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

"When politics enter into municipal government, nothing resulting therefrom in the way of crimes and infamies is then incredible. It actually enables one to accept and believe the impossible..."
-- Mark Twain, letter to Jules Hart, 12/17/1901

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CSCC 2009 Opening Remarks
by Aleta Miller

Welcome, everyone/ladies and gentlemen, to the 2009 Citizens State of the City and County address. My name is Aleta Miller, project coordinator Environmental Center of Sustainability or ECOS, a local non-profit group located here in Eugene. I would like to introduce our presenters and give you an idea of what will be ahead in the next hour.

I will be the first presenter today - Agriculture as if Food Security Mattered speaking on the topic of local food production, infrastructure revitalization and suggested initiatives for implementation and action.

Next, will be 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. 

Robert Emmons - President of LandWatch Lane County, a non-profit dedicated to stopping sprawl onto farm and forestland will be our next presenter. 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

The next presenter will be Samantha Chirillo of Cascadia's Ecosystem Advocates who will highlight how clear cutting, large -scale native public forest thinning and forest bio mass extraction for electricity and liquid fuel would destabilize our climate and economy.

And finally ending our address will be Jan Spencer of 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

Before I begin my presentation the group responsible for producing the address wanted to let the audience know what the intention for creating an event of this sort was. To put the issue bluntly, all of the presenters realize that on the personal, household, municipal, national and global level we are out of time—the impacts of oil depletion and the technology dependent on it, the degradation and instability of the environment and its myriad networks of community and relationships and a grim economic future that is most certainly different than anything the world has ever known--all of these factors are racing towards us on an unprecedented global scale. Although there is no way to predict how or when these changes will affect any of us, to be sure the world as we know it will change in deep and profound ways and will most likely never return to its current state.

Now, on that cheery note, let me say this is not a presentation of gloom and doom. On the contrary, the group wanted to provide the audience information and resources to address mitigating the upcoming changes. Our resources are as local and up-to date as possible enabling those interested to take action, become involved and make a difference on more than just the personal level. Although all efforts are important towards mitigation, the time for a greater scale of proportion and delivery of those steps is fundamentally and unavoidably necessary.

All of us eat- and all of us need to have a secure food supply to insure health and well-being. A complete regional food system increases a region's food self-reliance and strengthens the local economy. There are many pieces to a discussion of food security and local food systems and any analysis must include some fundamental components to be complete. These would be the food infrastructure of growing, harvesting, processing, storage and transportation. Next would include the means to achieve these items, namely fuel for machinery and labor for all the related aspects of agriculture. Finally, a mechanism to encourage equitable access to more local food production by all community members

First, lets define the term food security. The United State Department of Agriculture uses the following definition:

Food security means access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum (1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and (2) an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).

I would add one more element to this definition, namely the affordability of nutritious, acceptable and safe food.

The central focus for increased food security in Lane County needs to be the steady rebuilding of the regional food system which currently is little more than skeletal; however, we do have the most critical ingredients namely: plenty of fertile farmland, a reasonably mild maritime climate, and an agricultural history that includes a complete and working food system. Following are some of the critical pieces for revitalizing our local food security-

Farmland must be protected from development. The efforts of the Eugene City planners to implement densification of urban areas is commendable and a real alternative to sprawl into rural areas. Additionally, farmland and rural zoning must be reviewed to address the real need for multi-family dwellings and mixed-use zoning on rural property for the benefit of production, economic activity and diversification.

Next, as increased costs of fossil fuel based fertilizers continue, which is one of the cornerstones of current agricultural productivity levels, more integrated and biologically based methods of soil building and renewal will become necessary. There are multitudes of local farms already doing this and more will come online with depletion of petroleum products and the attendant rise in costs.

Looking at a diverse array of food crops to grow in Lane County is another key piece to food system health. Currently, grass seed is the major crop grown, which is then exported away from the area. The Willamette Bean and Grain Project has done research for the last two years and found that many varieties of beans, grains and edible seeds can successfully be grown in our area. Provable methods and economic viability for area grass seed growers transitioning to grain or bean production will need to be addressed and supported in as many ways possible.

Processing, storage and transportation take up the next set of components in a revitalized local food system. Small scale, decentralized processing and storage facilities are preferable due to the costs involved with transportation, both economic and ecological. There is currently no existing processing or storage facilities locally to address these issues on the scale required. The funding for this kind of infrastructure and support would be massive and there are yet no clear solutions for this need.

Transportation is another area where decentralization would provide a more stable delivery of locally produced crops to urban areas. Namely, if low-scale on site farm ethanol and biodiesel production was supported fuel produced could be designated to servicing only food related purposes, such as transportation. There are a number of local efforts throughout Oregon addressing this scenario with research and development, such as Umpqua Bio-Alternatives Cooperative in Roseburg.

If the predictions for oil depletion are correct-with attendant price increases-farmers may have to choose between crop fertilization and tractor use. Again the low scale bio-fuel model could prove beneficial—just to be clear I am not talking about corn or soy for this—addressing the fuel source as well as providing a useful waste product from the process to be used as fertilizer on soils.

Who will do the labor for all of this new development in crop production? There is not enough encouragement, either financially or socially, for young people to enter the path of farming. Developing more outreach with curriculum and on-farm experiences to students at all grade levels may prove beneficial. Also, revival and participation in Oregon’s grange system in Lane County would enable the recovery of a wealth of knowledge, tools and resources. These state treasures are fading rapidly as the old timers of our rural communities are leaving this world.

Movement towards smaller scale acreages could also address labor. Urban residents interested in being part of local food production could be part of a cooperative or work share arrangement. Many people and a tractor can grow a lot of food in less time than a single farmer.

The continued countywide participation in Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) community gardens, as well as home and school gardens will remain essential. Growing food right out ones back door or down the street provides food security and community connection like few other activities. Additionally, food-buying groups may see a resurgence and growth especially with the many local varieties of commodity crops that would be available from crop diversification.

Collaborations and coalitions abound in the area of food security, both regionally and nationally. Making those efforts more effective requires participation by the community. I have compiled a resource list of local groups for individuals to contact and investigate. This is an area of vast local activity with so many different programs and projects available nearly everyone can find something to participate in.

A revitalized and resilient food system is the most important element to real local food security. Securing its future in methods and practices that can carry us forward through this century and beyond is the best kind of crop we can all have a part in planting. I encourage everyone to begin planting something soon.