Portland, Oregon has reached its goal of reducing carbon emissions below its 1990 levels per the Kyoto Accord. They are not stopping there.

I have just navigated to the City of Portland, Oregon's Office of Sustainable Development website, http://www.portlandonline.com/osd. This city department was created in September 2000 by merging Portland's Solid Waste & Recycling Division with the City's Energy Office which housed their green building programs and staffed the Sustainable Development Commission.

The mission of the Office of Sustainable Development (OSD) is "to provide leadership and contribute practical solutions to ensure a prosperous community where people and nature thrive, now and in the future."

The OSD home page has a wealth of information for Portland residents: Information on waste reduction and recycling, transportation services, resources for green building, how to start recycling and green practices at work, links to solar installation options, a pep talk from one of the City Commissioners, and more. The tone is friendly, but doesn't mince words: "Although many people believe the cause of air pollution is industry, it's actually you and me."

In 1993 Portland became the first U.S. city to adopt a strategy to combat Global Warming. Their target was to drop emissions below the level of 1990 per the Kyoto Accord. This summer they achieved this goal. And they did it without damaging their economy as predicted by naysayers.

Portland is not resting on its laurels. The city has an aggressive action plan to further reduce CO2 emissions to 10% below 1990 levels by 2010. On a per capita basis, emissions in Portland and the county in which it is located, have fallen 12.5% since 1993. Nationally, emissions have increased about 13% over the same period.

Portland has experienced a 75% growth in public transit since 1990. Nearly 40 green buildings have been constructed. Since 1996 over 750,000 trees and shrubs have been planted. In two years 10,000 multifamily units and 800 homes have been weatherized.

Other cities are following Portland's example. There are now four so-called "Cool Cities" on the Central Coast: Capitola, Pacific Grove, Santa Cruz, and now Monterey. If your city is not on the list, contact your city leaders and let them know you want them to start taking action today. Encourage your city staff to check out the Portland Office of Sustainable Development for ideas.

To find out more visit http://coolcities.us.

—Debbie Bulger

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