 |
City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
|
NEWS ADVISORY
|
| SUBJECT: Gore and Nickels to unveil next steps in fight against global warming
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
2/16/2006 3:00:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alex Fryer (206) 684-8358
|
Gore and Nickels to unveil next steps in fight against global warming
Recommendations will help Seattle meet Kyoto goals to cut greenhouse gasses
SEATTLE - Former Vice President Al Gore will join Mayor Greg Nickels next
month to announce a series of recommendations that will shape the city of Seattle’s
efforts to sharply reduce Seattle’s contributions to global warming pollution.
The announcement of Gore’s participation comes on the first anniversary
of the mayor’s challenge to cities across the country to join with Seattle
in pledging to meet, or beat, the emissions-reducing goals of the Kyoto Protocol.
To date, 204 cities and counting, have signed on to Nickels’s Climate
Protection Agreement.
Next month’s announcement will cap the work of the Mayor’s Green
Ribbon Commission on Climate Protection, which was appointed a year ago to
develop recommendations for how Seattle as a community can meet the Kyoto target.
“We have a lot to be proud of in Seattle,” Nickels said. “But
we have a lot of work left to do. We will continue to show the world that we
can power a city without toasting the planet. That we can fuel our economy
without fouling the air. And that we can protect the environment for generations
to come by making positive changes today.”
“We are facing a true planetary emergency,” Gore said, “but
we can solve it if we make the right choices. I applaud Seattle’s leadership
and am excited to join Mayor Nickels as he unveils his successful strategies
for climate protection.”
Gore is one of the nation’s leading voices on climate disruption. His
documentary film on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” recently
premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews.
The exact date of the Green Ribbon Commission announcement will be released
soon.
While the federal government has squandered the year since Kyoto took effect
without taking meaningful steps to address the growing threat of global warming,
Seattle has emerged as a national leader in the effort to cut greenhouse gas
emissions and protect our environment.
Nickels’s U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement challenge sparked
a grassroots effort that has garnered international attention and has underscored
the growing consensus that action is needed now to slow global warming.
In Seattle, the past year has seen tremendous progress in city government’s
efforts to cut emissions. Nickels announced today that the city of Seattle’s
fleet has cut the use of fossil fuels by 12 percent since 1999, largely by
converting to hybrid vehicles and using biodiesel in many of its heavy trucks.
“These changes have cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 2,400 tons
- the same as taking more than 500 cars off the road for a year,” Nickels
said.
The mayor launched the “Clean, Green Fleet Plan” in 2003, which
included downsizing the city’s fleet, replacing older compact sedans
with more fuel-efficient gas-electric hybrid cars, and discouraging the purchase
of new SUVs. In addition, new trucks come equipped with technology that automatically
turns off the engine while idling, to avoid unnecessary pollution, fuel consumption,
and cost.
Another impressive milestone was reached in November, when Seattle City Light
became the first major electric utility in the nation to achieve zero net greenhouse
gas emissions. As part of that effort, some cruise ships docking at Seattle’s
waterfront now get electric power from City Light so they can cut their engines
and reduce emissions. And the privately owned garbage trucks contracted by
the city, have switched to cleaner-burning biodiesel and ultra-low sulfur fuels
to help protect the climate and reduce pollution.
Other key actions the city is taking include efforts to reduce the city’s
use of paper by 30 percent, encourage neighborhood-based climate protection
projects through the Neighborhood Matching Fund Program, and increase the use
of climate-friendly materials such as slag cement in city projects. Seattle
has also developed one of the strongest green building programs in the nation.
“The time to act is now,” Nickels said. “In the absence
of leadership on the national level, it is up to us to lead by example here
in Seattle. We must take the steps necessary to address this fundamental threat
to our environment, our economy and our way of life.”
Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s
inside view on efforts to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity
and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm
- 30 -
Office of the Mayor
| 
