Championing Cambridge Climate Change Week
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To the Honorable, the City Council of Cambridge in the “New” World,
I come to speak about Policy Order O17 to publicize Climate Change Week My purpose is threefold. First, I want to commend you for passing this order. I know you will. Second, I’d like to point out the heavyness of the governmental machinery that seems to be necessary to get relatively modest changes to the city’s website. I propose that you empower the City Clerk to include hypertext links in the Policy Order text on the City Council website – not as a substitute to the Order but an addition to it. Cambridge Climate Change Week has a website. Under my proposal, CCCW would already have achieved additional coverage from the City website. Further, the City webmaster could have a daemon scan the Policy Order list as soon as it is posted. Mr. Healey’s secretary could print it out and get a decision from him and have the site updated within seconds of passing the order. Or, he could have it done before the meeting. It would provide him with an opportunity to appear to take you seriously. But the idea that hyperlinks on the City website is the sole property of the executive is both needlessly complex and yet another extension of executive power far beyond the intent of Plan E.
Finally, I’d like to compare the events included in Cambridge Climate Change Week with the observation of Cambridge Climate Change Conference Of 2009. “In December 2002, the City Council adopted the Climate Protection Plan. The plan, …,set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2010. … However, as of December 2009, Cambridge’s greenhouse gas emissions are 27% above 1990 levels. It was observed that the emissions due to City Government operations had remained constant, but they account for only 3% of emissions citywide. The increase is due to institutions like, Harvard, MIT, and Novartis.
