Earth Share of Washington

Northwest Solutions to Climate Change - Part 1 of 2 - Explaining Cap & Trade

- Submitted by Jesse Stanley from Earth Share organization NW Energy Coalition

In this two-part series, we will be featuring articles from two Earth Share of Washington organizations – NW Energy Coalition and Climate Solutions – offering potential solutions to the climate crisis. Part one delves into some of the strategies to lower CO2 emissions while part two outlines some specific legislation that makes up one of this year's Priorities for a Healthy Washington.

Global warming, and global-warming solutions, will dramatically affect Washington state residents in the coming years and decades. The state's coastal areas and shoreline cities are threatened by rising sea levels, and much of our electrical power - not to mention irrigation and municipal water supplies and other Columbia River benefits - depends on already diminishing mountain snow pack.

Thus, it's no accident that in the absence of a comprehensive federal approach, Washington is in the vanguard of states responding to the climate change challenge. The state has passed aggressive renewable energy and conservation standards and set limits on the amount of global-warming pollution that power plants serving its residents are allowed to emit.

And now Washington has assumed leadership of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), an association of states and provinces that have collectively committed to substantial reductions in total emissions of carbon dioxide and other climate-changing emissions. The WCI's current task is to fashion a regional “cap-and-trade” system to help achieve the reduction goals. Staff from the NW Energy Coalition, many of its member organizations and from other environmental and energy organizations are involved in helping to refine a proposal for release next August.

While the term "cap-and-trade" is being tossed around quite a bit these days at both the local national levels, it’s a hard concept to get your arms around. Basically, cap-and-trade systems are market-based approaches to reducing greenhouse gases. Government would impose a cap on total greenhouse emissions (principally carbon dioxide) and gradually lower that maximum. Government would distribute allowances – basically pollution permits – equal to the cap. Trading in those allowances is where the market comes in. Those with extra allowances could sell them to those wishing to pollute more than their permits allow.

Allowances would become valuable commodities. Businesses and utilities would save money by having to buy fewer of them, or make money by selling those they don’t use. An electric utility that reduces its global-warming emissions through investing in energy efficiency or clean renewable power could sell its freed-up allowances in the market.

Why do we need cap-and-trade in the electricity sector in Washington when we’ve already passed a clean-energy initiative and greenhouse-gas emissions performance standards? These laws work well for NEW electric generation decisions, but they have limited effect on existing fossil fuel plants.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council recently noted that coal-fired power plants produce 80 percent of the region’s generation-related CO2 emissions. It says cutting climate emissions by at least 70 percent of 1990 levels by 2050 will require both aggressive development of conservation and renewables AND closure of all Northwest coal plants.

A well-designed cap-and-trade system for the electric sector could achieve that goal. We need a robust public debate because a fair and effective system requires some difficult decisions. For example:

1. Who gets the credits? Allowances can be granted to power generators based on their plants' emissions, or to utilities based either on the emissions created in producing the power that serves their customers, or simply on the amount of power they sell. The latter choice rewards utilities, such as Seattle City Light, for having relied primarily on hydropower. Their customers will benefit from sales of unneeded allowances to relatively carbon-heavy utilities, such as Puget Sound Energy. That satisfies the "polluter pays" principle, but is it fair to Puget customers, who have no choice about which utility serves them?
2. Free or auction? Auctioning off allowances makes polluters pay and gives them greater incentive to reduce emissions. But again, what’s the effect on consumers, especially those struggling financially, when rates rise to cover their utility’s emission permits? Revenue from the auction might be used to assist low-income consumers and spur clean-energy development.

Among the myriad other issues that merit public discussion are the rate of ramping down the cap, potential purchase of offsets in place of direct reductions, and avoiding the export of pollution and jobs to other countries. The questions aren't easy to answer, but we must address them and construct a fair and effective means to slash carbon emissions . . . and do it soon.

For a more in-depth discussion of cap-and-trade issues, you may watch a debate on the subject between two noted Western energy experts, Ralph Cavanagh of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Microdesign Northwest consulting economist Jim Lazar, which was recorded at the NW Energy Coalition's fall conference this October. See the debate at www.nwenergy.org/blog.

American Forests Pledges Support to Restore Wildfire-Stricken California

Earth Share of Washington organization American Forests wants to match $2.8 million already in place for planting over 5.5 million trees

A nonprofit group awarded nearly $3 million to plant trees in California announced today it was launching a fund to double that amount to reforest fire-scarred areas of the state.

American Forests, the nation's oldest nonprofit conservation group, was awarded $2.8 for tree planting earlier this year, in a settlement with ConocoPhillips. The nonprofit also announced it is forming a task force to determine where to plant the trees and the best species to locate there.

"Our hearts go out to all those in California who have lost so much in these fires," Executive Director Deborah Gangloff said. "As soon as assessments have been done and planting can proceed, we are ready to help the state begin the healing process. And that process begins with trees."

American Forests' Global ReLeaf program has planted more than 27 million trees in the U.S. and around the world. Of those, more than 800,000 have been planted in California since 1991, with more than 500,000 planted to reforest wildfire-stricken areas. Each $1 donation plants 1 tree.

"Our California Wildfire ReLeaf Fund is now accepting money to match the $2.8 million we were awarded. We appreciate the trust that has been placed in us and are eager to begin the process of healing the land with trees," Gangloff said.

American Forests’ mission is to grow a healthier world with trees. Through community-based initiatives we help people understand the many values of trees and restore forest ecosystems in urban and rural areas. Our work encompasses tree planting, urban forestry, environmental education, and community-based forestry. American Forests is on the World Wide Web at www.americanforests.org.

On the Water (Trail) with Lewis & Clark

- By Reed Waite of Earth Share organization Washington Water Trails Association

On a June morning in 2001 Washington Water Trails Association member Bob Burco, visiting eastern Washington, walked into the Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District office and asked a simple question. "Why is it that all the Lewis and Clark signs I see are on the highways, when in fact they traveled on rivers?" Phil Benge, Corps recreation planner, didn’t have an answer that morning.

On the sunny afternoon of August 27, 2007 in Cascade Locks, Oregon, Phil Benge had the answer to the question - a 367-mile water trail beginning at Canoe Camp on the Clearwater River in Idaho and flowing down the Snake and Columbia Rivers through Washington and Oregon. The route ends at Bonneville Lock and Dam, miles downstream from his Walla Walla office, where four national agencies and numerous state and local organizations held a signing ceremony pledging to work together on the Northwest Discovery Water Trail. Congressman Brian Baird was among the speakers to herald the good news of so many entities working together to build a better future on the water.

Linked at Bonneville with the Lower Columbia River Water Trail, the two form a 500-mile river highway for boaters wanting to explore native American trade routes, numerous wildlife refuges, historic towns, and the path the Army Corps of Discovery, under Lewis and Clark, traversed over 200 years ago.

The Northwest Discovery Water Trail (www.ndwt.org) MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) signing culminated over 5 years of planning. During this time a steering committee conducted public meetings and workshops from Orofino, Idaho to Portland, Oregon and identified 200 sites along the three rivers suitable for camping, picnicking and launching motorized- and non-motorized boats. The goals of the Northwest Discovery Water Trail include improving public launch and landing sites and other facilities that support the water trail user, promoting boating safety, commemorating water trail heritage, and supporting environmental stewardship along the trail.

At the first public meeting in Richland in November 2001, participants requested the Army Corps of Engineers, with its extensive shoreline property, lead the effort. Others offered help and many partners – a library district, paddle clubs, parks, and community groups – brought their energies to the project. Washington State Parks won technical assistance from the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program and funding for trail markers. The Nez Perce Tribe and nine partners conducted a cleanup on the Clearwater, removing rusting car chassis from the shore. The Army Corps of Engineers published a trail guide, visual aids, and bookmarks. Washington Water Trails Association (WWTA) members donated $25,000 to fund planning efforts for the water trail system that crosses the width of the state.

Joining Washington Water Trails Association as MOU signatories are the Army Corps of Engineers; US Forest Service, Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership, National Park Service, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Idaho State Parks, Oregon State Parks, Oregon State Marine Board, U.S. Coast Guard, and Columbia Riverkeeper. "Each organization agreed that strategies should focus on what is best for the users of the water trail,” said Patricia Williams, Natural Resources Chief for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Portland. "That focus highlights the water trail and not the individual agencies' goals and supports what is important for the water trail's success."

The next steps are completing a multi-agency management plan, finishing marking the trail on riverbanks, and ground-truthing information collected during six years of planning. In September and October BLM and Army Corps employees placed signs on the Clearwater reach of the trail and mid-Columbia.

Native Plants go online

- By Catherine Hovanic of Earth Share organization Washington Native Plant Society

You definitely have a reason to check out the Washington Native Plant Society's (WNPS) website now where you will find some fabulous new content for those interested in gardening with native plants, for those working with school aged children and for those interested in habitat restoration using native plants.

For over a decade, Starflower Foundation partnered with community and school groups, city agencies, volunteer organizations, local businesses and landscape designers to create Pacific Northwest native plant communities. The foundation supported 18 urban habitat restoration projects, worked with schools developing native plant curricula for teachers, and kept a database of information on some 200 native plants including over 1000 photos.

Starflower Foundation will cease operations in December 2007 and it is their wish that their work and what they have learned be shared with others. Over the past six months they have contracted with web professionals to develop content for the Washington Native Plant Society's website.

Soon you will be able to look up over 200 native plant species in an Image Herbarium where you will find great photographs with identification aspects featured and be able to learn about their morphological characteristics, when they flower, what their fruits look like, and learn about their ecology, habitat preferences, wildlife and ethnobotanical values. But that's not all. There will also be web content on Quick and Easy Habitat Education Activities. Teachers and others will have access to a plethora of outdoor education activities for teaching children about the ecology of native plants, weeds and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. Grade-level appropriate lessons are arranged in sequential learning units. Activity sheets, identification cards, native plant of the month posters are all available for downloading and using in the classroom or with children at home.

Links to the Image Herbarium, the Quick and Easy Habitat Education Activities, and Native Plant Habitat Restoration Documentation will be featured on the WNPS home page: www.wnps.org

Upcoming Events & Volunteer Opportunities - November 2007

• November 1 - Lecture Series: Puget Sound Shorelines - A Naturally Changing Environment - 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm - 
REI Flagship Store, 222 Yale Ave. N., Seattle, WA - An "Exploring Puget Sound” presentation by Hugh Shipman, Department of Ecology Coastal Geologist. Puget Sound’s coastline is a fascinating mix of high bluffs and beaches, lagoons and estuaries, small stream mouths and big river deltas. Each of these different ecosystems owes its unique character to geological processes that move sediment from one place to another, usually during storms, floods, and landslides. Geologist Hugh Shipman shows how much of the ecological damage to our shorelines has been an unintended consequence of our desire to control these processes and to maintain a static landscape. Come explore this wide variety of coastal landforms, the geological processes that shape them, and implications for the future of Puget Sound. For more information or to sign up, contact KrisTina Hertz at 
"khertz@pugetsound.org":mailto:khertz@pugetsound.org or by calling 
(206) 382-7007.
• November 3 - Second Annual Green Seattle Day – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm - Seattle's forested parklands need your help. Come out on November 3, 2007 and join over 500 citizens, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community groups to celebrate the 2nd Annual Green Seattle Day. Plant a tree and join the fun at your favorite Seattle park. The main site will be at Interlaken Park, but there are also 16 other sites throughout the city where you can get involved. To find a park near you visit www.greenseattle.org. Individuals and small groups can register with the contacts listed for each site. For general information or to register a group of 15 people or more please send an email to info@greenseattle.org or call 206-905-6920.
  
  Parks Include: Interlaken Park, Frink Park Discovery Park, Colman Park, Leschi Overlook, Lincoln Park, S Portage Bay St, Mark’s Greenbelt, Magnuson Park, Dahl Playfield, Seward Park, NE Queen Anne Greenbelt, Camp Long, Carkeek Park, W Duwamish Greenbelt, Yesler Creek, and Webster Pond
• November 5 - Pioneer Park Restoration Work Party - 
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm - Work with EarthCorps and the City of Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Dept. to help restore Pioneer Park. Pioneer Park is 113 acres of forested habitat, the largest forested park on Mercer Island. This park is home to over 70 bird species and 12 different mammals, and offers the most extensive trail system on the island. The restoration goals for this park include planting native conifer trees, removing non-native plants, such as ivy, that prevent native plants from growing, and site maintenance activities. For more information, contact Lina Anne Rose, Project Manager at (206) 322-9296, ext. 225 or email "lina@earthcorps.org"
  :mailto:lina@earthcorps.org
• November 7 – Lecture: Elwha River Restoration: Building Momentum for Future Stewardship - 7:00 PM - Seattle REI
 - _Presented by American Rivers and Olympic Park Institute_

 - Those who have explored the Olympic National Park or National Forest, know what brilliant natural wonders they hold. Now imagine one of those wonders--the Elwha River--literally coming back to life. 

The most significant river restoration effort of our time will soon begin on Washington's Elwha River. Two large dams will be dismantled to restore the river's once-legendary salmon runs, and to revive an entire ecosystem from the mountains to the sea. 

Join educational directors from American Rivers and Olympic Park Institute for a multi-media presentation on the restoration effort. Through film, stories and photography, learn about this pivotal restoration project. 

Contact: 206-223-1944.
• November 10 - Dahl Playfield Volunteer Work Party - 
10:00 am to 2:00 pm - Join EarthCorps, Friends of Dahl Playfield, the City of Seattle Dept of Parks & Recreation, the Green Seattle Partnership and King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks as they transform the area formerly known as the “Ravenna Swamp” into a thriving ecosystem. Volunteers will be planting native trees, shrubs, groundcovers and emergent plants. For more information, contact Chris LaPointe, Volunteer Program Manager at (206) 322-9296, ext. 217 or email chris@earthcorps.org.
• November 10 - Diagonal Marsh Habitat Restoration - 10:00 am to 2:00 pm - 
Diagonal Avenue South at E. Marginal Way South, Seattle, WA - 
Join People For Puget Sound and volunteer Sound Stewards at Diagonal and GSA Marshes on the Duwamish River. This former industrial site is now a green oasis providing shelter and food for ospreys, great blue herons, bald eagles and juvenile fish. Volunteers will work together to remove pesky invasive weeds like blackberry and bindweed that threaten to overtake native plants. Put on your (work) gloves and join the fun. For more information or to sign up contact Eliza Ghitis at eghitis@pugetsound.org or by calling (206) 382-7007.
• November 15 - Washington Wilderness Coalition for its Annual Dinner and Silent Auction – 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at St. Demetrios Hall, Seattle, WA - This year’s very special keynote speaker is Daniel J. Evans. As Washington's only three-time Republican Governor, United States Senator and lifelong wilderness champion, Dan Evans had key roles in the creation of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, expansion of the Olympic National Park coastline, passage of the 1984 Washington Wilderness Act protecting more than one million acres of National Forest, and the 1988 Washington Park Wilderness Act protecting more than 90% of Mt. Rainier, Olympic and N. Cascades National Parks as wilderness. He has been a powerful voice supporting bipartisan efforts to protect Washington’s wilderness heritage. Tickets are $75. Table and event sponsorships are also available. For more information or to reserve your tickets, call Lisa at 206.633.1992.
• November 16 - Spokane "Business Partners" Winter Breakfast - 
Introducing Thomas Hammer Eco-Brews:Sustainability has never tasted so good! - Featured speaker: Tom Hammer, Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters - RSVP one week in advance for this complimentary breakfast to Amber at awaldref@landscouncil.org or 838-4912.
• December 1 - Carkeek Park Volunteer Work Party - 
10:00 am to 2:00 pm - Located in Northwest Seattle, Carkeek Park is one of the city's premier natural areas. There are trails for hiking, amazing views of Puget Sound, and meadows for picnics. Carkeek Park is also home to Piper's Creek, an important waterway for spawning salmon. Volunteers will be planting native trees, shrubs and ground cover, removing harmful invasive plant species like English ivy, and performing restoration site maintenance. For more information, contact Chris LaPointe, Volunteer Program Manager at (206) 322-9296, ext. 217 or email chris@earthcorps.org