From West by Northwest.org Voices of the Northwest Sadler's Sense: Regional Solutions for Global Climate Change Is Key By Russell Sadler Mar 5, 2007 Oregon joined the states of Washington, California, Arizona and New Mexico in a compact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This ambitious, historic agreement is being ridiculed by some conservatives who argue, ironically, that states just can’t do this job. It should be done by -- wait for it -- the federal government! The compact "sends a message to Congress and the White House that if they fail to enact policies at the national level to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and do our nation's part to combat global warming, that states will do it on their own," Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said. Let’s hope the federal government continues dragging its feet on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions until the West Coast effort is well underway. Although greenhouse gas emissions are a worldwide problem, some solutions may be regional. The effort by these five Western States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is likely to be successful because of two important ways we are connected. The first connection is an interesting demographic fact -- about 75 percent of Americans who live west of Denver, live in a relatively narrow strip about 100 miles wide on either side of Interstate 5. That concentrates the problem wonderfully. The second connection is the region’s electrical distribution system. The Bonneville Power Administration's North-South Intertie connects the hydroelectric power of Northwest dams and wind farms with the fossil-fuel powerplant complexes in Arizona and New Mexico. This arrangement allows the seasonal export of Northwest hydropower south in the spring and summer to cool the Southwest and the flow of otherwise idle fossil-fuel generated power north to heat the Northwest in winter. Operating regionally, utilities built fewer fossil-fuel fired generating plants than would be needed if the utilities were operating independently. That is one of the reasons why West Coast carbon emissions have remained nearly flat the last 20 years despite soaring population growth. Coupled with an aggressive commitment to conservation -- tougher building codes, more energy efficient appliances and industrial processes to stretch existing electricity supplies -- and you have the raw material for a plan that will substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from future electric powerplants. The five states in the new compact extended an invitation to British Columbia. Wyoming and Montana are considering joining the emission control effort. B.C. Hydro has an enormous hydroelectric generating capacity and sells to the American market. Wyoming and Montana have large mine-mouth fossil-fuel powerplants that sell electricity to the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest. This is attractive arrangement for the cap-and-trade emission control envisioned for the region. Vehicle exhaust is also one of the largest generators of greenhouse gases in the region. West Coast cities -- San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. and smaller points in between where most of the region’s population lives -- are all prone to thermal inversions that create smog. The situation in California is so acute and affects so many people that the world’s auto manufacturers all have “California models” to meet that state’s more rigorous emissions standards. As other western states adopt tougher emission standards it will only increase the market for low emission vehicles. No, this five state compact will not solve the worldwide problem of climate change. But it is a good start in our part of the world. Nine states in the Northeast are already a couple of years ahead of the West Coast in dealing with their fossil fuel-fired powerplants. These regional compacts are taking potentially effective action now, without waiting for the oil-patch partisans who control the White House or the Southerners in Congress who still really don’t believe there is a problem. With the federal government’s present leadership, any federal effort to deal with greenhouse gas emissions is likely to morph intp an effort by carbon-emitting industries to water down potentially effective regional initiatives by preempting state laws with weaker federal legislation. After watching the federal government's response to Iraq, nuclear proliferation, natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina at home and the Bush administration's penchant for reckless deregulation (from banking and airlines to utilities and communications),it is clear that Washington, D.C. has forfeited any claim to be more competent than the states in dealing with greenhouse gas reduction. What we see emerging is a series of regional experiments in dealing with a very serious problem that will teach us valuable lessons as some things succeed and some fail. After all, diversity is a good thing. Copyright ©2007 by Russell Sadler Russell Sadler is a journalist and a lecturer at Southern Oregon University. You may write him c/o publisher at westbynorthwest.org. Visit Sadler's Sense columns at West By Northwest.org: Sadler's Sense:s Oregon Ready for Prime Time Primary? Sadler's Sense: Enter Westlund for Senator? Sadler's Sense: What Do You Know! Hunger No Longer Exists in USA Sadler's Sense: Saxton No Tom McCall Sadler's Sense: Measure 45, The Way We Never Were Sadler's Sense: A Squandered Legacy? Sadler's Sense: A Snapshot of Electorial Politics and Power in Oregon Sadler's Sense: Sea Change Sadler's Sense: Ben Westlund's Bid for Governor and Why He Makes Sense Sadler's Sense: Croesus and Responsibility Sadler's Sense: Can We Kick the "Kicker" Habit? 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