While scientists have long recognized climate change induced by human activities as a serious environmental threat, it has only received intermittent attention from the public at large. The release of the documentary An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 has brought on intense and widespread interest amongst the public and policy-makers. For a human action to affect the climate, it must be done on a tremendously widespread scale, which means that (a) it is so central to our lifestyles that it is not easy to change and that (b) it is quite complex and could potentially be changed in any number of ways. This raises the question: given that we have limited resources, what activities will have the greatest bang for the buck? That is, which mitigation and adaptation activities have the greatest cost-benefit ratios?
In California, City and County General Plans are required to provide guidance on desired patterns of development for at least the next twenty years. The State Attorney General’s Office has required that these Plans also serve as a tool to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies. This includes activities linked to some of the highest GHG emissions from fuel and energy use, including transportation, the built environment, and water and energy conservation.
Books, Articles, Papers
San Diego 2050 Report, Available at: http://www.cleantechsandiego.org/reports/Focus2050_Technical%20Assesment.pdf
City of San Diego General Plan, Available at: http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/genplan/index.shtml
NRC Report: Compact Development Would Curb Driving, Reduce CO2 Emissions
As the U.S. population swells from 281 million in 2000 to 363 million in 2030 and almost 420 million in 2050, its housing stock of 105.5 million units will need partial replacement and expansion, first by a total of 57 million and then by 62 million to 105 million new units, a prospect in which the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) 12-member Committee for the Study on the Relationship Among Development Patterns, Vehicle Miles Traveled, and Energy Consumption sees an opportunity for a gradual shift toward higher urban densities and mixed uses, both necessary to cap and eventually reduce carbon (CO2) emissions.
http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7259&state=52
Web Resources - Links and Data
California Climate Change Portal - http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/
Key Organization / Institutions
Union of Concerned Scientists - http://www.ucsusa.org/
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