The Eugene, Ore., City Council recently passed an ordinance aimed at steeply reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The city of 158,000wants to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 10% below 1990 levels by 2020, and reduce fossil fuel use by 50% by 2030.
Eugene is developing an energy inventory for its entire economy. After that is completed, it will consider voluntary energy-saving measures in the private sector, such as easier permitting for energy-efficient construction and energy performance scores for commercial buildings. The city will also consider other measures like commercial food-waste composting in restaurants and grocery stores to reduce methane emissions from landfills.
Eugene has made significant progress in reducing emissions recently from transportation without any concerted plan. Transportation emissions have dropped 2.5% per year since 2010, despite some population growth. This is largely due to economic and cultural shifts: the recession, the rise of telecommuting, online shopping and entertainment, transit, biking, more efficient cars, and higher gasoline prices. The city has encouraged these trends by improving bus service and developing a master plan for sidewalk and bike path improvements.
City government has rejected hard caps on emissions to date, focusing instead on voluntary measures and incentives for the private sector.
(http://grist.org/climate-energy/what-can-small-cities-do-to-fight-climate-change/)
Related Stories
| Dec 12, 2011
Philadelphia Mayor Signs Order for Project Labor Agreements
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed an executive order establishing project labor agreements for major public works projects in Philadelphia.
| Dec 12, 2011
Improved Code Requirements for Attic Ventilation
The International Code Council (ICC) recently published the 2012 International Residential Code (IRC) that includes improved code requirements for balanced intake and exhaust for ventilated attics.
| Dec 12, 2011
DOE makes 2010 ASHRAE energy standard the reference for state energy codes
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a ruling that establishes the 2010 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE’s) 2010 energy efficiency standard as the commercial building reference standard for state building energy codes.
| Dec 1, 2011
Chinese cabinet approves regulation to prevent fraud in construction bidding
China’s State Council approved a regulation to standardize bidding processes for construction and other business-related projects in order to prevent fraud and misconduct.
| Dec 1, 2011
More stringent efficiency codes driving growth in green building industry
Thanks partly to upgraded building codes, the building energy efficiency market will soar more than 50% between now and 2017 to $103.5 billion, according to Pike Research.
| Dec 1, 2011
Safety tracking tool helping prevent injuries at World Trade Center site
Since putting in place their Safety Management Systems Tracking Tool three years ago, risk managers for the World Trade Center project in New York say they've seen workplace injuries, reported hazards, and workers compensation claims decline.
| Dec 1, 2011
OSHA releases new construction safety videos
OSHA released new safety videos to offer both employers and workers brief, easy-to-understand education about construction safety.
| Dec 1, 2011
GSA Region 5 BIM standards could set national agenda in government contracting
Learning how the GSA wants to work with contractors using Building Information Models (BIM) will dramatically improve your odds of winning federal work.
| Nov 23, 2011
Fenestration council seeks committee members
The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) is seeking members for a committee to pursue recognition of its ratings procedures from the American National Standard Institute (ANSI).
| Nov 23, 2011
Obama signs repeal of 3% withholding on government contracts
President Obama signed a bill that repeals a law requiring governments to withhold 3% of payments over $10,000 to contractors.
