Category Archives: Climate Change

Climate Week: Local Climate Action Receives National Attention

Under Mayor Ralph Becker’s leadership, Salt Lake City has taken a proactive approach to climate preparedness and resilience. Learn more about the City’s accomplishments and goals on SLCgreen.com.

And that local action has been receiving some national attention! Recently, the White House and U.S. Department of Energy designated Salt Lake City as a Climate Action Champion community. A total of 16 U.S. communities were recognized as inaugural Climate Action Champions.

In March, Mayor Becker was invited to contribute to the White House Blog, touting the progress made right here in Salt Lake City as a national example of success. View “Local Climate Action Takes Center Stage at the National League of Cities Conference.”

ABC 4 News Features Salt Lake Climate Week

Yesterday, ABC 4 News stopped by Salt Lake City Green to get the scoop on Climate Week — what the City is doing to reduce its impact and what you can do to get started! It’s a fantastic story. Click on the video above to watch the story on Good4Utah.com.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – Salt Lake City officially kicked off its first ever Climate Week. The initiative is designed to increase awareness about the local realities of climate change, what the city is doing to prepare for the future and what residents can do to reduce their impact at home.

No matter your stance on climate change, it’s undeniable Utah is heating up.

Salt Lake City’s Sustainability Program Manager Tyler Poulson explained, “In Utah in recent decades temperatures have been increasing about twice the global average and its certainly something that’s not gone unnoticed in Salt Lake City.”

That’s why the city’s Sustainability Division created the group Salt Lake Climate Change Leaders.

“We’re having monthly workshops for about 26 employees from all departments so airport, fire, police, water and everything in between, and we’ve been learning about climate change, its impact locally and how to make a difference,” said Poulson.

Leaders in that group came up with Climate Week to share what they’ve learned with the community. They say there is five easy steps residents can take to reduce their carbon footprint by about 5,000 pounds of CO2 emissions a year, and even save some money about $500 a year.

One of the easiest steps you can take to save yourself about $100 a year and about a 1,000 pounds in CO2 emissions is to wash your clothes in cold water. Poulson said, “About 90% of the energy and emissions associated with washing your clothes is associated with heating the water.”

Some other actions Poulson suggests, “Keeping your tires fully inflated, or if you’re a Salt Lake City resident checking out the Hive pass for public transit. Some other actions include changing out your lightbulbs to LEDs, they’re really energy efficient and starting to look great, and then also downsizing your trash can and using renewables.”

Salt Lake City is practicing what it preaches. In 2008 the Mayor and City Council committed to reducing its municipal footprint 20% below the 2005 level by 2020, and 80% below that by 2050.

To read more on the city’s efforts to date log on to: slcgov.com/slcgreen/climateaction.
To learn more about climate week log on to: slcgov.com/slcgreen/climateweek.

Climate Week: Understanding the Local Impacts of Climate Change

Dr. Robert Davies with the Utah Climate Center discusses the science of global climate change in his compelling 30 minute presentation, “Earth’s Changing Climate”. The presentation focuses on the physical phenomenon, our understanding based on observation and measurement. Here are a few highlights:

While Earth’s climate does change naturally, the changes we’re seeing today are unique in Earth’s climate history. The Earth is warming and not as part of a natural cycle. Why?

Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide are increasing in the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels at an ever accelerating rate. As a result, energy is trapped, raising the Earth’s temperature.

Specifically in Utah, temperatures have been rising at about twice the global average over the past 40 years.

The rise in temperatures significantly impacts natural systems, which directly affect human systems. What lies ahead? Catastrophic climate disruption is probable.

The answer, however, is yet to be determined and lies in the choices we make.

Watch the full presentation here. If you want to skip ahead to Utah-specific information, start watching at 14 minutes 30 seconds.

Climate Week: SLC in Action, Energy Efficient Technology

As part of Climate Week, the inaugural class of Salt Lake Climate Leaders have been working within their City departments to promote actions that will have a positive impact on the City’s carbon footprint.

Salt Lake City’s Information Management Systems (IMS) Department kicked things off on Monday with a special showcase featuring energy efficient technology that promotes a greener environment. IMS regularly hosts technology fairs to educate City employees the latest technologies available to streamline operations.

This is the first showcase to feature products that will help City departments save energy, reduce their carbon footprint and increase energy consciousness.

Some of the technologies featured include:

Solar charging options and rechargeable battery packs
Low voltage/small footprint computing devices
Low power & longer life projectors
The latest in teleworking and collaboration technology
Portable technologies

Learn more about Climate Week and how you can get involved at SLCgreen.com.

Climate Week: What SLC is Doing to Combat Climate Change

Salt Lake City has been recognized as a Climate Action Champion for showing leadership on climate change. The accomplishments of Salt Lake City in the past seven years demonstrate a commitment and successful track record of innovation and leadership to integrate the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhance climate resilience into local and regional planning and decision-making.

Here are some of the City’s climate actions, goals, and key initiatives:

Joint Resolution To Reduce Carbon Footprint. Mayor Ralph Becker and the Salt Lake City Council signed a joint resolution in 2008 committing the City to reduce its municipal carbon footprint 20% below the 2005 level by 2020; 50% below the 2005 level by 2040; and, 80% below the 2005 level by 2050.

Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory. The City completed its first community GHG inventory in 2009, which quantified 4.75 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions – or 26 metric tons per person – and prompted the City’s commitment to eliminate 1.3 million metric tons of CO2e by 2020. The City also has a goal for reduction of GHG emissions in the community by 80% below the 2005 level by 2050.

Clear the Air Challenge. The City created the Clear the Air Challenge to engage citizens in voluntary reductions in vehicle miles traveled, resulting in the elimination of over 9.5 million single-occupant vehicle miles traveled and reducing more than 7.5 million pounds of GHG emissions between 2009 and 2014.

Salt Lake City Sustainable Code Revision. The Salt Lake City Sustainable Code Revision project is a ground-breaking initiative to incorporate sustainability provisions into zoning and subdivision ordinances.

Salt Lake City Energy and Transportation Sustainability Plan. The Salt Lake City Energy and Transportation Sustainability Plan (2011) details strategies for the City to contribute to climate resilience, cleaner air, greater energy security, a green energy economy, and protection of our water supply, wildlife, and other natural resources. Salt Lake City Energy and Transportation Sustainability Plan goals include:

Decrease total building energy use in the city by 5%, to 35 million MBTUs by 2015
Transform all City government buildings into net-zero facilities
Increase renewable energy generation on City facilities to 2.5 megawatt by 2015
Generation of 10 megawatts of solar energy in the community by 2015
Reduction of vehicle miles traveled by residents by 6.5% by 2015

Salt Lake City Public Safety Building. The City’s $125 million Public Safety Building is the first public safety building in the nation constructed to achieve Net Zero energy use due to the use of multiple innovative energy efficiencies and solar-photovoltaic (PV) technologies.

Livability in Salt Lake City 2012-2016. Mayor Becker published his agenda, Livability in Salt Lake City 2012-2016, to frame a broad vision of local climate response goals, strategies, and actions that lead to greater resiliency, vitality, accessibility, sustainability, and diversity further distilled in the Sustainable Salt Lake Plan 2015.

Sustainable Salt Lake – Plan 2015. The Sustainable Salt Lake – Plan 2015 (Plan 2015) grounds the City’s broad and ambitious climate response strategy with goals, key metrics, and milestones related to air quality, energy, transportation, water resources, urban forestry, and open space. Sustainable City Dashboard. The Sustainable City Dashboard is an innovative new online tool to track key metrics and milestones associated with the Plan 2015 and promote an increased level of public engagement and feedback on climate response initiatives.

To learn more about Salt Lake City’s climate actions, visit SLCgreen.com!

Salt Lake Climate Week is Coming! October 12-16, 2015

Salt Lake City Green is excited to announce that the first ever Climate Week is kicking off next Monday, October 12, 2015!

We’ll be posting daily blogs exploring climate change impacts in Salt Lake City, highlighting how the City is responding to climate change, and what you can do to take action at home.

Stay tuned, and we’ll see you next week!

The University of Utah Explores Society, Water and Climate

The Utah College of Social and Behavioral Science hosted an intriguing breakfast presentation last Friday at the Red Butte Garden Classroom on the topics of Society, Water, and Climate.

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Drs. Rick Forster and Andrea Brunelle. Photo credit: Annette Barrett, University of Utah.

Drs. Rick Forster, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Social and Behavioral Science, and Andrea Brunelle, Geography Chair, presented on the University of Utah’s new interdisciplinary faculty cluster, an effort to focus research and use a multifaceted approach to addressing challenges related to society, water, and climate. The new faculty cluster includes an ecohydrologist, an air quality scientist and a glaciologist. The addition of a social or behavioral scientist is forthcoming. “This transformative cluster connects research on hydrology, air quality, climate change, societal response, and policy, seeking to meld multiple scientific perspectives to lead society towards sustainable water solutions in a changing world.” (Society, Water, and Climate)

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Dr. Rick Forster and Tyler Poulson, SLCgreen Photo credit: Annette Barrett, University of Utah.

Drs. Rick Forster and Andrea Brunelle also shared experiences and some great photos from their own field-based research. Dr. Forster studies glaciers and seasonal snow cover response to climate change. He showed some incredible footage of dripping water, despite air temperatures well below freezing, found when ice cores were lifted to the surface at a research site in Greenland. The water had come from a perennial aquifer under Greenland’s Ice Sheet.

“Climate change will bring increased temperatures combined with likely increases in the severity, frequency, and duration of weather extremes, such as droughts and floods. Changes in water availability due to climate change will be further complicated by use of water for agriculture, changes in land use, and population growth. In many regions of the world, issues centered on climate change and water availability will profoundly shape society in the next century. Addressing these issues requires a focused, transdisciplinary effort from scientists with expertise in society, water and climate.” (The Theoretical Framework of the Society, Water and Climate Research Cluster)

This collaborative approach is an important piece in finding sustainable solutions to issues of society, water, and climate in the future.

Mayor Becker Discusses Air Quality, Energy and Water

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker talks with P3 Utah in a recent podcast.

“Ralph Becker, Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, visits with Steve Klass of P3 Utah about his work developing a world class livable city. Mayor Becker explains his accomplishments in terms of focus on air quality, setting net zero energy efficiency standards for buildings and watershed and recreation protection as part of the recently adopted Mountain Accord.

He explains the roles of local government, state and federal government in carrying out sustainability initiatives. He explains the challenges he is leading the City to meet in continuing progress and expresses a desire for greater public engagement. He says that there are trade-offs and learning at a community level necessary to live differently in order to truly make our metropolitan area more sustainable and adapt successfully to climate change. Listen and be inspired!”

Listen to the podcast here.

Trailblazers of Clean Energy Speaker Series

This fall, Utah Clean Energy and the University of Utah’s Sustainability Office are hosting a first-of-its kind lecture series featuring three climate change innovators. Hear these national experts speak about their outside-the-box approaches to combat climate change and shape a positive future for the world.
Race car driver and Sundance film star, Leilani Münter, will kick off the series on September 22nd at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. When you think race car driving, you usually don’t think environmental activist – unless it’s Leilani Münter. Learn how this fearless female NASCAR driver wants to bring 75 million racing fans over to the “green side.” Her motto is “Live is short. Race hard. Live green.”

The award-winning national director of Green For All, Vien Truong, will speak on October 21st. Truong is one of the nation’s foremost experts fighting for climate justice in low-income communities. Hear from Troung on how we can safeguard the most vulnerable from the worst impacts of climate change.

Bestselling author of Green Sense for Your Home and founder of organicARCHITECT, Eric Corey Freed, will speak on November 5th. Freed promotes both an organic and ecological approach to design and is considered a pioneer in the tradition of Organic Architecture.

Sign up for this three part lecture series on innovative solutions to our world’s most pressing challenges. Tickets are $5 per event and free for University of Utah students (registration required).

Trailblazer of Clean Energy: Leilani Münter Speaks on September 22

“Life is short. Race hard. Live Green”

September 22, 7pm-8pm. S.J. Quinney College of Law
Get Your Tickets Today – $5

The unlikely combination of race car driver and environmental activist! Don’t miss your chance to hear from this extraordinary champion of climate change solutions!

When you think of race car driving, you usually don’t think of environmental activism – unless you know Leilani Münter. A star of the Sundance Film, Racing Extinction, and outspoken race car driver fighting for climate change solutions, Münter is also the first speaker in our Trailblazers of Clean Energy series!

WHEN: September 22, 2015. 7:00 pm

WHERE: S.J. Quinney College of Law, Moot Courtroom. Parking for this event is available at the Rice Eccles stadium lot.