Keep Oregon Great: Your 2009 Wish List

Though the Oregon Conservation Network (OCN) worked hard on much of the environmental legislation in 2007 Legislative Session, OCN worked even harder to push through legislation on the environmental issues we identified as the top five Priorities for a Healthy Oregon.

All five Priorities of the Oregon Conservation Network passed, as did a number of other environmental bills; marking an unprecedented year of success for over 40 environmental groups. 

As you can imagine, identifying the top environmental issues in Oregon is a pretty lengthy process. As a result we are already looking forward to 2009.

We'd love to hear what you consider the top five environmental priorities for Oregon.

Let's work to keep Oregon great!

Please share your thoughts and ideas below.

Comments

[George Seldes]

The first two I previously posted, followed by a number of legislative proposals, not in any particular order:

1) Require the PUC to implement a PAYS(r) tariff (www.paysamerica.org)

2) Pass a law voiding any “no clothesline” covenants . . . or other restrictions on clotheslines.

3) 55 mph speed limit for autos.

4) All new construction residential required to warranty the expected energy usage in the home in the installed location, with buyers or tenants having a right to obtain assistance in troubleshooting any problems from the builder for more than 10% variance.

5) Add small electronics to E-waste recycling (phones, iPods, cameras, pagers, etc.)

6) Carbon tax on all energy deliveries for consumption in the state (i.e., assessed against the fossil fuel importer), with revenue going to the Energy Trust and to build an efficient electrified statewide rail and transit system.

7) Aggressive statewide appliance efficiency standards that "ratchet" upward so that, each year, Oregon sellers cannot sell appliances not in the top 25% for efficiency. (Addl. cost of better appliances paid for via Energy Trust credits and PAYS(r) tariffs.)

8) Statute requiring that all print and electronic advertising showing or reading a price for any appliance covered by an efficiency standard must include the annual energy cost of ownership next to the price; for example, a refrigerator costing $1000 with an annual "Yellow Tag" cost of ownership of $50 would have to show its price as "$1000/$50 annually."

9) A "tax shift" study -- the Legislature should order the administration to produce a comprehensive assessment of how income tax revenue could be replaced by taxing energy consumption, use of non-renewable resources, and emission of pollutants (including CO2).

10) Now that Oregon is committed to reducing greenhouse gases by 80%, the Legislature must pass further legislation requiring that state agencies (ODOT, PUC) and all its subdivisions (counties, Metro, cities, towns, publicly owned utilities, and multi-jurisdictional bodies like Metropolitan Planning Organizations) must assess all future capital spending against the goal, and show that their spending is consistent with and will produce the required reductions. Forbid subdivisions of the state from capital spending unless they can show that the project will lead to the greenhouse reductions.

11) Require a state study of Land Value Taxation (Georgist taxation), a modification to the property tax that would allow Oregon to tax land more than improvements within urban growth boundaries.

12) Full public financing for all state and municipal elections to limit the influence of special interests on the selection of public officials.

13) Eliminate school bus systems within urban growth boundaries--- require that school districts get rid of buses and make public education available within walking or biking distance or on transit routes for all students.

14) Outlaw diesel idling in excess of five minutes. Require Oregon licensed diesel tractors to have auxiliary power supplies that allow the main engine to be shut off.

15) Repeal the HB 2210 biofuels subsidies; or at the very least require a performance audit of their effect in (a) reducing importing of petroleum; (b) reducing greenhouse emissions; (c) contributing to higher food prices.

16) Require all utilities (private or municipal) to offer "smart meters" within 2 years, including (for electric) remote load management (Smart Grid features), time of day rates, etc. All residential units must offer real-time energy monitors in the inside of the dwelling, showing the current consumption and the current rates, and the total charges accrued since last bill.

17) Require all industrial water users discharging to surface waters to draw their intake water downstream of their discharge outlets.

18) Require any individual dairy or animal feeding operation with more than 200 animal units or any collection of operations under different owners within the same area with more than 1000 animal units to capture all wastes and produce electric power through bio-digesters.

19) Require all high-school students to complete at least 1 year of training in nutrition and personal gardening skills before graduation (including year-round care of locally appropriate fruits and vegetables).

20) Require all school districts to offer an elective course in bike selection, safety, and maintenance to all students 12 and older.

21) Require that anyone laying out a house lot (developers, owners, planners) conduct a solar insolation study for each site and assess the annual insolation potential for passive and active solar; refuse permits for designs that do not capture and use at least 80% of the available insolation for space heating, water heating, or photovoltaic power production.

22) Require all multi-family unit builders to do the same as 21.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

[George Seldes]

Oh yeah, here's a good bill for the solid waste folks:

A law requiring all retailers to put a special "no local recycling" sticker on the shelf under any plastic product carrying a recycling logo (the three bent arrows in a triangle) where there is no recycling option offered in that county.

So all the #5 plastic containers, and the #2/#7 bottles, and all the #4 trays etc. etc. that all carry the little "don't hate me, I'm recyclable logo" would be revealed for what they really are: TOTALLY NON-RECYCLABLE except in a special laboratory on Pluto.

We probably can't force the logos off the packages themselves, but we can sure as heck make Oregon retailers be honest and warn consumers that the packaging isn't actually recyclable.

[Brian Wegener]

Top 4 for 2009 Session:

1) Urban stormwater - Get DEQ to enforce water quality standards in municipal storm sewer system permits.

2) Forest Practices - Require forest practices to meet state water quality standards. Bring streamside buffer standards up to those in Washington state.

3) Zero Impact Development - Require that all storm water be treated and infiltrated on site or harvested for domestic use or irrigation.

4) Agricultural streamside buffers - bring agriculture up to standards for urban development.

[George Seldes]

How 'bout we do next time what we should have done this time on CAFOs?

http://upsettingtheapplecart.typepad.com/upsetting_the_apple_cart/2007/06/democrats_fold_.html

[RobertvanCreveld]

I would like to see a Dark Sky Law that helps us take back the night sky.

A law that preserves our heritage and the right to darkness.

This would be legislation affecting outdoor lighting of businesses, signs,stadiums, gas stations, auto dealers,homes, etc. Dark sky rules prevent light from straying over property lines and creating sky glow or glare. See www.darksky.org for more info.

[vicki]

1. Put a tax on big gas guzzling luxury vechicles such as greyhound bus sized campers, power boats, etc. Use the dollars to increase subsidies for energy saving devices such as solar panels which are too costly for most families

2. Require new residential developments to be pedestrian/ biker- friendly rather than car dependent. We have to begin thinking of communitites that are not so car centered.

3. Give tax breaks to small land owners with forested tracks to maintain the trees as C02 sinks rather than logging.

[P.Sydney Herbert]

I like all the previous suggestions. #18 was one of my own: water quality rules for animal feed lots and dairies.In addition:
Overhaul DEQ; fully fund DEQ and ODFW and Parks from general fund

slow growth: stop all subsidies to growth, all tax incentives and especially remove the requiremnt of 20 yrs housing supply.

enforce immigration laws: no sanctuary cities or state; no checks on local law enforcement; require proof of citizenship to obtain Oregon driver's license.

greenhouse gas emission controls.

restore wetlands. Prevent DSL from issuing prmits to fill.

[George Seldes]

Oh yeah --

25 cent deposits (WITH an inflation index) for all disposable batteries (AA, AAA, 9v, C, D, hearing aid, watch, etc.)

Batteries are costly enough that the imposition of a deposit will scarcely be noticed, and the harm from improper disposal of disposable batteries is substantial.

[spicey]

did a little search on State Population Policy and found this interesting tidbit...

http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec3971/index.htm

but I'd like to see Oregon be the first state in the nation to adopt a population policy - ie, we're for small families, education for women, economic opportunities for women, sex ed at all levels, easier access to contraception, easier access to reproductive healthcare, no tax breaks for having kids - encouragement by the state government for all of this and more.

We can install all of the windmills we like, reduce our footprints, etc. If we don't reduce our population, Oregon will become a nicer version of California.

[spicey]

Oh, and kudos to the OLCV - you all rock!

[Marge Stevens]

1) Stop getting electric energy from non-renewable sources by converting to all renewable sources and local production, then close down the coal burning plants, natural gas plants, nuclear plants, and hydro power dams.
2) Identify the biggest impacts for energy conservation and hire a corps of Green Conservation Rangers to methodically take on the work of capturing as much wasted energy as possible.
3) Work with merchants to remove incandescent light bulbs, pesticides, toxic cleaners, overpackaged products, and other harmful products from stores - don't even offer that stuff for sale. That way, people who shop in default mode will automatically make responsible choices. Require a 'prescription' to purchase environmentally harmful or irresponsible products, which will have a remediation fee attached.
4) Require all new construction to be net energy neutral, encourage already-built structures to become net energy neutral - either through direct energy production and conservation, or offsets. The same with manufacturing and industry.
5) Free, frequent, logically connected and convenient mass transit for everyone in the state