By Debra DeHaney-Howard and Judy Sheahan
July 25, 2005

Participating Mayors in the Sundance Summit: A Mayors Gathering on Climate Protection Mayor Mark Begich Anchorage, AK Mayor Ellen O. Moyer Annapolis, MD Mayor Helen Klanderud Aspen, CO Mayor Heidi Davison Athens, GA Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holden Baton Rouge, LA Mayor Tom Bates Berkeley, CA Mayor Charles F. Tooley Billings, MT Mayor Mark Ruzzin Boulder, CO Mayor Peter Clavelle Burlington, VT Mayor Paul Babb Butte, MT Mayor Michael Sullivan Cambridge, MA Mayor Ross Ferraro Carol Stream, IL Mayor Patrick McCrory Charlotte, NC Mayor Richard M. Daley Chicago, IL Mayor Euline Brock Denton, TX Mayor John W. Hickenlooper Denver, CO Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie Des Moines, IA Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens Eden Prairie, MN Mayor Kitty Piercy Eugene, OR Mayor Mary Lib Saleh Euless, TX Mayor Graham Richard Ft. Wayne, IN Mayor George Heartwell Grand Rapids, MI Mayor Carl Amento Hamden, CT Mayor Roberta Cooper Hayward, CA Mayor Harry Kim Hilo, HI Mayor Mufi Hannemann Honolulu, HI Mayor Linda Milam Idaho Falls, ID Mayor Beth Krom Irvine, CA Mayor Carolyn Peterson Ithaca, NY Mayor Martin Griffin Jackson, MI Mayor Michael E.J. Blastos Keene, NH Mayor Mike McKinnon Lynnwood, WA Mayor Dave Cieslewicz Madison, WI Mayor David Glass Petaluma, CA Mayor Tom Murphy Pittsburgh, PA Mayor Rosemarie Ives Redmond, WA Mayor Rocky Anderson Salt Lake City, UT Mayor Sheila Young San Leandro, CA Mayor Marty Blum Santa Barbara, CA Mayor Mike Rotkin Santa Cruz, CA Mayor Pam O’Connor Santa Monica, CA Mayor Greg Nickels Seattle, WA Mayor Bill Baarsma Tacoma, WA Mayor Scott Avedisian Warwick, RI Mayor Anthony A. Williams Washington, DC

More than 45 mayors from across the country gathered in Utah July 10-12 for the “Sundance Summit: A Mayors’ Gathering on Climate Protection.” The three day conference, hosted by Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, Actor and Environmentalist Robert Redford, and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), provided mayors the opportunity to discuss and share “best practices” on the most effective, practical and innovative solutions mayors can adopt to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

Mayors heard from a number of people, including former Vice President Al Gore, Robert Redford, New Mexico Governor and former Energy Department Secretary Bill Richardson, Ocean Future Society President Jean-Michael Cousteau, son of world renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and many other climate change experts. Anderson also commented that this would be the first of a series of Summits focused on this issue.

As co-host, Anderson opened the meeting with an overview his city’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Anderson said, “We’re facing very significant challenges. We need leadership everywhere, however, when you see hundreds of cities committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is an important statement, not only to our federal government but also to the international community.”

Robert Redford, who also co-hosted the Summit, said in his opening remarks, “this Summit is about tangible steps being taken across the country by local governments to reduce greenhouse emissions.” He noted that climate change “was non-partisan, neither conservative nor liberal, but a global problem.”

Redford’s first involvement in climate protection took place over sixteen years ago when he hosted a summit similar – “Greenhouse Glasnost,” in which he convened Soviet scientists to discuss climate change. Redford noted that while he waits for the federal government to take action on this issue, he says, “More and more people are becoming involved. On citizen levels, grassroots levels, municipal level – which is where I think the work is going to come, from the grassroots.” Redford told the mayors that the solutions that come from the Summit will “save money, protect the environment and protect public health.”

Richardson urged mayors to take the lead in climate protection because “power is with the mayors.” He said, “If we wait around for the Congress to take steps that are going to be significant, we are not going to address this problem. It’s up to the mayors, city councils members to make this happen.” Citing that 60 percent of our oil is from foreign sources and that we have the worst fuel efficiency standards in world, Richardson called for a “Marshall Plan” to build energy capacity, which would include increasing auto efficiency and giving tax credits to encourage the use renewable energy.

Gore addressed the mayors July 11. He gave an in-depth presentation on the climate change and its global impact. Gore noted that record temperatures are melting glaciers around the world and that we have the highest concentration of carbon dioxide in over 400,000 years. He also noted that we are seeing a rise in sea levels, an increase in infectious disease, and an increase in powerful storms such as hurricanes, all possibly a result of climate change. Gore said, “Scientists agree that climate change is happening; however, what is lacking is political power.” However, he said, “Climate change is a bi-partisan issue and that we need to listen to the best evidence given by the scientific community.”

At its June Annual Meeting in Chicago, the Conference of Mayors passed a resolution endorsing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which urges mayors from around the nation to join the U. S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and encourages the federal government to assist local governments in sharing best practices with respect to local climate protection programs. It also calls for cities, communities and federal government to take actions to reduce global warming pollution.

At the conclusion of the three-day summit, mayors pledged to continue to address the challenges of climate protection through the development of initiatives at the local level.

Several Mayors participated in discussions at the Sundance Summit regarding the topic of global warming and its effects on their communities. They also gave presentations regarding the role that cities can play to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Below are some of the highlights:

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, who hosted the Climate Protection Meeting, discussed how ski resorts were now paying more attention to the issue of global warming when it was predicted that they would face severe economic impacts if the snowfall amounts continued to go down. Anderson, with his “Salt Lake City Green” campaign, has every city department doing a sustainability study. They changed the lighting in city hall and saved $33,000 a year. They no longer use incandescent lighting in any of their buildings, and they are using clean, renewable energy including buying wind-power and using alternative fuel vehicles, as well insuring that every new city building is LEED certified. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design which is a national standard set by the U.S. Green Building Council for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.)

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley presented his Environmental Action Agenda which outlines steps Chicago is taking in their quest to become the “Greenest City in America.” Every Chicago department has been instructed to think about the environment in everyday planning. Daley said that for too long, cities have had an image of concrete and steel, but the environment does have a place in urban America. Daley stressed the importance of leading by example and told the audience that there is no point in asking businesses to be environmentally-friendly if the city is not willing to do their part. Daley highlighted his various green initiatives throughout Chicago including: the Green Buildings Initiative where all new city buildings have to be LEED certified; the rooftop garden initiative where over 120 buildings in Chicago have rooftop gardens including city hall and all new big box retail; the Brownfields redevelopment efforts, which include Millennium Park and the Chicago Center for Green Technology, which is also certified as LEED Platinum and where solar panels are built; planting over 500,000 trees since the Mayor took office; developing bike paths and bike stations which has earned Chicago with the reputation as being one of the most bicycle-friendly cities; the Chicago Energy Plan where they encourage energy-efficient buildings and where the 45 companies participating have saved over $4 million; and his Great Lakes Initiative to name a few.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels discussed how global warming was affecting his city’s power supply. Seattle relies on hydropower which will have zero net greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2005. However, with the record low snowfalls (lower by 50 percent) the city realized that global warming could drastically affect their main source of power. Nickels established a Green Ribbon Task Force which is responsible for making recommendations to improve the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nickels was the original sponsor of the recently passed Conference of Mayors Resolution supporting the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement which calls on the nation’s cities to adopt policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nickels discussed other local efforts including: city government reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60 percent through constructing green buildings and operating alternative fuel vehicles; expanding transportation choices for citizens including light-rail, monorail, streetcars, and improved bike and pedestrian pathways; attempting to achieve a 60 percent recycling rate by 2008 which will help avoid thousands of greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need for materials and energy; and creating sustainable forests through banning commercial logging in the Cedar River Watershed and restoring 2,500 acres of urban forests by 2024.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper discussed how cities alone can’t make these environmental changes but that there needs to be coordinated efforts among the cities and suburbs to “do the right thing” especially as it relates to cars and light transit. Denver has also been utilizing biodiesel as well as grape seed oil for their fleets. Hinkenlooper discussed the importance of linking transportation to density and ensuring that affordable housing was included in the plans. He also talked about the lack of transition from one administration to the next and how it was vital that a continuation of effort was made to ensure success.

Charlotte (NC) Mayor Patrick McCrory talked about the role transportation and land use planning can play in improving the environment and stressed the importance of working with the suburbs to get their cooperation. McCrory described implementing a one-half-cents sales tax dedicated towards building a multi-billion mass transit system in Charlotte. Due to the fact it takes time for mass transit projects to get built, McCrory commented that this was the period when opponents will criticize a local politician for trying to do the right thing. McCrory talked about his Brownfield initiatives and trying to bring more housing into the city, although he stressed to the mayors not to talk about the word “density” since it has such a negative connotation. McCrory also talked about the impact that suburban jurisdictions and state policies can have on local plans to establish transit, roads, bike connectivity, and sidewalks. He told the audience that the real challenge regarding the environment was in the suburbs and that they needed to work together cooperatively.

Cambridge (MA) Mayor Michael Sullivan talked about the alarming trend that was going on in his city where 88 inches of snow fell last year, more than ever recorded. He also commented that there were no longer four seasons due to the fact that fall and spring seemed to get shorter and shorter each year. Sullivan said that the city was committed to doing their part in reducing emissions such as installing light-emitting diode (LED) lights, ensuring all new municipal buildings were LEED-certified, utilizing biodiesel, establishing bicycle and walking paths including bike parking and shower facilities, and having an efficiency expert work with their fleets and buildings to improve their systems. He also talked about the company Genzyme, a leading biotechnology firm that was willing to develop a LEED-certified building on a former brownfield site. The building will realize 32 percent in water savings, 38 percent in electricity cost savings, over half of the material used in construction will contain recycled content, and it is less than two blocks from public transportation.

The Deputy Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, David Cadman talked about how cities are the new majority, with cities occupying 2 percent of the land, but use 75 percent of the resources. He said that Vancouver did something unusual by creating a 100-year plan where they determined that they would be running out of water in 35 years, gas in 40 years, and that the number of cars was increasing faster than the population. They have made land use and transportation choices based on those findings along with a consensus among their citizens. They are creating incentives to encourage people from using a car by focusing their infrastructure resources on walking, cycling, public transport, moving goods, and then private cars. They also provide more parking spaces for “Smart Cars” which are more fuel-efficient and smaller than normal cars. They also require new business development to be LEED certified.

Roger Duncan, Vice President of Austin Energy, described Mayor Will Wynn and Austin’s commitment for clean energy. Austin owns its own utility and is a big seller of renewable energy. Austin is exploring alternative fuels to petroleum and are excited about a new technology – the Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV). A hybrid gets twice the fuel economy of a conventional car, with the PHEV getting twice the fuel economy as a regular hybrid. The PHEV uses the same technology as a hy-brid, except that the car is "plugged in" when not in use. An “electric” gallon of gas costs about 60 to 75 cents. Duncan said that for many trips around the city, one could operate on the electricity stored alone without ever switching to a fuel, since the car can go 20 to 60 miles with a charge. As a result the car can get 100 to 150 miles per gallon.

For more information on the Sundance Summit: A Mayors’ Gathering on Climate Protection go to the website: www.sundancesummit.com