BY KERA ABRAHAM
Change in Gear
tion’s attention when he
told The New York Times
Cities and states rev up to cut emissions
that he didn’t need legisla-
tive
approval to enact the
while D.C. drags in reverse.
standards, and now he in-
tends to follow through on his
states and cities are lunging
irst the old news: The U.S. is the
word.
Spokeswoman Holly
ahead
to
reduce
global
warm-
most fossil-fuel-hungry nation in
Armstrong said that the governor
ing, and Oregon and Eugene are
the world. We’ve got 5 percent of
Mayor Kitty Piercy
plans to line item veto the lan-
parts of that movement.
the world’s people, but we belch out a quarter
guage
in
the
state budget that prohibits the
of the world’s greenhouse gases, the primary
The most significant effort is the estab-
DEQ
from
pursuing
the stricter standards,
contributors to global warming. While a ma-
lishment of a West Coast “clean car corridor.”
leaving Oregon free to align with efforts
jority of nations moves ahead to reduce emis-
In 2004, California enacted a law requiring
south and north of the state border.
sions in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol,
cars and light trucks to cut their greenhouse
Solidarity among states demanding
the U.S. government just continues to blow
gas emissions by 30 percent, and toxic and
cleaner vehicles will likely force domestic
smoke.
smog-causing pollutants by 20 percent, by
auto makers to churn out lower-emission cars
2016. Last spring, the state of Washington
After shunning Kyoto (the U.N. agreement
despite the lack of direction from
passed
a
bill
to
adopt
California’s
standards
to curb global warming, which Clinton signed
Washington, D.C. In recent years, Detroit
— but only on the condition that Oregon fol-
in 1998 and Bush retracted in 2001), the White
auto makers have shunned the domestic
lows suit.
House announced a plan that amounts to ask-
cleaner-car market, leaving it to Japanese
The Alliance of Automobile Manufact-
ing termites infesting a wooden mansion to
auto makers to produce hybrid electric and
urers, an industry group representing most
please chew a little slower. The Bush adminis-
low-emission vehicles. A July EPA report
major automakers, shifted into high gear.
tration claims that it can reduce greenhouse
shows that today’s new domestic cars and
Lobbyists leaned hard on Salem lawmakers
gases 18 percent by 2012 through voluntary
trucks are slightly less fuel-efficient than they
to prevent Oregon from implementing the
cutbacks, but the Pew Center on Global
were in the late 1980s.
new standards, and initially, they succeeded.
Climate Change estimates that the policy will
But California alone controls more than
The Legislature passed a state budget that
actually result in a 12 percent increase in
10 percent of Detroit’s auto market. Add in
prohibited the Department of Environmental
greenhouse gas emissions. On July 29, the
the other states preparing to adopt Cali’s stan-
Quality from spending any money on adopt-
U.S. Congress passed an energy bill, drafted in
dards — Washington, Oregon, New York,
ing or enforcing stricter auto emission stan-
secret, that awards $8.4 billion in tax breaks to
New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
dards over the next two years.
oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power com-
Vermont and Maine — and the figure be-
But Gov. Ted Kulongoski wouldn’t have
panies.
comes nearly 33 percent.
it. Getting Oregon in step with California’s
Now the new news: While the Bush ad-
States aren’t the only ones playing Clean
tailpipe rules was his baby. He caught the na-
ministration drags its oil-heavy feet, American
F
Air Red Rover. Cities have a role to play, too,
and Eugene’s got its game face on. At the
U.S. Conference of Mayors in Chicago in
June, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy joined hun-
dreds of other mayors in signing a resolution
calling for cities to reduce greenhouse gases
to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012, à la
Kyoto. And at the Sundance Summit on
Climate Protection in July, Piercy joined 45
other U.S. mayors in Salt Lake City to dis-
cuss the causes and potential solutions to
global warming.
Piercy came back to Eugene inspired. She
noted that Eugene is already taking many
steps toward energy conservation: shifting
the city’s fleet to biofuels and low-emission
vehicles, changing street lights to low-energy
LED bulbs, improving public transportation
and offering incentives for energy-efficient
buildings. She says that the city’s Sustainable
Business Initiative will provide a framework
for local businesses to become both econom-
ically and environmentally smarter.
But Piercy admits that there’s much more
work to do. “We could take some substantial
leaps forward,” she says. “The federal gov-
ernment is not taking the initiative that it
needs to on this issue, and time is running out.
We know it’s in the best health interest of our
world to be addressing this, but the truth is, it
makes the most economic sense too. This is a
great opportunity for Eugene to make a dif-
ference in the ways that we can.”
ew
BY ALAN PITTMAN
Getting Gas
Pump price jump guzzles $32 million/
year out of the local economy.
T
he surge in gas prices this year will suck an extra $32
million per year out of local wallets if prices remain
high.
That’s about $137 for every adult and child in
Eugene/Springfield, according to EW analysis of local gas price
data and statistics on non-commercial vehicle use within the
metro area. Locals consume about $127 million of fuel a year at
today’s prices, and that’s up from $95 million at last year’s prices.
Gas prices are about a third higher today than a year ago, ac-
cording to American Automobile Association surveys. Just
since last month, they’re up 8 percent.
The $32 million sent to oil companies could take a bite out of
the local economy. The lost money is about enough for 800 jobs
paying $40,000 a year in salary and benefits.
The hike in gas prices hits low-wage car commuters the
hardest. The average minimum-wage earner loses about 1 per-
cent of his/her pay to the higher pump prices.
Local Congressman Peter DeFazio has blamed oil corpora-
tions for gouging consumers, pointing out that ExxonMobil just
reported its third largest profits in history. DeFazio has intro-
duced legislation to impose a windfall profits tax on oil compa-
nies, impose profit caps, limit mo-
nopolistic mergers, and require
minimum gas inventory levels to
smooth price spikes.
Oil companies have blamed
rising prices on rising demand in
China and Asia and other market factors for the dramatic price
increases. But energy corporations used the same kind of “per-
fect storm” spin a few years ago with the West Coast electricity
crisis. The spin was widely swallowed at the time, but later law-
suits revealed that market manipulation by the Enron corpora-
tion was to blame for soaring electricity prices.
Of course, the easiest way for locals to reduce gas prices
would be to use less gas. Just driving 10 percent less — by
walking, biking, busing or carpooling a couple times a month —
would save local wallets $13 million a year at current prices.
Another option would be to drive cars that use less gas.
Local cars average about 20 miles per gallon, according to Lane
Council of Governments data. Increase that by 10 percent —
with a smaller car or just by accelerating and driving more
Cutting driving or increasing mileage would save on pollu-
tion. Local cars spew about 143 tons of carbon dioxide every
weekday. Driving less would also save taxes on ugly and expen-
sive road projects that chew up land. The new I-5 interchange at
the Gateway Mall will cost an estimated $150 million and the
price of the proposed West Eugene Parkway is now at $170 mil-
lion and rising.
But the local area isn’t heading toward common sense when
it comes to gas consumption. PeaceHealth plans to move 2,000
jobs from downtown out to the edge of town for long commutes.
Local transportation plans are clogged with a long list of
sprawl-inducing freeway projects and predict that driving rates
and gas mileage will remain about the same while public transit
use will reach only 2.5 percent of trips by the year 2025.
In the end people may have little choice about driving. The
concept of peak oil has grown increasingly mainstream — even
ExxonMobil now acknowledges that world oil extraction has
peaked and will now decline. Some predict that shortages and
high prices will mean the end of suburbia and the abandonment
of shopping mall sprawl. Already, Wal-Mart has blamed a fall in
profits on rising gas prices.
Although the transition could be painful if it’s abrupt, it may
be good for the country. In Europe, gas prices are about double
those in the U.S. and people drive far less. As a result, citizens
enjoy more compact cities with far better transit service. With
higher gas prices, European cities are often more walkable,
healthy and livable, and less polluted, traffic-snarled and ugly
than American cities with far
cheaper gas.
With the huge local and national
investment in urban sprawl infra-
structure, moving to a European
model could be expensive. But in
the long run, studies have shown that compact, transit-oriented
cities are far more efficient in terms of saving time in traffic
jams, extending expensive road, sewer, school, fire and other
sprawling public infrastructure and services and, of course, in
saving gas.
ew
Just driving 10 percent less — by walking, biking,
busing or carpooling a couple times a month — would
save local wallets $13 million a year at current prices.
slowly — and local pocketbooks would save about $12 million
a year.
There’s already national reports of SUV sales falling this
year by 20 to 30 percent and used SUVs losing their resale
value.
AUGUST 25, 2005 13