City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 10/22/12 Item Number: A-2
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of a Resolution in Support of
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Pollution Under the Clean Air Act.
Contact Person/Dept.: Helen
Kerstein/PW
Phone Number: (310) 253-5618
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (10/18/12)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (09/10/12)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (10/15/12)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (10/17/12)
City Manager Approval:
John Nachbar (10/17/12)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council consider sending a Resolution in Support of
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Pollution Under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and
President Barack Obama.
BACKGROUND:
The CAA is a federal law that charges the EPA with regulating air pollution. Under
the CAA, the EPA sets limits on the emission of a broad range of pollutants from
both mobile and stationary sources in order to promote public health and
environmental protection.
Over the last decade, there has been debate regarding the appropriateness of
regulating greenhouse gases under the CAA. In 2003, the EPA took the position that
it did not have authority under the CAA to regulate carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases for climate change purposes. In 2007, the Supreme Court
disagreed, ruling in Massachusetts vs. EPA that greenhouse gases are air pollutants
and fall under the EPA’s regulatory authority. Following this ruling, the EPA worked
to issue rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions, but has faced additional lawsuits.
Within this context, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute
launched a campaign called “Clean Air Cities” to encourage cities to call on the
administration and the EPA to use the CAA to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
At least three dozen cities have responded so far by passing resolutions, including
the nearby cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The Resolution under
consideration would add the City of Culver City to the list of cities that have taken
this step. City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
DISCUSSION:
On September 19, 2012, the Sustainability Subcommittee (Vice Mayor Cooper and
Councilmember Sahli-Wells) expressed support for this Resolution and directed staff
to bring it forward for consideration by the full City Council.
This Resolution is broadly consistent with the City of Culver City’s history of
environmental stewardship. The City has taken a number of steps to reduce its own
greenhouse gas impact. For example, the City has been a leader in transitioning its
fleet to alternative fuels and has pursued a range of improvements to increase
energy efficiency in its facilities. The City has also signed onto the U.S. Conference
of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, urging action at the federal, state and local
levels to address climate change, and actively participates in programs such as the
Green Communities Challenge and Southern California Edison’s Energy Leader
Partnership Program to help it set and achieve environmental goals.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There is no direct fiscal impact to the City associated with adoption of this
Resolution.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution
MOTION:
1. Consider a Resolution in Support of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Pollution Under
the Clean Air Act; and, if approved,
2. Direct the City Manager to send a copy of this Resolution to Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and President Barack Obama.
MEETING DATE: 10/22/2012
AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of a Resolution in Support of Reducing
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Under the Clean Air Act.
ATTACHMENTS
Pages
1 Resolution
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RESOLUTION NO. 2012-R____
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA, DIRECTED TO
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
ADMINISTRATOR LISA P. JACKSON IN SUPPORT OF
REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS POLLUTION UNDER
THE CLEAN AIR ACT.
WHEREAS, the decade from 2000 to 2010 was the warmest on record|1010|, and
2005 and 2010 tied for the hottest years on record|1010|; and
WHEREAS, the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is approximately 392
parts per million (ppm)|1010|; and
WHEREAS, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, Dr. James Hansen,
stated in 2008: “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization
developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and climate
change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350
ppm|1010|; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that current
and future greenhouse gas concentrations endanger public health|1010|, and according to the
Global Humanitarian Forum, climate change is already responsible every year for some
300,000 deaths, 325 million people seriously affected, and economic losses worldwide of
U.S. $125 billion|1010|; and
WHEREAS, extreme weather events, most notably heat waves and
precipitation extremes, are striking with increased frequency|1010|, with deadly consequences
for people and wildlife; in the United States in 2011 alone, a record 14 weather and climate
disasters occurred, including droughts, heat waves, and floods, which cost at least $US 1
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billion each in damages and loss of human lives|1010|; and
WHEREAS, climate change is affecting food security by negatively impacting
the growth and yields of important crops|10 10|, and droughts, floods and changes in snowpack
are altering water supplies
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; and
WHEREAS, scientists have concluded that by 2100 as many as one in 10
species may be on the verge of extinction due to climate change
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; and
WHEREAS, the world’s land-based ice is rapidly melting, threatening water
supplies in many regions and raising sea levels
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, and Arctic summer sea ice extent has
decreased to about half what it was several decades ago
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, with an accompanying drastic
reduction in sea-ice thickness and volume
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, which is severely jeopardizing ice-dependent
animals
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; and
WHEREAS, sea level is rising faster along the U.S. East Coast than it has for
at least 2,000 years
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, is accelerating in pace
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, and could rise by one to two meters in this
century, threatening millions of Americans with severe flooding
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; and
WHEREAS, for four decades, the Clean Air Act has protected the air we
breathe through a proven, comprehensive, successful system of pollution control that
saves lives and creates economic benefits exceeding its costs by many times
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; and
WHEREAS, with the Clean Air Act, air quality in this country has improved
significantly since 1970, despite major growth both in our economy and industrial
production; and
WHEREAS, between 1970 and 1990, the six main pollutants covered by the
Clean Air Act — particulate matter and ground-level ozone (both of which contribute to
smog and asthma), carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur and nitrogen oxides (the pollutants that
cause acid rain) — were reduced by between 47 percent and 93 percent, and airborne
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lead was virtually eliminated; and
WHEREAS, the Clean Air Act has produced economic benefits valued at $2
trillion or 30 times the cost of regulation; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts vs. EPA (2007)
that greenhouse gases are “air pollutants” as defined by the Clean Air Act and the
Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate them; and
WHEREAS, The City of Culver City prides itself on being a leader in the fight
against climate change and for clean air, and has taken steps such as signing the U.S.
Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, undertaking energy efficiency
projects, and converting much of the City’s fleet to alternative fuels, to demonstrate this
commitment.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Culver City, DOES
HEREBY RESOLVE as follows:
1. Climate change is not an abstract problem for the future or one that
will only affect far-distant places but rather climate change is happening now, we are
causing it, and the longer we wait to act, the more we lose and the more difficult the
problem will be to solve.
2. We, the Culver City City Council, on behalf of the residents of the City
of Culver City, do hereby urge the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
Lisa P. Jackson, and President Barack Obama to move swiftly to fully employ and enforce
the Clean Air Act to do our part to reduce carbon in our atmosphere to no more than 350
parts per million.
3. The City Clerk is hereby authorized to certify the adoption of this
Resolution and forward a copy of this Resolution to Lisa P. Jackson of the Environmental
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Protection Agency and President Barack Obama.
APPROVED and ADOPTED this _____ day of __________ 2012.
ANDREW WEISSMAN, MAYOR
City of Culver City, California
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MARTIN R. COLE, City Clerk CAROL A. SCHWAB, City Attorney
A12-00881
|1010| Press Release, National Aeronautic Space Association, NASA Research Finds Last Decade was Warmest
on Record, 2009 One of the Warmest Years (Jan. 21, 2010), www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/jan/HQ_10-
017_Warmest_temps.html. |1010| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA: 2010 Tied for Warmest Year on Record,
www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20110112_globalstats.html (last visited on 3/30/12). |1010| Co2now.org, What the World Needs to Watch, http://co2now.org (last visited on 3/30/12); Earth System
Research Laboratory of NOAA, Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/
(last visited on 4/2/12). |1010| J. Hansen et al., Target atmospheric CO2: Where should humanity aim?, Open Atmos. Sci. 2, 217 (2008),
http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/ha00410c.html. |1010| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse
Gases under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, 74 Federal Register 66496-66546 (Dec. 15, 2009) (to be
codified at 40 C.F.R. ch. 1), http://epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment.html (last visited 4/2/12). |1010| Global Humanitarian Forum, The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis (2009),
www.eird.org/publicaciones/humanimpactreport.pdf, p.1 of pdf. |1010| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters
to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) (2012), http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/; U.S. Global Change
Research Program, Global Climate Change Impacts in the US: Global Climate Change (2009),
http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/full-report/global-climate-
change; D. Coumou and S. Rahmstorf, A decade of weather extremes, Nature Climate Change (2012),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1452. |1010| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Extreme Weather 2011,
http://www.noaa.gov/extreme2011/ (last visited April 2, 2012); Press Release, World Meteorological
Organization, 2011: world’s 10th warmest year, warmest year with La Nina on record, second-lowest Arctic
sea ice extent (2012), www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/gcs_2011_en.html. |10 10| D.B. Lobell et al., Climate Trends and Global Crop Production Since 1980, Science 333, 616 (July 29, 2011),
www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2011/05/04/science.1204531.abstract; U.S. Global Change Research
Program, Global Climate Change Impacts in the US: Agriculture (2009),
www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/full-report/climate-change-
impacts-by-sector/agriculture.
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U.S. Global Change Research Program, Global Climate Change Impacts in the US: Water Resources
(2009), www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/full-report/climate-
change-impacts-by-sector/water-resources.
11
I.M.D. Maclean and R.J. Wilson, Recent ecological responses to climate change support predictions of high
extinction risk, PNAS 108, 12337 (2011), http://www.pnas.org/content/108/30/12337, summary at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110711151457.htm.
12
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report (2007),
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm,
pp. 30, 49 of pdf.
13
J. Stroeve et al., Arctic Sea Ice Extent Plummets in 2007, EOS 89, 2 (January 8, 2008),
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2008/2008EO020001.shtml, p. 13 of pdf.
14
Polar Science Center, Arctic Sea Ice Volume Anomaly, version 2,
http://psc.apl.washington.edu/wordpress/research/projects/arctic-sea-ice-volume-anomaly/ (last visited April 3,
2012); R. Kwok and D.A. Rothrock, Decline in Arctic sea ice thickness from submarine and ICESat records:
1958-2008, Geophysical Research Letters 36, L15501 (2009),
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2009/2009GL039035.shtml.
15
Center for Biological Diversity and Care for the Wild International, Extinction: It’s Not Just for Polar Bears
(2010),
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_institute/the_arctic_meltdown/arctic_extinction_report.
html.
16
A.C. Kemp et al., Climate related sea-level variations over the past two millennia, PNAS 108, 11017 (2011),
http://www.pnas.org/content/108/27/11017, summary at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110620183242.htm.
17
M.A. Merrifield et al., An Anomalous Recent Acceleration of Global Sea Level Rise, Journal of Climate 22,
5772 (2008), http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/2009JCLI2985.1.
18
B.H. Strauss, Tidally adjusted estimates of topographic vulnerability to sea level rise and flooding for the
contiguous United States, Environmental Research Letters 7 (2012), http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-
9326/7/1/014033, summary at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120314111738.htm.
19
For Clean Air Act facts, see Center for Biological Diversity, The Clean Air Act Works (2011),
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_institute/global_warming_litigation/clean_air_act/pdfs/
CleanA irActWorks_032011.pdf; and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Benefits and Costs of the
Clean Air Act, 1970 to 1990 (1997), http://www.epa.gov/air/sect812/; and U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, The Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act, 1990 to 2010 (1999), http://www.epa.gov/air/sect812/.