There’s a new organization in Jacksonville devoted to climate change awareness! The Jacksonville Greenhouse Alliance was founded with the express intention of getting our civic leadership to sign on the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. The Agreement is an effort begun by the mayor of Seattle, Greg Nickels, to encourage local governments in the United States to adopt Kyoto Protocol standards. As of December 2006, 353 American mayors had signed on to the agreement, which has three key components:
- Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns;
- Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol — 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and
- Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission trading system
Go check out the site and sign the petition! There’s a list of upcoming JGA events as well as information on things that you can do to be more climate-friendly.
