Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Obama Administration this morning released the deepest federal study to date of what climate change is doing to the United States. The study comes as officials from the city to the federal level weigh their responses. Rob Manning has more on what’s happening here in the West.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski Monday moderated one of the highest-powered climate change panels you’re likely to see.

The Western Governors’ Assocation hosted two cabinet secretaries, the sitting president of the World Bank, and President Obama’s top environmental advisor, Nancy Sutley. She’s the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.

Nancy Sutley: “The drought in the Southwest and in California, we talked about the impact on forests of the pine beetle, and certainly we’ve seen wildfires, coming from Califorina, we’ve seen wildfires at times of the year, that we’ve never experienced them before.”

Wildfires and insect outbreaks are also big risks for the Northwest, according to a new report from the Obama Administration . It shows that Northwest snowpack has diminished over the last 50 years as much as 60 percent. Future problems include hotter water for salmon, and likely flooding on the Oregon coast.

Federal energy secretary and noted physicist, Stephen Chu, said the science isn’t in doubt.

Stephen Chu: “From a purely scientific point of view, you want to be fairly aggressive – and it’s really about how you bring along the general public, not only of the United States, but of the world.”

Gary Herbert: “I know I’m kind of new to this issue, at least in my observation, I’m not sure the science is conclusive.”

That’s the incoming governor of Utah, Gary Herbert.

Gary Herbert: “I’ve heard people argue on both sides of this issue – people I have a high regard for.”

Plenty of Utah reporters were at the Park City meeting, and they made Herbert’s doubts front-page news in today’s Utah papers. 

There’s not much skepticism like that in Salem these days. But environmental lobbyists, like Evan Manvel, with the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, say the sluggish economy has slowed climate bills.

Evan Manvel: “ While the session’s not done yet, we’re looking at them taking at best, baby steps forward, and at worst, several steps backward in addressing the climate change problem.”

Many lawmakers across the west have gotten cold feet about global warming, because of possible negative effects on the economy. But leaders in Portland, at least, aren’t flinching.

Mayor Sam Adams presented the joint Portland-Multnomah County draft climate change action plan last night, at a public meeting downtown. City studies show Portland cut carbon emissions from 2000 to 2004, but made little progress since then. To cut emissions 80 percent by 2050, Portland has to start cutting emissions again. 

Sam Adams: “2050 seems like a long time out, and the question about ‘who’s going to hold us accountable?’ – um, to achieve these goals through 2050, we’ve set some interim goals.”

The plan has 64 proposed actions – all with enactment deadlines, three years from now. The steps range from installing new solar panels, to planting trees and community gardens, to charging people to drive.

Adams says some of the policies – including putting a price on driving – will press people to change how they live, to help fight global warming.

Sam Adams: “Thirty seconds of thought ahead of time about what you need to go get, has to be done in one trip instead of four – does that diminish your quality of life? And if you do it off-peak, where you’re paying fifty cents to build in that incentive?” 

On the energy side, Adams is offering money, rather than charging it. Adams would offer a total of two and a half million dollars in federal stimulus money for low interest energy loans.

Sam Adams: “We loan the upfront cash needed to do the new furnace, the installation, the new windows, what it takes to become a more energy-efficient home. And to be able to provide that financing and pay-off on your utility bill.”

Adams says the value of the efficiency projects would more than make up the added cost of the loans.

In the end, there were a few steps that even green advocates like Mayor Adams shied away from. For instance, staffers say that consuming beef and dairy produces a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. But officials aren’t willing to push all Portlanders to go vegetarian.

Read the city-county draft climate change action plan, and see the schedule of upcoming public meetings.