STRONG Salem is for everyone who wants to help and participate in getting Salem, Oregon, to quit chasing Growth Ponzi Scheme plans and instead become a resilient, fiscally responsible place that lives by the wisdom that "Communities exist for the health and enjoyment of those who live in them, not for the convenience of those who drive through them, fly over them, or exploit their real estate for profit."
The adopted goal says that all city-owned facilities and city operations will reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2020.
If that proves to be impossible, the city will need to cancel its remaining emissions through local carbon offsets.
An annual work plan will also be developed by city staff to reach the zero emissions goal.
The commission also directed the city to work with community partners to develop a community climate action plan within 18 months.
Look at the WARM model from the U.S. EPA. (pdf warning)
There is also a Canadian version produced with funding from Natural Resources Canada, and Environment Canada.
Both studies clearly shows that greenhouse gases from incineration are much higher than those produced from reuse, recycling, composting, etc.
GHG's are also a proxy for 'energy use' in most cases. In other words, the energy extracted from incinerating waste, is much, much less than the 'embedded energy' inherent in the item.
The studies are not simple to understand; if you need help in finding the relevant tables, contact me and I'll be glad to help you navigate the study(ies).
Norm Ruttan
iWasteNot Systems
Jan 19, 2008: LOVESalem reaches the web, bringing a vitally needed message to Oregon's capital city: We must Oregon-ize to put the needs of people before the needs of cars. This requires that we live our environmental values -- that we LOVE (Live Our Values Environmentally) Salem -- by working to stop the Sprawl Machine.
The Sprawl Machine is a ravenous beast that feeds on green space, close-in neighborhoods, and property taxes and that excretes monstrous, ugly road projects that pollute the air, increase mortality and morbidity, promote climate change, weaken families and neighborhoods, and help weaken the social fabric and civic participation.
The Sprawl Machine works by constantly luring its prey with promises that the problems created by cars can be addressed by doing more of the same -- building more lanes, more bridges, consuming ever more money. In other words, the Sprawl Machine promises that we can keep doing the same thing over and over, while expecting a different result this time.
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