Comment Log Display

COMMENTS ON AB 32 PROPOSED SCOPING PLAN,
SUBMITTED BY SIERRA CLUB CALIFORNIA, November 19, 2008


IV. IMPLEMENTATION: Putting the Plan into Action (p. 99)

A. Personal Action (p. 100)

Sierra Club is pleased that the Proposed Scoping Plan includes
Personal Action as an important strategy for curbing GHG emissions.
It calls for the “active participation of the people of California”
including “the voluntary commitment and involvement of millions of
individuals and households.”

To encourage this voluntary commitment and involvement, we propose
that CARB track on the Internet the effect of individual and family
actions on lowering greenhouse gas emissions. A statewide
electronic registry could record the results of their actions and
report back via graphics and numbers the mounting total of
emissions curbed.

Without such a measurement, individuals and families will lower
their carbon footprint alone, receiving little or no feedback.   

However, if they anticipate positive feedback, people will be much
more likely to act. They will know for sure that their actions are
having a positive effect. Knowing they’ve made a concrete
contribution will motivate them to do even more, and to urge their
friends and family to participate. This approach would also utilize
the latest motivational research, which indicates that if people
believe “everybody is doing it,” they are much more likely to do
it.

By providing evidence of the effectiveness of individual actions,
a public electronic measurement would furnish a way to turn fear of
the effects of global warming into positive action. It will help
eliminate feelings of helplessness in the face of a global problem.
  

Public measurement of voluntary actions would also draw
individuals and families into the overall effort that CARB proposes
in the Scoping Plan. Their experience will give them the feeling of
“buying in.” That will build their interest in learning about and
supporting   CARB’s efforts and those of industry, transportation,
agriculture, and other sectors.  By feeling part of a community
statewide effort, they would become interested in and supportive of
the steps being taken in other sectors – for example, government
land use changes to reduce vehicle travel, etc.

Technology exists that would allow individuals and families who
choose some of the actions recommended by CARB to receive positive
feedback on their actions.  

CARB should create a website where individuals and families could
record the changes they’re making in home insulation, windows,
appliances, roof color, shading, compact fluorescents, recycling,
reducing vehicle travel, and other emissions-curbing activities.
Statewide tallies exist of some of these measures taken by large
commercial installations. A tally of personal individual and family
measures taken could also be created.  A mountain of data on
individual solar (PV and DHW) installations already exists.

Lucid Design Group for example, a California company, provides
buildings with an interactive website and touch-screen kiosk
display that makes resource use of energy, saving of money, and
offset of emissions visible and easily understandable.   That
technology might be adapted for use in tracking individual and
family contributions. 

Furthermore, tracking progress in curbing individual or family
emissions would be fun, like following a sports team. It will be
like checking the stock market, except that this measure will
always go up.  It will give families a game to play  

CARB should put in staff time to develop this project. Private
partners might be interested in developing appropriate technology
and a business model. 

Watching the numbers or a thermometer-like graphic rise by logging
on to a public website would create a sense of the community
pulling together. We shouldn’t underestimate the power of such
feelings. People have yearnings to take part in idealistic national
efforts and the feelings of solidarity such efforts create can be
strong. Think of everyone pulling together in World War II and the
public enthusiasm for and interest in the 2008 presidential
election. Surely there’s no statewide effort healthier or more
universally beneficial than saving energy, switching to renewables
and reducing vehicle travel.

We would feel like we’re all in this together – which we are. 


B. Public Outreach and Education (p. 100)

• All four strategies are excellent.

• Funding is needed for training teachers in the climate change
curriculum.

• The Plan should include detailed public awareness campaigns,
with budgets (funded by carbon fees), that will be used to involve
the public in all aspects of the Plan.

• Successful implementation of California’s historic global
warming law will require a program that is open and transparent to
the public, including performance and compliance tracking
information of all components accessible via the Internet.