Why Cities Are Going to Save the Planet

Why Cities Are Going to Save the Planet

Cities are part of the solution to avoid and mitigate the risks of climate change.

Cities are the right scale

They operate at a scale to solve problems and make decisions.

Greg Nickels, the mayor of Seattle, Washington convinced the city to adopt the Kyoto Protocol for municipal emsissions.

Since then, 1047 mayors have signed on working through the U.S. Conference of Mayors. They recognize the need for a federal partner, but cannot and will not wait to act until Washington is ready to move on the problem.

So, local steps are being taken to cut emissions 7% below 1990 levels by 2012.

32 Denver area mayors and the transportation authority passed a sales tax increase to build 119-miles of new light rail and expand bus service. 51 of the new stations will be designed with Transportation Oriented Development potential to reduce sprawl.

The initiative is expected to reduce transportation sector emissions by about 60,249 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Masdar City, Abuy Dhabi is not a city by a whollly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi government investment vehicle.

It is a test case experiment for high-density, pedestrian-friendly development where current and future renewable energy and clean technologies are showcased, marketed, researched, developed, tested and implemented.

However, it happens to be in the desert. People need to start talking about the impacts of significant growth pushing into intemperate areas. The energy use for air conditioning alone is an emissions disaster, and let's not even talk about water.

Cities give people the structure to get to know, trust and work with their neighbors.

This face-to-face interaction spurs creativity, attracts talent and sharpens it through competition.

This in turn leads to locally tailored solutions to locally defined problems. Working together for a common cause allows discussion that is political, but not partisan, and results in an acceptable policy for that individual place at that particular moment.

Cities are Efficient

Europe cut down all the trees,

New Englanders killed the whales,

We're facing peak oil...

The average American emits 24.5 metric tons of Carbon a year.

The average resident of NYC emits 7.1 metric tons of carbon a year...

That's almost 75% less...

If we could all be that effient, there might still be an atmosphere left for the future... just saying.

We have yet to prove that we can fix a broken planet.

There is a global carbon cycle that requires a system in balance. If we impair or overload the oceans, soils, and forests, their ability to sequester carbon is diminished and it builds up in the atmosphere. Cities can control how land is used and protect these resources.

We don't really know how much carbon is too much, and we don't really know what will happen when that point is reached, but the best minds in science are telling us that it's going to be nothing good.

When the Compost Hits the Wind Turbine, the City is there to Pick up the Phone.

We could be facing more severe stoms, failing infrastructure, drounght, failing crops, floods, epidemics of mosquito-born diseases. An unstable and unpredictable climate will make everything worse, more expensive, and much harder.

So, what is your niche going to be in the low-carbon economy?

Mayors of major cities know why it's important to be green and sustainable--they have to compete globally to attract investment and jobs, and they must be able to offer a good quality of life to the highly educated, highly mobile people their modern economy needs.

If we are facing a new normal, then...

The Vision for the Future Cannot be the Past.

What are you going to do when the jobs leave?

Cities are small enough that people know eachother, but large enough to create a real impact.

Seattle City Light

Zero Net Emissions

Entering New York City, Population: 8,391,881

Entering Wyoming, Population: 544,270

But an New Yorker is still a New Yorker...

The city creates a sense of place and breeds innovation and creative action that leads to implementation.

Solutions are tailored to fit the local problem, regardless if it's a "blue" city or "red" city.

Denver FasTracks is building 119 miles of new light rail

Cities are used to thinking long-term

Greensburg, Kansas (Just about as corn-fed as America gets)

San Francisco, California (Just about as alternative as America gets)

Masdar... a test case

Nobody wants this to be their legacy

Increasing density protects the sinks

Limiting destruction of the oceans, soil, and forests lets them do their job-making sure the Carbon cycle is working effectively.

1,836 Dead

We aren't going to stop using energy, so we need to find a way to use it smarter