City Hall cannot be the sole driver of policy and innovation, even the staunchest local proponents caution. Many municipalities are worried about street lights and police pay. They don't have the resources to map out a comprehensive climate or energy policy.
"The towns that do have really moved the ball," said Kevin McCarty, managing director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. But "many cities are in budget crises. They just don't have the time and money."
Denver makes a good case study.
Last summer the Conference lauded the best climate-protection efforts from the nation's cities. The Denver metro area took top honors for an ambitious program, dubbed FasTracks, to expand light rail and encourage smart growth.
And the plan was ambitious: Voters in an eight-county region had agreed in 2004 to a 12-year plan, dubbed Fastracks. It would add 119 miles of light- and commuter rail, open 31 new park-n-ride lots, build 57 new transit stations, expand bus service, redevelop downtown Denver and the land around 51 of the 57 new stops toward transit-oriented housing and businesses. To pay the $4.7 billion price tag, voters OK'd a 0.4 percent sales tax hike.
Then the recession hit. Project estimates understated the cost by half. Overly rosy projections made the tax hike inadequate to cover costs. Regional consensus is in danger of fragmenting as municipalities bicker over trimming costs and raising money. The Regional Transportation District needs an additional 0.4 percent sales tax jump to complete the project by 2017.
"What has happened to the FasTracks program from a financial standpoint is not unique," said Scott Reed, the Transportation District's assistant general manager for public affairs. "The entire nation is seeing that same type of financial challenge."
But local politicians say they get it. They feel a greater sense of urgency than their national counterparts. And they're closer to both the impacts of climate change and the economics of energy reform.
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6 Comments
Add CommentIf Cisco DeVries would hit these states that use fossil fuel to produce power and teach them a better way and implement laws in those states, we would not have to wait 50 years to start cutting and cleaning up greenhouse gases. We could start living in a clean environment much faster. It would be good to drink clean stream water, breathe clean air, and live on clean land again like I did when I was a child before all this greed and destruction began.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA better title would be: "Local Governments Lead Efforts to Combat Global Warming".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCombating 'Climate Change' would be particularly futile, unless we can stop the progression of time - right now!
If you don't like the weather in (name of place here), stick around - it'll change!
vendicar9 - Your more intelligent remarks are far more humorous than I could ever hope to hope for! What a moron - get it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne would think that the city government of Berkeley has everything under control so that they can focuus on wider issues than mundane things like city services and budget managment. However that seems not to be the case.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFrom the Berkely Daily Planet, in an article entitled Berkeley's Budget Nightmare, it states that "After years of high spending and high local taxation, the City of Berkeley is facing an annual operating deficit of 16.5M which will grow exponentially unless drastic measures are taken. Clearly this is a terrible situation for the City, its residents, and its taxpayers."
"From the Berkely Daily Planet, in an article entitled Berkeley's Budget Nightmare, it states that "After years of high spending and high local taxation, the City of Berkeley is facing an annual operating deficit of 16.5M which will grow exponentially unless drastic measures are taken. " - Soccer Dad
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe entire American State is a fiscal basketcase.
Uncle Sam is morally, ethically, intellectually and fiscally bankrupt.
Why wait for local governments to make the first move?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe only way to tackle climate change is to work in industry on research and development of alternative solutions.
Energy company lobbys influence politicians who become mere puppets. Rather than just griping, readers would be well advised to roll their slieves up and discover new green solutions.