[GPSCC-chat] Other Voices article for publication in 4/18 Milpitas Post

[rob.means at electric-bikes.com]

Other Voices

 Did you hear that the world as we know it will end soon? Superstorms like
Hurricane Sandy and Typhoon Haiyan, once rare, will be common. Clean
water will be scarce. Food shortages and disease will ravage the poor.
The Sixth Great Extinction of species, which we are witnessing, will
accelerate. And lots of war and violence is likely to accompany the
societal stresses, societal collapses and resulting mass migrations of
people trying to survive. These disasters are happening now, and are
predicted to get worse over the next 20 to 40 years. In fact, it will
likely happen quickly as a tipping point is reached that causes sudden
and extreme change.

If your source for news hasn't alerted you, find a better one. This news
affects you personally, unlike a missing plane or crazed shooter far away.
The fact that most folks did not hear about this real and important news
which says something about our “lame-stream” media (roughly 90% of which
is controlled by just 6 companies). Contrary to the widely advertised
“fact” (by lame-stream media) that the media has a liberal bias, most
media is actually an extension of huge corporations that are only
interested in making money. (If you retain any doubt about that, search
online for “15 things everyone would know if there were a liberal media”.)

These dire predictions of worldwide catastrophe represent the current
scientific knowledge relevant to climate change – knowledge distilled from
hundreds of hard-headed, and often conservative, scientists, specialists
and experts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been
issuing reports since 1990, each one more certain and more dire than the
one before – and always slower and more conservative than on-the-ground
reality. (This under-estimating is to be expected because of the
conservative nature of scientists and the consensus process used to write
the reports. Expected, but rarely noted.) On April 7, the IPCC issued the
second part of their latest 3-part assessment; this one considers observed
impacts and future risks of climate change. The report notes that research
on the effects of climate change has doubled since the last report in 2007
– and so has understanding about what needs to done to insulate people
from more severe consequences.

This second part follows the first part of their report issued last
September, which concluded the scientific evidence for climate change was
“unequivocal”. That report answered the question of “what’s happening to
the climate and why?” This second part tackles the more practical “So,
what does it mean for us?”
 The short answer is “lots of bad stuff will happen if we don't
dramatically reduce carbon emissions now.” The long answer is at
http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/

For those of us living in California, the options for reducing CO2
emissions are plentiful. And it won't even require sacrifice. On a
per-capita basis, Europeans generate less than half the greenhouse gas
emissions as Americans, and their lives are every bit as comfortable as
ours - if not more so.

So, let's change! Although individuals can do a lot, to really turn things
around will require rule changes at the societal level. Rules that reward
carbon companies (oil, coal and gas) and penalize clean-energy companies
must change.

Nationally, our government is so gridlocked by special interest money and
Republican obstructionism that change will likely be delayed until we pass
the tipping point into a horrible future. Locally, however, LEAN and PACE
are two ways the City Council can help the residents of Milpitas, that is
“we the people”, to convert to clean energy.

LEAN stands for Local Energy Aggregation Network, a non-profit
organization helping communities develop clean energy CCAs nationwide.
(CCA is an acronym for Community Choice Aggregation, a form of group
purchasing.) Milpitas is already part of a CCA that purchases electricity
for city governments around the Bay. We could build on that success by
creating a program that extends those  benefits enjoyed by City Hall to
your home and mine.

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is a way to pay for upgrading
buildings with energy-efficiency and energy-generating features.
Interested property owners, including businesses, can get 100% financing
for their projects, and repay through a property tax assessment for up to
20 years.  This assessment mechanism eliminates upfront costs, provides
low-cost long-term financing, and makes it easy for owners to transfer the
PACE assets and debts to a new owner upon sale. To top it off, PACE
creates local private-sector jobs and makes our nation more energy
independent and secure by reducing demand for carbon fuels.  PACE programs
add value to a community – whether by adding photo-voltaic (PV) panels or
reducing energy use - and enjoy bi-partisan support at federal, state and
local levels.

Currently, our governments are insufficiently prepared for the reality of
a changing climate that impacts our food, water, health and survival. If
we had retained President Carter's energy goals, our task would be easy.
If the progressive candidate Bill Clinton had been a progressive
President, we would not be in such a dire situation now. If our current
governments, including city councils, don't respond soon, we may all be
condemned to a world unfit for human beings.