I found this a little odd:Fairfax County officials have recommended against joining a nationwide effort by local governments to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, saying more study is needed to determine a realistic goal.I have a feeling any benchmark year can be attacked for being an anomaly. The population growth, the flux in government facilities, the shifts in traffic patters - the arguments against a 1990 benchmark could apply to almost any year.Since early last year, more than 300 cities -- including Baltimore, Richmond and Alexandria -- have signed on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. The initiative, modeled on the Kyoto Protocol and the Sierra Club's Cool Cities program, calls for the communities to reduce production of carbon dioxide to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012....
County Executive Anthony H. Griffin told the board's environmental committee yesterday that although Fairfax takes climate change seriously, 1990 is not the right year for a baseline. Because many county offices were in leased buildings that year, he said, it would be difficult to gather the required information. He said the county's enormous population growth since 1990 also makes the year a questionable benchmark.
"We recognize that there is a problem," Griffin said. "What we're a little concerned about is setting goals when we don't know what the data is." He said the county needs a more detailed picture of carbon sources before a rational plan can be pursued.
Sure, there is recognition of a problem. But insisting on more data before committing to carbon emission reductions sounds like something out of the playbook of global warming skeptics.
Rob, you got it exactly right - they're calling a play straight out of the "there's no problem here" handbook. Maybe they can't feel the changes because their heads are buried deep in the sand. Arguing about which year is a good base year for a study is not "taking climate change seriously".
Call his office and talk to him or his staff, he listens and I have found he acts as well....
Another good example of this is the speed and strength of the letters he personally put out to all our elected officials on the county's stand on the communication reform bill that was attacking Internet Net Neutrality and all the consumer services that were being yielded to big business to our detriment. On this bill Davis, Wolf, and Allen all voted to screw us all over, to the specific benefit of the big phone companies.
The idea that we can't commit to greenhouse gas reductions because our data from 1990 are only so-so is the lamest excuse since "the dog ate my homework." Data are never perfect -- you work with the best estimates you've got.
Fairfax County is falling farther and farther behind its neighbors on environmental issues. While Arlington and Montgomery County lead the nation on issues like green building and renewable energy, Fairfax looks for excuses.
Fairfax is the largest county in the Washington metro area and one of the wealthiest in the United States of America. We can do better. We can and must set an example, rather than serving as an embarrassment.
Okay, that's it, I'm saving the rest of my rants for the County Board. Please go here to share your opinions with them as well.