By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City Council unanimously, with one abstention, passed a resolution calling for the creation of the city’s first sustainability and climate action plan.
Now the hard work begins as a plan and the details are developed over the next two years.
And one of those details is by what date the city will be carbon neutral – the point at which any carbon emissions are offset by measures to reduce carbon.
The resolution originally called for the city to reach that point by 2040, but an amendment put forth by Council President Mark Hollenbaugh made setting that date the responsibility of the committee developing the plan.
Voting in favor of the amendment were Hollenbaugh, Greg Robinette, Bill Herald, and Sandy Rowland with Jeff Dennis the sponsor of the legislation, Rachel Phipps, who helped draft it, and John Zanfardino, voting against the amendment. The amendment was put forth after an amendment proposed by Robinette that simply took the date out failed. Rowland voted against that amendment.
Robinette said in his remarks supporting his amendment that it was premature to put the date in when the committee had yet to begin its work. The city is already committed to creating the plan and has already appropriated the money, he said.
Herald said that the date may actually end up being sooner or the city might find the best solution was to be 95 percent carbon neutral. “We are committed to continually reducing our carbon footprint, we’ve shown that over decades.”
Rowland asked Phipps if there was a way to massage the language to soften the deadline. “I’m afraid we might not be ready.”
Phipps said “no,” reiterating that the final plan when developed would have to come before council.
After the meeting, Phipps said, the date was not as important as passing the resolution, and getting the city on the path to writing the plan.
Bowing Green has a good record in addressing environmental issues, she said.
That was a point made by residents who spoke in favor of the resolution.
Dante Tanner said he was proud of what the city and mayor had already done to address climate change. The heat waves, flooding, and wildfires experienced this summer were all signs that of its traumatic effects.
Dealing with climate change is “the most important issue council will deal with,” he said. It will help shape the world he lives in and his family will live in.
Ahmad Mehmood, who came from India to study at Bowling Green State University, called the United States the last line of defense against climate change. If the country acts, others will follow.
Climate change threatens to submerge the entire nation of Bangladesh, and its population of 160 million by the end of the century.
He argued in favor of having a date for reaching carbon neutrality in the resolution. “If you don’t have a date, you don’t have a plan,” he said. “You have a wish list.”
The resolution without the date passed 6-0. Herald abstained. He said that he was doing so out of concern that there may be a perceived conflict of interest because he works for First Solar, which produces solar panels. As such the company may benefit from any plan to cut carbon emissions.
