Consider this

I wanted to pull some more interesting points from the talk I attended in Sydney the other day. Here is a link to a video of the actual talk so you can here without me as an imperfect filter. If you have a minute just listen to it while you’re at work. It is interesting and worth a listen. Allan Jones should definitely be invited to speak at the Clinton School or possibly as part of the Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture Series. It would be worthwhile to get representatives from the Governor’s and Mayor Stodola’s Office to attend a meeting too.

• The previous Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone who established C40 Cities in 2005 as well as the London Climate Change Agency, made it a duty for all future mayors to take action against climate change just before he left office in 2008. In other words, all future mayors are legally obligated to tackle climate change. Wow. I find this very important for political continuity which is very difficult to achieve in a Democratic Society sometimes. This is a long term goal that can be solved in just one term, so this was a very important move. As the great Hip-Hop artist Ice Cube once said, “Life ain’t a track meet, it’s a marathon.”
• London established a “heat levy” that mandates that all power stations that do not utilize waste heat in some manner will have to pay a fine. For every unit of energy produced, two units of heat are discarded. In the U.K. 50% of their water resources are used to throw that heat away. For example, a company on the edge of London started utilizing their heat and supplies about 80,000 households with heat and energy. Save water and reduce emissions? Why aren’t we doing this in the U.S.?
• London established “Congestion Zones” within the city. In order to encourage more people to utilize the much more efficient rapid public transit and reduce carbon emissions, drivers who wish to drive in these zones must pay an eight pound-a-day charge. That is a pretty big disincentive. However, citizens who chose to drive a low or zero carbon vehicle into these zones at no charge. This policy action alone has resulted in a 26% reduction of carbon while reducing congestion and building demand for more energy efficient vehicles.
• Efficiency was touched on during the talk, which brought to mind other actions that I’ve thought about. Ever look at buildings Downtown and night and see rows of floors lit up with nobody inside? Why can’t it be mandated by either building owners or the city that buildings must be blacked out at night when no one is there? Why not have cleaning crews come and work during the day so there is no need to leave lights on or utilize heating and cooling systems running at full capacity 24 hours a day? You would think the financial incentive from an energy bill stand point would be enough. Seems like a fairly easy way to save money and reduce your carbon footprint.

These are simple and cost effective techniques in which I believe policy can make a significant contribution to the fight against climate change.