Over three dozen elected officials, local and state government officials from fifteen Hampton Roads local governments, and representatives from area environmental organizations gathered for the Hampton Roads Climate Leadership Workshop - VML Go Green Government Challenge on Thursday June 25 at Sandy Bottom Nature Park in Hampton, VA. (See partial list of attendees on the flip.)

The workshop was sponsored by the newly formed Hampton Roads Cool Communities Coalition (HRCCC). The goal of the worshop was to help local governments move forward in measuring and reducing both municipal and community carbon footprints.

“We want cities to measure because you can’t conserve what you don’t measure,” said Randie Trestrail, who along with Ken Ricklin serve as co-chairs of the coalition. “Recognizing the seriousness of the situation and wanting to contribute to the solutions to climate change, HRCCC was formed by a group of fully engaged citizens eager to help support their local communities in their efforts to reduce GHG emissions”, she added.

Speakers included Dr. Diana Christopolous from the hugely successful Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition; Joe Lerch, director of the Virginia Municipal League’s Go Green Government program; and Glen Besa, Virginia chapter director of the Sierra Club.

More from today’s Daily Press’ article “Cool coalition works to lower local emissions”…

Diana Christopulos, chair of the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition, spoke to the group about how Roanoke officials measured emissions of both municipal government operations and the entire community. University graduate-student interns with academic supervision gathered the data and used software to calculate how much carbon dioxide and other ozone-depleting gases were generated from homes, businesses, industry, traffic and other sources. From there, Roanoke made a goal to stop increasing emissions by 2010 and to have a 10 percent reduction every five years thereafter through 2050.

Christopulos stressed the need for local governments to be leaders in reducing emissions to be a role model for the community. She also talked about ways local governments to cut back on greenhouse gases: conserving by having municipal vehicles take fewer trips, for example. Buying energy-efficient vehicles, appliances and lighting helps too, she said.

“One way to get started is to do the Go Green Virginia challenge,” Christopulos said.

Cool communities are cities and counties that have made a commitment to curbing global warming pollution by signing the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Initiative, joining the ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability program, and/or qualifying as Virginia Green Certified with the VML.

After making the pledge, the next step is to work toward accomplishing the specific goals outlined in the pledge. HRCCC’s work with any one Hampton Roads community may involve developing a carbon inventory and creation of a climate action plan. It may involve creation of a citizen task force. Next steps may include a push for specific policies for green buildings, green fleets, or renewable energy.

“Many communities in our area have made the commitment to measuring and reducing their footprints, but few have actually completed an inventory, set emissions target reductions, made a plan, implemented a plan, and evaluated the plan” said Randie Trestrail. HRCCC hopes to change that around quickly.

For more info on HRCCC, click here.

June 25th HRCCC Workshop Speakers and Attendees

Speakers:
Dr. Diana Christopolous, Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition
Joe Lerch, Virginia Municipal League Go Green Government director
Glen Besa, Virginia Chapter Sierra Club.

Elected Officials in attendance:
Joseph Barlow, City Council Member, City of Suffolk
Al Casteen - Board of Supervisors, Isle of Wight
James Burell - Board of Supervisors, New Kent County
Traci-Dale Crawford - City Council Member, City of Poquoson

Others:
Brian Ballard, AICP - Principal Planner, Dept. of Planning, City of Chesapeake
Jim Beach - Superintendent, Facilities and Grounds, City of Poquoson
Barbara S. Brumbaugh - Environmental Quality Coordinator, City of Chesapeake
John Deuel - Executive Director, Norfolk Environmental Commission, City of Norfolk
Reed Fowler - Director of Public Works, Newport News
Donald Goodwin - Director of Community Development, Franklin City
Lori J. Herrick - MBA, LEED AP - Assistant Business Mgr., Convention Center, Virginia Beach
John Horne - Mgr., General Services, James City County
Christine Llewellyn, MD - Director, Williamsburg Climate Action Network (WCAN), City of Williamsburg
Ms. Amy Ring - Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning, Isle of Wight
Jodi Miller - Assistant City Mgr., Williamsburg
Bob Peterson - Director of General Services, York County
Jennifer Privette - Environmental Coordinator, James City County
John Swaddle, Ph.D. - Director of Environmental Science and Policy, College of William & Mary
Phil Zapfel - Fellow for Sustainability Program at William and Mary
Mark Fowler, Ph.D. - Professor of Environmental Studies College of William and Mary
Eric Walberg - Principal Physical & Environmental Planner, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC)
Ping Yip - Facilities Environmental Mgr., Dept. of Public Works, City of Newport News
Jacqueline Roquemore - Assistant Director, Center for Wetland Conservation, Christopher Newport University