posted at SquareState