Climate Change Accelerates. Jacksonville, a coastal city does Nothing.

[urbanlibertarian]

How much have the oceans risen so far?

[gatorback]

 Basically the thawing of the permafrost is the immediate issue for our Alaskan  brothers, then significant sea level changes.

[riverkeepered]

JEA kills plans for Taylor County power plant

Jacksonville Business Journal - July 3, 2007

JEA and three utility partners have scrapped plans for a coal-fired power plant in Taylor County on the eve of a summit on climate change called by Gov. Charlie Crist.

The Taylor Energy Center was a $2 billion project in which JEA was a 30-percent partner. The other partners are Florida Municipal Power Agency, the city of Tallahassee and Reedy Creek Improvement District.

JEA and its partners have a contract to buy a 3,200-acre piece of land for $16 million for an 800-megawatt power plant, but growing concerns about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions caused the partners to scrap the project.

Project manager Mike Lawson said the goal is to provide affordable power while remaining environmentally responsible.

"We believe the state-of-the-art technology we proposed would satisfy those objectives," Lawson said. "However, growing concerns about climate change have raised questions that must be addressed thoughtfully."

The Florida Global Summit on Climate Change, called by Crist and scheduled for July 12-13 in Miami, will include appearances by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

JEA spokeswoman Gerri Boyce said the partners in the Taylor County project will move forward with the land acquisition and are looking at various options. The partners have so far spent $14.6 million on the project. 

Maybe, now that Crist has adamantly expressed his support for renewable energy solutions and conservation measures and his opposition to new coal-fired power plants, the City of Jax and JEA will start to see the writing on the wall.  I hope that this move by JEA and its partners signifies a change of direction.

[ELeroyReed]

I finally had a chance to read over the executive orders sign this past week by the governor on Climate Change.  In an effort to make heads or tails of it, I paraphrased the three orders along with the two agreements made between Florida and Germany and the UK.  Instead of reposting the ridiculous long paraphrase (imagine how long the originals are with the "Whereas"es and the "Thereuntos"es... )  it's available for reading at www.sustainabuild.net (my little niche of the blog world). 

I've got a few meetings set up with city officials in the next few weeks.  Would welcome some feedback before jumping in...  :-)

Thanks,

Ellen

[jaxhater]

I can't wait till its summer all year long.......Don't forget the sunscreen, kids!

[riverkeepered]

better late than never: peyton commits to fight global warming
July 19th, 2007 by Owen Holmes
Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton has signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, in which cities commit to scaling back their greenhouse-gas emissions in accordance with the international Kyoto Protocol’s target for the U.S.: to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Peyton’s prior and conspicuous lack of participation in the initiative has been covered continuously by Folio Weekly.

Peyton spokesperson Susie Wiles tells Folio Weekly that until recently, all conversation about committing to greenhouse-gas reductions had been related to The Sierra Club’s Cool Cities program, which the Mayor’s Office and The Sierra Club discussed about a year ago. Peyton promised to consider joining the program, but after JEA urged him not to, he “somewhat reluctantly” decided to back away, says Wiles, rather than commit to something unattainable.

“We were persuaded we could not meet [the goals of Cool Cities],” says Wiles. Nonetheless, Peyton remained interested in making efforts to fight global warming, she says.

More recently, and after learning more about the USMCPA from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Peyton was formally asked to join the agreement by Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. Perhaps anticipating federally mandated greenhouse-gas cuts (post-2008, obviously), the city of Jacksonville’s lobbyists in Washington also advised Peyton to do so. JCCI’s recently released report on local air quality was also a factor, says Wiles.

In fact, Peyton signed the agreement six or seven weeks ago, Wiles estimates. Because the city is still mapping out the plan it will implement to meet USMCPA goals, Wiles declined to talk about specific measures. What with all this budget business, the Mayor’s Office isn’t planning to announce the decision until late this summer, she says.

Sorry to spoil it, guys.

Philip Ramsey of the Jacksonville Carbon Neutral Initiative, a group that was founded chiefly to lobby the mayor to join the USMCPA but has since expanded its mission, reacted to the news with a bit of skepticism. The schedule for reducing greenhouse gases laid out in Gov. Crist’s recently issued executive orders â€" to 2000 levels by 2017, to 1990 levels by 2025, and to 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050 â€" is superior to and more realistic than that of the USMCPA, he says.

Even if only symbolic, Peyton’s decision to commit to specific climate-protection goals is exciting news for local environmentalists. Now comes the hard part â€" Wiles says Peyton will soon have to begin persuading his city “partners” to get onboard the effort to fight global warming.

I just saw this on the Folio Weekly blog, Flog.   I have to say that I am very surprised, but I think that it demonstrates the power and influence of the Governor and the tone and direction that he has set regarding climate change.  I was getting a little tired of Peyton and JEA pointing the finger at each other to explain their inaction on this issue.  Kudos to Mayor Peyton.   

[gatorback]

you are not alone jaxhater, aparently all retirees in fl feel the same...r u retired?

[zoo]

Kudos to Peyton on this one! He did the right thing. Now let's see what changes in day-to-day city policy/operations actually occur as a result.

[midnightblackrx]

The AIA has been promoting sustainability for quite some time...  some architects say that it's simply 'common sense' design.  The building industry is actively promoting in via USGBC's LEED standards.  Even BOMA is promoting energy efficiency in their buildings.  It would be wonderful to see government step up and make it happen as well.

Maybe you can design Al Gore's new mansion. His "carbon footprint" seems to be in the likes of Bigfoot.

Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
 
Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWhâ€"more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWhâ€"guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

[gatorback]

give me a break spelled nun ur bizness. Do u really think Al gore used that much electricity all by himself and don't you think it is small compared to say Bush or Arnold or martha gezz.

[riverkeepered]

While it may be fun to scrutinize Gore's energy consumption habits, this only serves to divert attention away from the real issue or problem.  I cannot speak to Al Gore's personal energy use, but I do know that he is playing a critical role in educating people and raising awareness around the world about the climate change crisis.  His message is valid, his facts are scientifically sound, and his impact has been phenomenal.  I would suggest that we focus on the problem at hand and the possible solutions and not allow ourselves to get sidetracked.  We need to put pressure on the decision-makers at this point and not the messenger.

[midnightblackrx]

I respectfully remain skeptical that a city, a state, a country, the world can control world climate. Mother nature is doing what she has always done...change.  I think many climate change theorists are stuck on the idea that the climate around the world has always remained stagnant until humans began destroying it. In reality, the Earth, it's climate are always in flux. 

The only hard "facts" on climate are from the last 200 years when limited historical climate records began.  The Earth is what...about 4.5 billion years old?!  That is such a small window to be looking through.  The entire climatology science is such an inexact science it barely can be classified as one.  Here is a challenge to climatologists: tell me what the weather will be like a year from now.  If you get that right, maybe I'll believe when you tell me what it will be like 50 years from now. 

[gatorback]

If you believe smog is "Mother Nature" at work, then I'd understand where you're coming from; however, the truth is automobiles cause smog.  We've proven that.  Let's face it, we haven't helped much in keeping our planet in the best shape.