Over the past 30 years, Montana has experienced increased occurrence of fire, decreasing winter snow pack, high summer time temperatures and retreating alpine glaciers, at least partially as a result of human-induced climate change. Taking action on the causes of climate change must start right here in Montana and will be most effective if those actions are taken now.
Taking a proactive stance on climate change, Gov. Brian Schweitzer appointed a Climate Change Advisory Committee in December 2005 to help develop policy recommendations that would decrease Montana’s greenhouse gas emissions (the primary cause of climate change) and simultaneously “save money, conserve energy and bolster the Montana economy.”
asp). The report outlines 54 ways the state could act to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and thus our impact on the changing global climate.
Three months after its release, the report seems to have garnered little attention. Recently, however, several state legislators took the opportunity to weigh in on the report and intimated that if given the choice of acting and doing absolutely nothing, they would chose the latter.
Inaction, however, does not provide leadership and leaves us on a perilous path. This choice of inaction may come, in part, from the belief that Montana has little to do with the global climate situation. However, this belief is wrong. Montanans emit nearly twice the national average of greenhouse gases (GHG) per capita, which includes a 14 percent increase from 1990 to 2005, an increase that has changed Montana from a net CO2 sink to a source.
What is the reason for this high rate of GHG output in Montana? For starters, our small population is spread out across an expansive landscape, making long commutes the norm. Harsh winters also drive up home heating demands. Agricultural fields and crop fallow production lead to net GHG emissions from huge expanses of land that as natural prairie would be a GHG sink. These are good reasons to enact conservation and efficiency standards that will cut costs and save precious resources.
Another common argument for inaction in the face of this imminent global threat is the belief that even drastic action by our small population will have a negligible impact. In short, why bother? The answer is simple: Action, by those bold enough to take it, is infectious.
Several of the Montana Committee’s recommendations closely resemble or match the strict standards now enacted in 14 states in the Union. These standards demand increased conservation and responsibility at a time when the federal government is irresolute on the issue.
In January, less than a month after the Congress voted to increase automobile efficiency standards, the Canadian government announced that it would “meet or exceed” U.S. efficiency standards as a result of these actions. The moral: Lead and others will follow. Meaning that if Montana chooses to lead, other Western states, with similar demographics, will likely take similar action creating a escalating effect.
Some of the recommendations can be enacted by Gov. Schweitzer’s executive order, and in fact, some already have. Most, however, will require legislative action during the 2009 session. Seeking public reaction to the CCAC recommendations, the Department of Environmental Quality has posted a survey on their Web site (www.leg.mt.gov/css/climate_survey.asp).
The anonymous survey will be posted until Feb. 29 and summarizes each of the 54 recommendations in terms of the type of action, potential costs and benefits, and concerns. For now, these are simply recommendations generated by a team of Montana’s most qualified. Now it is our job to get involved and help put the recommendations into law. Individually, there are many things that we can do to reduce our personal impact on climate change, but collectively we have the potential to truly make a difference. Let’s make our voices heard, lead by example, and ensure a healthy environment for future generations.
James Meadow is a graduate student in Bozeman. Thomas H. DeLuca is a senior forest ecologist with the Wilderness Society and previously a professor in the College of Forestry at the University of Montana, where he remains an adjunct professor.
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