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Local Resources
EPA Programs | NGO Programs | Reports and Guidance Materials | Smart Growth
A variety of programs and resources are available to help local governments reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
EPA's Heat Island Reduction Initiative provides communities with information resources and technical assistance to address the impacts of higher urban temperatures, which can be up to 10 degrees hotter than rural surroundings. Not to be confused with climate change, the urban heat island effect results from a high concentration of construction materials that absorb, rather than reflect, the sun's heat. By planting trees and installing reflective roofs and pavements, communities can achieve the benefits of lower air temperatures, improved air quality and energy savings, which in turn, reduces greenhouse gases.
EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) is a voluntary assistance and partnership program that promotes the use of landfill gas as a renewable, green energy source. Landfill gas is the natural by-product of the decomposition of solid waste in landfills and is composed primarily of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. By preventing emissions of methane (a potent greenhouse gas) through the development of landfill gas energy projects, LMOP helps businesses, states, energy providers and communities protect the environment while building a sustainable future.
WasteWise is a free, voluntary, EPA program that helps organizations eliminate costly municipal solid and industrial waste and improve the environment. WasteWise is a flexible program that allows partners to design their own waste reduction programs tailored to their needs. As of July, 2006, WasteWise has 1429 partners (including alumni) spanning more than 54 industry sectors. Partners include large corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, state and local governments, tribes, and other institutions.
The
International City/County Management Association (ICMA) 
is the professional and educational organization for appointed managers, administrators
and assistants in cities, towns, counties and regional entities throughout
the world. ICMA's mission is to create excellence in local government by developing
and fostering professional local government management worldwide. Their air/climate
resources can be found here, including a search engine that looks through
all local government web sites and other local government climate documents,
and an E-Library
on Air and Climate Management .
The International Council
for Local Environmental Initiatives’ (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection
(CCP) Campaign enlists
cities to adopt policies and implement measures to achieve quantifiable
reductions in local greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and enhance
urban livability and sustainability. More than 650 local governments around
the world participate in the CCP, integrating climate change mitigation
into their decision-making processes. The campaign is based on an innovative
performance framework structured around five milestones that local governments
commit to undertake. The milestones allow local governments to understand
how municipal decisions affect energy use and how these decisions can be
used to mitigate global climate change while improving community quality
of life.
Rocky Mountain Institute’s Community
Energy Opportunity Finder, Version 1.0
Rocky Mountain Institute’s Community Energy Opportunity Finder is designed
to calculate the potential benefits of implementing energy efficiency within
a community including energy and dollar savings, air emissions reductions and
number of jobs created. The tool provides a preliminary analysis, much like
what an expert consultant might supply. The online tool helps a community collect
information on its energy use, and then demonstrates the potential energy savings;
dollar savings; emission reductions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide
(SO2), and carbon dioxide (CO2);
and jobs creation that could be achieved through energy efficiency programs.
The Finder includes information to help a community get started with its own
energy projects, such as case studies of programs that have been successful
in other communities, places to turn for information and advice and ideas for
funding. In addition, the Finder provides an overview of the kinds of renewable
energy sources that could power a given community. The Finder was developed
in partnership with the Land Information Access Association, with support from
EPA.
Ten Percent Challenge Calculator
The 10 Percent Challenge is a voluntary program of Burlington, Vermont to raise
public awareness about climate change and to encourage households and businesses
to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10 percent. Organizations
or individuals that register on the Web site can calculate household greenhouse
gas emissions by entering basic information about household energy and vehicle
use. The business calculator helps businesses identify current greenhouse
gas emissions, define a 10 percent emissions reduction target, identify emission
reduction measures for achieving the reduction goal and provides additional
resources and support. The business calculator also includes solid waste
disposal estimation tools and a tool for comparing the performance of one’s
own organization to similar facilities.
CarbonCounter.org
This collaborative project between the Climate Trust, a non-profit organization that invests in projects that reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions, and Mercy Corps, an international relief and development agency, to address the risks of climate change. By using the greenhouse gas calculators on this site (one that gives a general estimate and another that offers more precise results) you can calculate your household's emissions.
U.S. Mayors Climate
Protection Agreement
The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement was adopted by the U.S. Conference
of Mayors in June 2005. As of July, 2006, 266 mayors representing over 47 million
Americans have signed the agreement. Cities that sign the agreement voluntarily
commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in their own communities to 7%
below 1990 levels by 2012 through actions like increasing energy efficiency,
alternative transportation, maintaining healthy urban forests, reducing sprawl
and promoting the use of clean, renewable energy resources.
Reports and Guidance Materials
The Center for Clean Air Policy’s
(CCAP) Transportation Emissions Guidebook
This guidebook aims
to demonstrate to state and local officials the impact policy decisions
have on air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, and to
provide basic means of calculating emissions reductions from specific transportation
and land use policies. CCAP emphasizes the gains that can be made by
implementing
policies that integrate land use and transportation planning and reduce
travel demand and traffic congestion.
"Smart
Savings: Climate Solutions for Cities" (PDF, 4 pp., 164 KB, About
PDF)
This document identifies twenty actions that local officials can take to
reduce energy costs, clean the air, reduce congestion, curb sprawl and
reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. The actions include energy efficiency improvements,
providing
alternative transportation, reducing and recycling waste and improving
urban design. This list of actions provides good examples of actions
that cities in the U.S. have voluntarily taken and that make a contribution
to
improving our environment.
Smart Communities Network
Web Site
This site offers resources, tools, links to articles and publications and community
success stories on topics ranging from Community Energy to Green Development.
These resources are intended to help strengthen local economies, improve and
protect the quality of local environments, enhance the quality of life in communities
and build towards a more sustainable future.
EPA
Smart Growth
Index
EPA’s Smart Growth Index (SGI) software uses Geographic Information System
(GIS) data to simulate the environmental outcomes of alternative land-use and
transportation scenarios in different communities. SGI develops performance
indicators for a host of policies, including regional growth management planning,
land-use and transportation planning, neighborhood planning, land development
proposals and brownfield redevelopment. EPA has helped over 30 communities
throughout the United States use SGI software to study planning options through
its Smart Growth Index Partnerships program.
PlaceMatters
PlaceMatters
Community Development Tools
PlaceMatters provides a host of modeling and visualization tools designed to
assist community leaders and practitioners, public agencies and local organizations
and businesses through the various stages of place-based community design and
development. The Web site includes
a comprehensive toolbox for local planning and development, as well as case
studies and other resources.
State Energy Offices of California, Oregon, and Washington States
PLACE3S
Planning for Community Energy, Economic, and Environmental Sustainability (PLACE3S)
is a process that incorporates public participation, community development
and design and Geographical Information System (GIS) tools into community planning
processes. PLACE3S uses energy as a common metric to evaluate smart
growth plans that strengthen local economies, save energy, reduce pollution
and greenhouse gas emissons, minimize traffic congestion and preserve open
spaces. PLACE3S was designed to help land use and community planners
understand the contributions of growth and development decisions towards community
sustainability. The state energy offices of California, Oregon, and Washington
states support PLACE3S jointly.