(I was really busy with other posts when I missed this doozy at the beginning of the month… and no, that’s not me or anyone I know hugging that tree.)

The G8 summit has concluded and President Bush pushed really hard to make sure that the summit would produce no new movement on the growing crisis of global warming. His exact words were “Now is the time to get beyond the Kyoto protocol and develop a strategy forward.” Yes, beyond Kyoto, an initiative endorsed by all of the G8 countries except the US, which aims to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases produced by human industry, which scientists overwhelmingly believe is the cause of global warming. Beyond Kyoto, I assume, to some solution that Shrub’s puppet masters in Big Oil can live with.

After all, according to Bush, the jury is still out on global warming. It needs more study, he said back on the campaign trail in 2000, which is what he is still saying today. Five years is apparently not enough time to notice Arctic permafrost that is thawing, polar bear populations that are dwindling, migratory birds and perennial plants thriving further north and south than ever recorded in human history, the melting and calving of Arctic and Antarctic ice shelves at an unprecedented rate, and the rising sea levels and global temperature averages. It’s that kind of keen intellect that makes you a lifetime C student, Dumbya.

Chimpy has two problems with Kyoto — I mean, the problems he mentions publicly to cover the Big Oil agenda. One, it doesn’t include developing nations like China and India, who are also big greenhouse gas contributors. Sheesh, where’s my mom when you need her? “Mom, why do I hafta wash the dishes? You don’t make Matt do the dishes!” She wouldn’t even let me get away with that shit. “You do what you’re told, young man, and never mind your little brother!” Besides, we’re the leading producer of greenhouse emissions; we should be the first ones to adopt Kyoto!

And two, “Kyoto would have wrecked our economy,” Mr. Bush said in an interview. Controlling all of that pollution would cost a whole lot and act as disincentive to business. Some estimates concluded that the cost of implementing Kyoto would have cost us up to 3% of our GDP.

I’m glad to note that Bridge City a.k.a. Stumptown a.k.a. PDX a.k.a. Portland a.k.a. my adopted home town has proven Chimpy wrong. Dead wrong. We’ve adopted a comprehensive strategy to deal with greenhouse emissions and energy efficiency. We’ve been doing it since 1993 as if Kyoto had actually been adopted, and now we’ve succeeded in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to pre-1990 levels — the goal of Kyoto.

(NY Times) Newly released data show that Portland, America’s environmental laboratory, has achieved stunning reductions in carbon emissions. It has reduced emissions below the levels of 1990, the benchmark for the Kyoto accord, while booming economically.

What’s more, officials in Portland insist that the campaign to cut carbon emissions has entailed no significant economic price, and on the contrary has brought the city huge benefits: less tax money spent on energy, more convenient transportation, a greener city, and expertise in energy efficiency that is helping local businesses win contracts worldwide.

“People have looked at it the wrong way, as a drain,” said Mayor Tom Potter, who himself drives a Prius hybrid. “Actually it’s something that attracts people. … It’s economical; it makes sense in dollars.”

“Portland’s efforts refute the thesis that you can’t make progress without huge economic harm,” says Erik Sten, a city commissioner. “It actually goes all the other way – to the extent Portland has been successful, the things that we were doing that happened to reduce emissions were the things that made our city livable and hence desirable.”

So, what exactly was our strategy? You can see it for yourself at SustainablePortland.org.

• The addition of two major light rail lines and the Portland Streetcar and 75% grow in public transit use since 1990.
• The City of Portland’s renewable energy purchase for more than 10% of its electricity use
• A recycling rate of 54%, among the highest in the nation.
• The construction of nearly 40 high-performance green buildings. (Like the one my wife worked in before she got laid off — the “black box” building of Blue Cross / Blue Shield.)
• The establishment of the Energy Trust of Oregon and consistent funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy progams
• The planting of over 750,000 trees and shrubs since 1996, improving the quality of local waterways as well as absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• The weatherization of 10,000 multifamily units and over 800 homes in two years.
• The Implementation of a biodiesel program for County diesel operated vehicles and equipment.
• The improved energy efficiency of County buildings with combined annual savings since 1994 estimated at over $715,000.

Kristoff of the NY Times notes these facts, too:

This was achieved partly by a major increase in public transit, including two light rail lines and a streetcar system. The city has also built 750 miles of bicycle paths, and the number of people commuting by foot or on bicycle has increased 10 percent. (Count us in as frequent bus / rail / foot commuters.)

Portland offers all city employees either a $25-per-month bus pass or car pool parking. Private businesses are told that if they provide employees with subsidized parking, they should also subsidize bus commutes.

The city has also offered financial incentives and technical assistance to anyone constructing a “green building” with built-in energy efficiency.

Then there are innumerable little steps, such as encouraging people to weatherize their homes. Portland also replaced the bulbs in the city’s traffic lights with light-emitting diodes, which reduce electricity use by 80 percent and save the city almost $500,000 a year.

But what do we know out here in Cascadia? We voted for Kerry.