The Revolution Will Be Localized

By Amanda Griscom Little, Grist.org. Posted July 20, 2005.

City leaders from around the U.S. were treated to a rare bird's-eye view of the environment earlier this week at the Sundance Summit, a three-day mayors' retreat on climate change hosted by Robert Redford in Salt Lake City and at his 6,000-acre resort nestled beneath Utah's Mount Timpanogos, near Park City. In between briefings on "The State of the Science" and "Why You Should Care," and tutorials on emissions-trading programs and retrofitting public transport, a bipartisan troupe of 46 mayors representing nearly 10 million U.S. citizens slathered on sunscreen, grabbed bag lunches, and glided up the Sundance chairlift over miles of tumbling creeks, quivering aspens, and ponderosa pines.

"Oh, I'm just lovin' mayor camp!" said Melvin "Kip" Holden (D), mayor of Baton Rouge, La., as he dismounted the lift and headed back to the conference center. "I feel like I'm back in college -- it's just that excitement of learning, that bigger-than-you feeling of wanting to make change."

That's precisely what Redford and his co-hosts -- Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson (D) and the nonprofit ICLEI/Local Governments for Sustainability -- had in mind when they organized the all-expenses-paid gathering, funded in part by Pew Charitable Trusts and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. "The whole idea was to bring leaders together in a magical place where the monumental implications of climate change and a passion for solutions could really take hold," Anderson said.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), who served as energy secretary under President Clinton, kicked off the retreat with a feisty call to arms: "Let's face it, if we wait around for the federal government to act, we aren't going to see anything happen," he said. Though Richardson has been a pioneer in promoting renewable energy at the state level, he argued that "even the states are not as accelerated as the cities" when it comes to implementing climate initiatives. "I know where the power is, and I know it's with you guys."

Redford echoed that theme in his opening speech: "You here are closest to the people," he said. "The best and most significant change comes from the grassroots." He later added, "We can't let America play Nero while the planet burns."

The summit was just the latest in a string of recent efforts to galvanize local action on climate change. This year, at the urging of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, more than 170 mayors nationwide have pledged to adopt Kyoto targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. The New Cities project, launched by Madison, Wis., Mayor Dave Cieslewicz (D), has a network of mayors working to implement on the local level the energy-independence proposals of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of labor, environmental, and other groups that aims to spur eco-friendly economic growth. The Institute for Policy Studies in June launched a Cities for Progress campaign that's pushing for energy security, among other goals.

The Nation recently chronicled these and other progressive city-level campaigns in its cover story "Urban Archipelago," arguing that cities are the spots to watch for innovative, positive change. And earlier this month, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof praised Portland, Ore., for having slashed its greenhouse-gas emissions below 1990 levels, even as it's been booming economically, proving wrong President Bush's recent claim that "Kyoto would have wrecked our economy."

Do the Bright Thing

This kind of economic optimism was a recurring theme during the Sundance Summit. Executives from the British-based consultancy The Climate Group impressed many in the audience when describing how 17 major U.S. cities had already reduced their emissions below 1990 levels and saved a total of $600 million through efficiency measures. "You must understand that tackling climate is financially a competitive advantage, not a liability," stressed Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group.

Patrick McCrory (R), mayor of Charlotte, N.C., and head of the Republican mayors' association, noted that municipal leaders have the power to move markets: "We are the ones building roads, designing mass transit, buying the police cars and dump trucks and earthmovers. We're the ones lighting up the earth when you look at those maps from space," he said. "Together we have huge purchasing power, and if we invest wisely, that can have huge implications for the environment."

But not all of the attendees, at first, drank in the cheer.

Mark Begich (D), mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, said that among his predominantly conservative constituency, climate-change initiatives are a hard sell: "There are members on my city council who think the term 'global warming' is more objectionable than the term 'liberal.' Some consider it a wacko radical concept."

Mike McKinnon, mayor of Lynnwood, Wash., said he wasn't even sure what his constituents thought on the matter. "I don't believe we've had any discussions in our community on climate change. I have one staff member who is half-time on recycling -- that's the full extent of my resources on the environment." When asked why he attended the conference if the issue was so low on his radar screen, he said, "When I read on the invitation, 'Salt Lake City ... Sundance ... Robert Redford ... all expenses paid,' that said yes to me!"

Amanda Griscom Little writes the Muckraker column for Grist Magazine.

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