Eugene Climate and Energy Action Plan: a mix of good intentions, greenwash and self-censorship

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Citizens State of the
City and County

policies and visions to address
economic, energy and ecological crises

When: Monday, January 12, 2009, 12 Noon to 1 P.M.
Where: Harris Hall, Lane County Auditorium, 8th and Oak Streets, Eugene
Who: citizen experts on the critical issues of our time

Press contacts:
Jan Spencer, (541) 686-6761, spencerj at efn.org
Aleta Miller, (541) 543-9103, vayamaji at att.net

CSCC Speakers and Topics

Food: Agriculture as if Food Security Mattered

Aleta Miller, Environmental Center of Sustainability. Aleta will discuss how the city and county can cooperate to strengthen food security, one of the most important goals for any healthy community. Relocalizing food production will become critical as transportation and fossil fuel based fertilizer continue to adversely affect cost, quality and availability of food. Analysis of needed infrastructure development for processing, storage and distribution will be addressed. The CSCC report includes a proposal to use the Lane County Fairgrounds as a hub for a new initiative to help make our region's food supply more self sufficient.

Transportation Choices

Mark Robinowitz, author of “Road Scholar: Transportation Choices at the End of the Age of Oil.” Mark will explain why Federal, State, County and City governments want massive increases in highway funding to “stimulate” the economy. These proposals include widening Beltline, Route 126 in Springfield and Interstate 5. However, traffic levels on Oregon State highways (and nationally) have “peaked” due to gasoline price increases. Recent decreases in the cost of oil are only temporary, we have either reached peak oil or are close to it. Peak Traffic, Peak Oil and increasingly constrained transportation funds mean that our priorities should shift to road and bridge repair, relocating highway funds from widening I-5 and building new roadways to upgrading regional rail service such as the Amtrak Cascades. Policy shifts should also increase funding to prevent planned cuts in Lane Transit District’s bus service.

Land Use: The Future Will Not be Like the Past

Robert Emmons, President of LandWatch Lane County, a non-profit dedicated to stopping sprawl onto farm and forest land. Bob will describe the consequences of weak regulation, lack of enforcement and the State's “Big Look” land use task force for City and County planning efforts. Emmons will describe some alternative means by which Lane County might achieve environmental health and economic resilience.

Forests: Restoration and Preservation

Samantha Chirillo, Cascadia's Ecosystem Advocates. Samantha will highlight how clearcutting, large-scale native public forest thinning and forest bio mass extraction for electricity and liquid fuel would destabilize our climate and economy. Chirillo will explain how policy and budgets should be redirected towardrestoration and preservation efforts that would provide clean drinking water,moist, fertile soil for growing food and provide greater economic security in both rural and urban communities. Removing poorly maintained logging roads, planting trees and trail repair surrounding urban areas are important restoration strategies that will also create thousands of green, living wage jobs. Applying tax incentives to forestry practices that have the lowest impact on stored carbon and waterways is also a key preservation strategy.

Letter from the Future: Benefits from Smart Choices

Jan Spencer, The Suburban Permaculture Project. Jan will present a “letter from the future.” The letter describes a future in 2025 greatly benefited by timely region wide policy changes in 2010. Lifestyles are far closer to home with people in town living much closer to where they work and shop. In rural areas nearly all agricultural land is in production for local food, fiber, and energy. Rural towns are revitalized thanks to visionary land use restoration and protection policies 15 years earlier. The region is linked by a network of biogas buses and electric railroads. Many economic and environmental challenges remain but there are numerous positive outcomes to this more local way of life in terms of public health, community cohesion, ecosystem vitality and economic stability.