UPDATE: Our initial vote tally was incorrect. It’s been updated.
In the last days of the special session, one more victory notch in the belt of Oregon’s environmental community.
This afternoon, the House approved SB 1059, a bill that lowers greenhouse gas emissions from car and light trucks. The Oregon Environmental Council says the vote was 32-26. The Senate approved the bill yesterday, all that’s left is getting the Governor’s signature.
Here’s a brief rundown of what’s in the bill:
The Senate is expected to vote this afternoon on SB 1059, a bill regulating greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Under the bill, state agencies will set greenhouse gas reduction targets for five metro areas in the state, Salem-Keizer, Eugene-Springfield, Bend, Medford and Corvallis. The Portland metro area is already covered by a similar law.
The bill also calls for the state to help the metro areas by giving them help with planning and ideas on the best ways to reach the goals.
Supporters are hoping this will encourage more metro areas in the state to expand their mass transit options, and look for ways to control sprawl.
The Senate convenes this afternoon starting at 1pm. Brock Howell of Environment Oregon says if the bill passes, the House could vote on as soon as tomorrow.
Here’s one part of the green agenda for the special session that’s moving along. SB 1059 which lowers greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks was approved today by the Ways and Means Committee. Next stop is the Senate Floor.
This is what the bill does.
Supporters hope this will lead to more mass transit in the regions covered by the bill, and help prevent sprawl.
Thanks to 1000 Friends of Oregon for the tip!
A bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks was approved this afternoon by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
But rather than going straight to the Senate floor, SB 1059 will be taking an unexpected detour.
When President Obama arrives at the U.N. Climate Conference in Copenhagen later this month, he won’t be coming empty handed.
The EPA wants to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Photo from ODOT.
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health, and will start regulating them as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says the agency will move forward on plans to control greenhouse emissions from cars and trucks, and from large stationary sources such as factories.
The decision is receiving, so far, unanimous praise from Northwest environmental groups.
Environment Oregon calls this the, “Most significant step the federal government has taken on global warming.”
The Center For Biological Diversity, a national group with offices in Portland says, “We applaud the EPA for moving forward to implement one of our nation’s most successful environmental laws to avert catastrophic runaway global warming.”
Seattle based Earthjustice adds, “We are heartened to see that our government is recognizing the global warming threat.”
One of the hottest stories on the web today. The Environmental Protection Agency has decided that greenhouse gases are a threat to human health and need to be regulated. This could be a major shift in how the federal government deal with climate change. Rather than waiting for Congress to pass a law, the decision could allow the Obama Administration to take action by itself to control carbon emissions.
See stories from:
Associated Press via Yahoo News
New York Times
Washington Post
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson holds a press conference at 10:15am, Portland time. Check back for live updates and hopefully streaming video.
Where can you go to enjoy an American style standard of living, while polluting as little as someone who lives in a European country?
No surprise, the answer is Oregon.
Downtown Portland. Courtesy EPA.
Our state, along with Washington, California, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont, get special mention in a new report about the wide differences in greenhouse gas emissions across the country.
These six states have the lowest per capita emissions in the U.S., about half the national average, and are on par with several European nations including Belgium, Ireland, German and the United Kingdom.
But before we pat ourselves on the back, lets dig into the numbers a little further.
Bonneville Dam. Courtesy BPA.
One of the reasons we score so well is that much of our electricity is generated by hydropower. Dams don’t emit greenhouse gases. But they do come with their own set of environmental consequences, including the damage they do to salmon. Vermont scores well in part because more than a third of it’s electricity comes from nuclear power.
And what about Portland’s highly praised mass transit system? Sorry Oregonians, when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, we score near the national average. But the report says that our use of trains and buses, along with high gas prices, is making a difference. Because of those factors, we’re driving several hundred fewer miles per year.
The report was produced by a newly formed group called Real Climate Economics. Portland based Ecotrust provides major support. The group’s aim is to dispute charges that controling greenhouse gas emissions will harm the economy.
One of the questions raised by the report is this; if Oregon and five other states can have good lifestyles with less pollution, how can we repeat those results in other parts of the country?
For more information please see:
The first major piece of climate change legislation passed the Oregon House today on a narrow, 32-28 vote.
House Bill 2186 takes a number of steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including…
Environmental groups were quick to praise the legislation. Evan Manvel with the Oregon League of Conservation Voters calls HB 2186 a “no-brainer”, because it focuses on simple changes he says, “Will help pave the way to a green economy that will create local jobs and save precious dollars for Oregon’s working families.”
Other major supporters include the Healthy Climate Partnership and the Oregon Environmental Council.
But Oregonians for Food and Shelter, which represents agriculture interests, has criticized the bill saying it gives DEQ “loose reins” to bring Oregon in line with California’s greenhouse gas regulations. The group says retrofitting trucks for better aerodynamics will cost $5,000 – $15,000 per rig and will cost drivers far more than what it will save them in fuel efficiency.
The update of Oregon’s Bottle Bill was sent to the House floor this afternoon, but not without a concession to grocery stores. House Bill 2184 adds several new beverages to the bottle bill list. It also raises the refund from five cents to ten cents, if Oregonians don’t meet certain recycling goals. The Environment and Water Committee approved it on a 5-2 party line vote.
Grocers want to create a statewide system of redemption centers, so that they don’t have to handle so many bottle returns. A dispute over which stores would have to accept returns, and how many, was dropped to help the bill pass.
As for the Greenhouse gas legislation, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved it on a 3-2 party line vote. Senate bill 80 puts into place plans to reduce greenhouse emissions in the state over the next 40 years. It was forwarded to the Joint Ways and Means Committee, meaning a floor vote is still in doubt.
Two major pieces of green legislation get another chance in Salem today.
The bottle bill, House Bill 2184, goes before the House Environment and Water Committee this afternoon. Katy Daily of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters thinks there’s a good chance it’ll be approved today. The latest version adds several beverages to the bottle refund list starting in 2013, including sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice and similar non-carbonated beverages. Meanwhile, Oregonian will have to do a better job of recycling or returning bottles. If we don’t hit an 80% recycle/return rate in the next few years, the deposit increases to ten cents per bottle.
Odds are improving that the greenhouse gas reduction bill, Senate Bill 80, gets a vote this afternoon. The latest version includes language that might provide some relief to opponents. It allows the Public Utility Commission, and utilities, to back away from plans to reduce emissions if the costs are so high they’re not “economically feasible”. The earlier version used an “extreme economic hardship” standard.
