EENR committee targets climate change; energy, water issues.

The Energy, Environment and Natural Resources (EENR) Steering Committee focused on a number of timely climate change and sustainability issues during its recent meeting in Cleveland, Ohio.

The committee continued its role in providing oversight to NLC's action plan on sustainability, while also focusing on recent Congressional activity.

Chaired by Councilmember Sandy Colvin Roy of Minneapolis, the committee heard from top local speakers on climate change, including Tom Bullock, Ohio representative of the Pew Environment Group, who spoke on cap-and-trade, and David Beach, executive director of the GreenCityBlueLake Institute, who gave an overview of the public health effects of climate change.

The committee also held a conference call with Congressional staff to address details of the pending federal climate change legislation, and individual members joined their colleagues from the Transportation Infrastructure and Services Committee in signing a general letter in support of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act.

The committee decided to work this year on developing two related resolutions for consideration by the membership. One will provide the local government perspective in anticipation of the climate change legislation, with an emphasis on cap-and-trade considerations; the other will ask for assistance for cities as they plan for and address the wide range of potential "adaptation" issues generated by changing climates, including sea-level rise, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, food shortages and more.

The committee also heard a compelling speaker related to energy sources. Tom Whipple of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas presented on the "peak oil" theory, which contends that once the world's finite oil supply passes its peak and begins to dwindle, oil becomes a financially unsustainable resource for the future.

"'Peak oil' is when supply can't meet demand, and it's probably happening about now," Whipple said. "This is not 20 or 30 years in the future." If the theory proves correct, it explains continuing escalations in gas prices, and further implies that dramatic technological and policy shifts need to be made soon in order to temper the economic and societal impacts of a reduced reliance on oil.

Water issues also continue to be a major point on the committee agenda. The local perspective was provided by Julius Ciaccia, executive director of the North East Ohio Regional Sewer District, and Chris Nielson, commissioner of water for the city of Cleveland.

Hoping to avoid the onset of "water wars," and recognizing the varying water supply planning issues faced by different regions of the country, the committee will continue to investigate the proper role for the federal government. The committee will also investigate a proposed concept for a national water infrastructure trust fund.

The final policy issue on the committee's workplan is the infestation of bark beetles, pronounced in the Mountain West and affecting many other regions of the country. The committee learned about the devastation being wrought in Colorado and Wyoming by the mountain pine beetle, which is killing millions of trees, enhancing the threat of wildfire and closing campgrounds. The issue may also be connected to climate change, as the infestation is being linked to increased temperatures and draught conditions.

The committee also learned of the emerald ash borer, which is killing ash trees throughout the City of Cleveland. The committee proposed to develop a resolution addressing the immediate emergency caused by the mountain pine beetle, while also asking the federal government to conduct research into the prevention of similar outbreaks

Cleveland Councilmember Matt Zone hosted the spring meeting, which included a series of field visits Committee members received a first-hand look by boat of the Cuyahoga River, once known as "the river that caught fire" that precipitated the Clean Water Act, now undergoing a dramatic recovery evident by new commercial and residential development and the increasingly common sight of great blue herons along the banks. The committee also visited some of the top "green" sites in the city, including the Cleveland EcoVillage development, intended as a model, sustainable urban village.

The steering committee will reconvene for its fall meeting September 18-20, in Piano, Texas. Policy recommendations will then be referred to the full EENR Policy and Advocacy Committee in November at the Congress of Cities in Orlando, Fla.