Letter to Editor of Bloomington Sun Current

To start this Blog I thought I would begin with the following letter to the editor that I sent to the Bloomington (MN) Sun Current newspaper and was published on August 10, 2006.

The hope is to raise people's awareness and create a dialog of the issues facing Bloomington, Minnesota as we move forward.

Please enjoy and encourage your participation. As Margaret Mead said "We never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

Copy of Letter to the Editor follows:

As I was sitting here roasting in the heat on July 28 (2006) I was wondering if Bloomington had signed on to the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement. After researching it, I disturbingly find that Bloomington is not on the list.

I find Apple Valley, Duluth, Eden Prairie, Minneapolis and St. Paul but no Bloomington.

Under the agreement, participating cities commit to take following three actions:

- Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns.

- Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the U.S. in the Kyoto Protocol - a 7 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2012.

- Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission trading system.

I have asked my City Council representatives why we have not signed on to this agreement as many of our neighboring communities have already.

We have to start action now if we have any hope to slow what is happening to our world. I have always considered Bloomington a forward-thinking community, but we certainly are not in this case. I would certainly encourage others to call or write their government officials to demand immediate action.

END COPY

Terry Houle
Bloomington, Minnesota