Changes in the wind

Get ready to alter your lifestyle as agencies reduce carbon footprint

By Steve Law

The Portland Tribune, Nov 26, 2009 (28 Reader comments)

L.E. BASKOW / TRIBUNE PHOTO

The regional Climate Action Plan, one of the nation’s most aggressive proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, could force big changes on the future of a well-lit Portland skyline.

So you think sorting out recyclables into yellow bins is a hassle, and biking to work instead of driving is a big sacrifice?

You haven’t seen anything yet.

Like it or not, our lives will change in myriad ways as humans scramble to avoid a catastrophic rise in global temperature. Nowhere is that clearer than in Portland and Multnomah County, which recently adopted one of the nation’s most aggressive and comprehensive plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global warming.

The new Climate Action Plan spells out ways local residents, businesses and governments can slash greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030, and 80 percent by 2050. Scientists say that’s the scale of reductions needed locally and worldwide to prevent the worst impacts of global warming.

Looming lifestyle changes will affect how you heat and power your home, how you get around town, even the food you eat and the products you buy.

Many changes will be triggered by state and federal laws and world treaties, especially a proposed cap on greenhouse gas emissions. That will effectively add a surcharge onto a host of products to reflect the carbon emissions involved in making and transporting those goods. Everything from the coal used to heat your home to the imported bananas on your morning cereal will get more pricey.

Many other changes could flow from city and county policies designed to uphold the new Climate Action Plan.

Actions suggested in the plan aren’t “just a wish list,” says Susan Anderson, director of the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Rather, they will be used to forge new policies, ordinances, incentives and public spending designed to meet the stringent emissions targets.

Here are some ambitious goals established by the plan and how they may affect you:

How you get around

Portland motorists are expected to slash the miles they drive, from the current 18.5 miles a day to 13.3 miles daily within 20 years, and a scant 6.8 miles a day by 2050. The average car on Portland streets should get 40 miles per gallon within 20 years, according to the Climate Action Plan.

Bike commuting in Portland, already eight times the national average, should triple by 2030. That means one-fourth of all commutes should be by bike, putting us in league with Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

By next year, the city should add 15 miles of new bike boulevards. By 2012, the city should assure that students in all Portland schools have a safe way to walk or bike to school. That would require redesigned or added sidewalks, street lights and bike paths.

Diesel fuel sold in local gas stations would contain at least 10 percent biofuels within three years.

Policymakers should lobby to get high-speed passenger train service connecting Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. That would be akin to the fast trains connecting Washington, D.C., to New York and Boston, and in Europe and Japan.

Your home

By 2030, existing homes should reduce the energy they use by 25 percent. The city and county should pump $50 million into their experimental Clean Energy Works project, helping Multnomah County residents weatherize their homes, add rooftop solar and other energy-saving devices with no out-of-pocket costs. Homeowners pay for those improvements with monthly payments on their utility bills, spread across 15 to 20 years. But those payments are structured to equal homeowners’ monthly energy savings, so, in theory, no additional costs are incurred.

Electricity use per person should plummet 35 percent by 2030 and 68 percent by 2050. Natural gas usage should fall 21 percent by 2030 and 74 percent by 2050

By 2012, each home in the city will have an energy performance rating, so would-be buyers and tenants know the likely energy costs.

By 2030, one-tenth of all energy used in the county should come from on-site renewable sources, such as solar, windmills, geothermal or neighborhood energy systems, such as those used in Europe.

Local leaders should work to reduce the use of coal and natural gas in Portland’s electricity mix.

Homes built after 2030 should achieve “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions, the holy grail of green building design.

Your neighborhood

Neighborhoods must be designed so that 90 percent of Portland residents, and 80 percent of Multnomah County residents, can easily walk to meet daily needs other than work, by 2030. That means neighborhood groceries, drug stores, eateries, laundromats and pubs must be reachable within a 20-minute walk.

The city will add streetcar service on the inner-east side within three years, and begin planning the next streetcar expansion.

Most residents should be able to safely walk or bike to work, or to commuter bus or rail stops, by 2030.

One-third of Portland should be covered by trees by 2030, up from about one-fourth now. Trees must line at least half the length of streams and rivers inside the city, by 2030.

City and county authorities will oppose expansion of the regional urban growth boundary, with the possible exception of industrial lands. And they should lobby for the minimum amount of urban reserves, which are next in line for inclusion inside the boundary.

Your food

Unspecified measures will be taken to get residents to eat more locally grown food. By 2012, the city should add 1,000 more community garden plots, so residents can grow their own produce. Officials also will promote farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture, where city residents team up to buy local farm products, being planted as part of the Bureau of Environmental Services’ Grey to Green initiative.

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