First Name | grey |
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Last Name | kolevzon |
Email Address | greyloom@hotmail.com |
Affiliation | |
Subject | climate plan comments |
Comment | OVERVIEW It seems to me that the document so far looks excellent and right on target, but I wanted to suggest some ideas for additions to section #8 under strategies (“Implement policy changes at the local, regional, and national level…”). While my suggestions may seem too extreme to be accepted and therefore politically non-viable, I would like the group to consider that probably most of us are well-insulated from a real understanding of what it means to be in a position of desperation – to be unable to afford food, water, and housing, with no safety net of strong community ties to fall back upon. Yet, as the world’s living systems begin to decline in productivity with accelerating speed, economic systems will follow hand-in-hand, and when large percentages of our population newly find themselves in exactly this position, the threat to our very society will make increased heating and floods look completely inconsequential. As we have glimpsed with the credit collapse, in an interconnected global economy any stress falls first on those with fewest resources, and it is primarily their basic needs rather than luxuries that are endangered. This phenomenon is already beginning to take place in many other more vulnerable countries in other parts of the world in ways that affect large percentages of local populations, and has resulted in increasing numbers of refugees from environmental disasters and ensuing social conflicts related to diminishing resources. The United States’ tremendous overall wealth has insulated much of our population from truly understanding and coming to terms with this phenomenon for the present moment, but I would venture to project that after another 20-30 years of declining ecological productivity, the global economy may not be so full of surpluses that the United States can depend upon extracting to its own advantage. In other words, the sooner we fully understand the implications of economic collapse the better, as most of our own population will find itself in the same boat but without the local relationship networks and social structures that have always allowed cash-poor communities around the globe to survive. Whether or not we can adapt with our society more or less intact will depend on how forward-thinking our leaders are now, how quickly and objectively we can evaluate the present, and whether or not we take a leap of faith and boldly embrace changes that would seem absurd and impossible to someone trapped in current patterns of thought and action. Enough background – while we can certainly lower carbon emissions by retrofitting buildings, increasing fuel efficiency of cars, etc., all of these changes will not be significant enough to reach the goals that scientists have warned us we need to reach, and that are now legally mandated in legislation. I believe that our key strategies should pursue three large-scale goals, and that these be made very explicit: 1. Transition out of using cars as our main form of personal transportation 2. Transition cities from car-based environments into livable, walkable/bikeable neighborhood-based communities 3. Shift our base of economic activity from relying heavily on global trade to become more region-centered 4. The removal of a certain amount of key land resources (food producing lands and low-income urban housing) from the speculative market through the establishment of community land trusts in every region of the state. My suggestions seek to address root causes by: 1) reversing the patterns of dislocation of people from land that got us into this situation in the first place; 2) avoiding social collapse by strengthening communities, creating an additional urban resource base by reconfiguring land use, and facilitating residents of local areas to work together to overcome the great economic inequalities that presently exist. STRATEGIES A number of strategies could be adopted to move toward these goals; some are as follows: 1) the empowerment of local and regional governments to take strong, effective action through tax-based incentives that bring about dramatic changes in the ongoing development and redevelopment of our land use, transportation, and resource distribution systems. 2) The transition of taxation systems from income- and sales-based to carbon based; in other words, a baseline level of acceptable resource use and carbon emissions would be established using existing ecological measures, with a “tax” levied on individuals and businesses using more and a “rebate” going to those using less. A percentage of this tax income could also be invested in the development of systems and technologies that lower carbon use, such as community farmland preservation, bicycle production and distribution, public transit improvements, building retrofitting, clean energy technologies. 3) The creation of social networks and legal structures that actively support accelerated resource-sharing and “economic conservation” on a local level, to provide a safety net for basic needs and soften the impacts of a collapsing economy. This could be the expansion of food banks, the conversion of abandoned properties into neighborhood resource centers, the use of abandoned homes for housing Green Jobs crews, etc. 4) The creation of land trusts that remove critical resources from speculative markets with the mission of providing affordable housing for low-income community members, preserving agricultural lands, and maintaining an appropriate balance of open spaces and urbanized areas. 5) Encouraging the implementation of programs that enable a reintegration of human communities and living systems – urban greening, urban agriculture, watershed education 6) Supporting initiatives that develop a foundation for a productive green economy through green jobs training programs, youth employment programs, and expansion of education programs in K-12 schools and colleges related to ecological sustainability and economic opportunities with local, green jobs. Thanks very much, Grey Kolevzon greyloom@hotmail.com Cycles of Change HOPE Collaborative www.cyclesofchange.org www.oaklandfoodandfitness.org |
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted | 2008-11-20 12:04:49 |
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