For all the visions of green conjured by the moniker “Emerald City,” Seattle can seem in many ways a typical American big city of cars and concrete. Stuck in traffic on a weekday downtown, or on a weekend in the uptown neighborhoods of Fremont or Wallingford, one develops a sense for why the city’s traffic is ranked among the worst in the nation. The monorail project, once a symbol of space-age promise, has reached a disappointing standstill. And bike lanes and public green spaces are fewer and farther between than one might expect.

Last July, however, the city took a significant step toward improving the quality of its transportation infrastructure by voting in favor of a light-rail addition to link east and west sides by 2010. And, according to city officials, the light-rail announcement is just the tip of an iceberg of emerging eco-consciousness on the part of city government. While the signs may not be immediately evident to the untrained eye of a visitor, Seattle is at the forefront of the nation’s big cities in pushing for cleaner and greener urban environments.

Vision and Ambition

It seems to be the consensus of Seattle’s green cognoscenti, that the city’s coolest move to date has been the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. This initiative was put forth on February 16, 2005, by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels to advance the goals of the Kyoto Protocol through leadership and action by at least 141 American cities. As of July 28, 2006, 275 mayors, 43 states, and the District of Columbia had signed up, representing over 48.2 million Americans.

“This is way more than symbolic,” said John Healy, Communications Advisor for the city’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE), commenting on the implications of the agreement for national policy.

Cities who sign-on pledge to meet or surpass Kyoto Protocol targets, while urging state and federal government bodies to meet the greenhouse gas emission target suggested for the United States in the protocol. Suggested actions for cities include everything from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to incentives for public transit and bike trails.

At the same time, Nickels appointed the Green Ribbon Commission on Climate Protection, an 18-member commission co-chaired by Orin Smith, the retired CEO of Starbucks, and Denis Hayes, founder of Earth Day. The commission put forth 18 recommendations this spring about how Seattle can meet Kyoto protocols. Its overriding goal is “transforming Seattle into the nation’s most climate-friendly city,” according to the final 32-page report.

The 18 recommendations set forth three principal direct actions: reducing dependence on cars, making fuels for existing vehicles cleaner and greener, and increasing energy efficiency for homes and businesses. The document is significant in its overview of just how many levels of infrastructure must be tackled in order to meet Kyoto standards, and will be published as a Climate Action Plan for the City of Seattle in September.

Emissions Reduction

In keeping with its sense of mission, the City of Seattle has already taken the first pioneering steps towards sustainability, particularly in the realm of reducing emissions. “The City of Seattle has greened up its fleet,” Healy asserted. “It owns a lot of cars and trucks, and the bulk are hybrid vehicles.”

According to the OSE, all of the city’s diesel vehicles are either already converted to, or are committed to using biodiesel in line with the vision of Seattle’s Green Fleet Program. Substantial downsizing of the number of vehicles employed by the city is another feature helping to reduce emissions.

The City of Seattle owns most of its public utilities, and Seattle City Light, its power company, is a net zero emitter of greenhouse gases. While its focus is on decreasing emissions within the community, it offsets part of the remaining emissions through buying renewable power from elsewhere off the grid.

Innovative green power programs aimed at giving consumers choices are also underway, such as the Green Up program, where customers can pay a slightly higher rate and get green energy from a renewable source.

One of the most exciting ideas being carried out, according to Jack Brautigam, Green Power Manager for Seattle City Light, is “production incentive payments.” Customers with solar electric or photovoltaic systems are paid for all the energy they put back in the energy grid that they don’t actually use over the course of a year, in a net metering arrangement. “By the end of the year customers should be getting their initial payment check,” says Brautigam. Customers are reimbursed at a higher rate if they use solar equipment made in Washington, to create incentives for suppliers as well as consumers.

Greener Communities

In line with its vision of greener homes and businesses, the City of Seattle has constructed 13 LEED certified buildings throughout the city. “The goal is that they will serve as a kind of model for the private development community,” Healy says.

The city supports customers who wish to become LEED certified through Seattle City Light, which works with customers to secure green energy for their LEED programs.

Additionally, the City of Seattle has created an official “Green Building Team,” consisting of leaders from public utilities and various other city departments, to advise the city on new building projects. For the general public, it has published a series of “Green Home Remodel” guides and offers classes to accelerate green building and design in the community. In a further nod to green design, partial green roofs top the Justice Building and City Hall.

Seattle has also made available reams of information about government programs and green strategies through its online portal, seattle.gov. In fact, Healy says one of the city’s greatest achievements to date has been the “green community guide,” made available through the city website as a PDF: “Green Seattle Guide: 101 actions for a healthy urban environment.” Actions such as “compost food waste,” “bike more, drive less,” and “reduce your junk mail” are rated according to ecosystem benefits. The guide also serves as a tool for educating the community about city resources and green programs, such as the P-patch community gardens, found in 44 neighborhoods throughout the city.
According to a spate of recent articles in the national press, city governments are the true locus of progressive power in the country, the places where “the revolution will be localized.” These are the blue dots on the electoral maps, where the most politically progressive populations are concentrated, and among the places where government representatives live closest to their constituency.

The City of Seattle is an example of a large city well on the way to accomplishing something that may seem unthinkable to the nation as a whole right now. Progressives nationwide may do well to channel a healthy percentage of their ire at the Bush Administration and its oil-hungry foreign policy, into supporting greening initiatives in their hometowns. If you need a role model for your city, well – you know where to look.

Melanie D’Arcy is a new journalist and this is her first report for HopeDance.


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