At their next meeting – this Tuesday, Aug. 28 – the Lake County Board of Supervisors will have an opportunity to put our community in the forefront of the battle to combat global warming.

At the request of Supervisor Denise Rushing, the board will consider participation in the “Cool Counties” climate stabilization campaign, by pledging to reduce local emissions of greenhouse gases 80 percent by 2050 (that’s a very doable 2 percent annually), and by urging the federal government to adopt similar policies.

This initiative originated in 2005, after the Bush administration refused to ratify the Kyoto Treaty on climate change. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who unlike the president realized that global warming

posed an imminent threat to human life and the ecology of the whole planet, then decided that municipalities had to take the lead if the federal government would not. He drafted the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, which now has more than 600 signatories.

Besides raising public awareness about catastrophic climate change, the program gets each community on track to make a coordinated effort to reduce its own carbon footprint, both directly – for example, by adopting energy efficient practices in public buildings, promoting mass transit and planting trees – and, indirectly, by encouraging private citizens to take similar measures.

The “Cool Counties” campaign, a parallel initiative aimed at rural areas, was launched last month: although it's true that big cities generate disproportionate amounts of greenhouse gases, everyone – even residents of bucolic Lake County – has a vital role to play in reducing these emissions.

If you care about this issue – the crisis of our generation – please try to come to the board meeting on Tuesday (action on this untimed item is likely between 10 and 11 a.m.), and also contact your own supervisor to make it clear that a “yes” vote will garner your strong personal support.

All bBoard members (or their voice mail) can be reached at 263-2368; email addresses are

District 1, Ed Robey, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; District 2, Jeff Smith, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; District 3, Denise Rushing, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; District 4, Anthony Farrington, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; District 5, Rob Brown, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Victoria Brandon is chair of the Sierra Club Lake Group. She lives in Lower Lake.

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