r-10624City Council Meeting: October 11, 2011
RESOLUTION NUMBER
Santa Monica, California
jotp 2-1 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA IN SUPPORT OF REDUCING GREENHOUSE
GAS POLLUTION THROUGH ENFORCEMENT OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT
WHEREAS, environmental stewardship is one of the City of Santa Monica's core
values; and
WHEREAS, the City expresses its commitment to environmental stewardship
through a multitude of policies, laws and programs that promote sustainability; and
WHEREAS, climate change poses an unprecedented risk to the environment and
to the future of the Earth as we know it; and
WHEREAS, as early as the 1850s, scientists began predicting that greenhouse
gases from burning fossil fuels would eventually lead to the warming of the Earth's
surface; and
WHEREAS, the decade from 2000 to 2010 was the warmest on record, and 2005
and 2010 tied for the hottest years on record; and
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WHEREAS, the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is approximately 392
parts per million (ppm); and
WHEREAS, the current international pledges to address the climate crisis are so
weak that they could result in 770 ppm CO2 by 2100 a concentration of CO'
incompatible with human life as we know it; and
WHEREAS, 97 percent of scientific experts are convinced that human activity is
responsible for climate change, and there is a growing consensus among researchers
that reducing atmospheric concentrations of COz to 350 ppm or below as soon as
possible is needed to avoid risking catastrophic and irreversible climate change; and
WHEREAS, according to the Global Humanitarian Forum, climate change is
already responsible every year for some 300,000 deaths, harm to 325 million people
seriously affected, and economic losses worldwide of U.S. $125 billion; and
WHEREAS, extreme weather events are striking with increased frequency with
deadly consequences for people and wildlife in the United States including record
numbers of hurricanes, blizzards, floods, droughts and heat waves; and
WHEREAS, climate change is threatening food security as crop growth and
yields diminish and droughts, floods and changes in snowpack depth are disrupting
water supplies; and
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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 with many animals and
plants already losing their habitats and food sources, moving poleward to keep pace
with the changing climate, shifting their timing of breeding and migration patterns, and
disappearing as populations die out; and
WHEREAS, the oceans. have become 30 percent more acidic since the industrial
revolution due to their uptake of carbon dioxide, which is threatening ocean life from
shellfish to corals; and
WHEREAS, the world's ice is rapidly melting threatening water supplies, raising
sea levels, and jeopardizing ice - dependent animals; and
WHEREAS, according to Scientific American, sea level is rising faster along the
U.S. East Coast than it has for at least 2,000 years, and is accelerating in pace,
threatening coastal wildlife and the 40 percent of the world's population that lives within
60 miles of the coast, 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; 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
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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 acid gases
that cause acid rain) — were reduced by between 47 percent and 93 percent, and
airborne 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 rules 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 Clean Air Act enforcement can curb greenhouse gas pollution
either without new climate legislation or in conjunction with new climate legislation; and
WHEREAS, 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 here and now;
we are causing it; and the longer we wait to act, the more we lose and the more
dangerous and difficult the problem will become.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
The City of Santa Monica hereby urges the President of the United States and
the Environmental Protection Agency to fully utilize and enforce the Clean Air Act in
order to reduce carbon in our atmosphere to no more than 350 parts per million.
SECTION 1. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MA HA JO S MOUT IE
City orne
R
Adopted and approved this 11th day of October, 2011.
Ric and Bloom, Mayor
I, Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Resolution No. 10624 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa
Monica City Council held on the 11th day of October, 2011, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Holbrook, McKeown, O'Connor, O'Day, Shriver
Mayor Pro Tern Davis, Mayor Bloom
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: None
ATTEST:
Denise Anderson - Warren, Acting City Clerk