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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW UPDATED: Trump, Sanders victorious in New Hampshire primaries ... Man jailed after allegedly groping jogger on Bear Creek Greenway ... Oregon man who killed officer had long criminal record ... UPDATED: Trump, Sanders victorious in New Hampshire primaries ... Man jailed after allegedly groping jogger on Bear Creek Greenway ... Oregon man who killed officer had long criminal record ... GUEST OPINION We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions Comment By Alan Journet MailTribune.com By Alan Journet Posted May. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Alan Journet Posted May. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Oregon leadership is possible! Increasing temperatures, reducing snowpack, drought, and increasing wildfire risk can be addressed without inducing a statewide economic collapse. Although a few nests of self-serving, politically motivated science deniers still exist, nonpartisan climate science offers a convincing explanation for the climate trends we are experiencing. That same science also offers an alarming vision for our future if we do not adjust our behavior. By the end of the century, Oregon will be between 8 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than historically. Without action to address the causal pollution of greenhouse gases from using fossil fuels, our valued natural, agricultural, and forestry systems will be seriously compromised. Oregon will not escape the outcome destined to occur across our fragile planet: The livability of our state for future generations is at risk. Despite the science deniers, polls indicate that the majority of Oregonians think we should address this problem. Assuredly, on a global basis, Oregon is not a major greenhouse gas emitter. However, when it comes to protecting our planet such that future generations can enjoy what we enjoy, the moral imperative is that we all need to pitch in and reduce our emissions whenever possible. This is as moral an imperative for each of us individually as it is for our state; if we care about our children, grandchildren and beyond, we must all do whatever we can to address this paramount problem. Denying science does not serve the future, only dramatic individual and collective action will turn this Titanic around. But we can do it if we start now. In 2007 the Oregon Legislature approved and Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed HB 3543, requiring greenhouse gas emissions reductions to 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 75 percent below this by 2050. Regrettably, no enabling action accompanied this far-sighted legislation. As a result, the state is no longer a leader, but lags behind the trajectory that could achieve these worthwhile goals. In 2015 several bills were introduced designed to enable our achievement of those 2007 goals by reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions. Among the bills reviewed by the House Energy and Environment Committee, HB 3470, the Climate Stability and Justice Act, was passed and now is moving forward. This bill is modeled on the highly successful California greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade approach. Passed in 2006, the California Global Warming Solutions Act has reduced greenhouse gas emissions substantially. Meanwhile, in 2005 governors of several Eastern states signed a memorandum of understanding establishing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, committing these states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially. the agreement now incorporates Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. The two basic messages from these experiences are: (1) state efforts to cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions are already underway, and (2) they are proving successful. Furthermore, in none of these states has the program resulted in economic disaster. Indeed, the economies of all states now having a greenhouse gas cap system in place are not only surviving but growing. The argument that reducing Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions by means of a cap will tank the economy is denied by evidence from around the country. Among the merits of HB 3470 are the following: The bill targets are exactly those legislated in the 2007 HB 3543, and thus the bill imposes no new requirements above those already legislatively agreed. The bill assures that current and rapidly advancing scientific and economic knowledge is employed to develop and assess the policy. The bill assures that the program will not prejudicially disadvantage low-income Oregonians. The bill does not impose a tax or fee on greenhouse gas emissions. Rather, it sets a limit on emissions and authorizes the Oregon Conservation Commission through the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a program that puts the state on a path to achieving determined emissions limits. Since it incorporates full life-cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions measured in terms of their carbon dioxide equivalents, the bill genuinely addresses the full range of problem emissions that are contributing to global warming. Additionally, results of statewide opinion polling indicate that Oregonians want action on global warming and that this is the preferred approach. For these reasons, Southern Oregon Climate Action Now urges that our Legislature and governor give serious and positive consideration to HB3470, the Climate Stability and Justice Act. Alan Journet of Jacksonville is co-facilitator of Southern Oregon Climate Action Now. By Alan Journet MailTribune.com By Alan Journet Posted May. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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