By SUE BARNS
Los Alamos

I have a few thoughts and clarifications regarding David E. Hanson’s Op/Ed of July 14 which addresses the draft Climate Action Plan (CAP) now open for public comment.

First off, I would like to clear up a misunderstanding of the emissions data that apparently caused Mr. Hanson to feel that the CAP is “misleading”. He states that “in 2022 the US emitted just 6,343 MTCO2”. In fact, US 2022 emissions were 6,343 *million* MTCO2. (MTCO2 stands for metric tons of CO2 [equivalents], not millions) [https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks] Los Alamos’ emissions were a fraction of that, not “40 times the US total”. There are other data misinterpretations as well, but I think they are less important.

More important, for me, is the calculation of per capita carbon emissions. Globally, annual CO2 emissions per person averages to 4.7 MTCO2 [https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions.] (In developing countries, this number is much lower.) The consumption-based GHG analysis contained in the CAP shows that LA residents are responsible for 20 MTCO2 per person, more than 4 times that of the world average. We are a high-income community in a wealthy nation that relies heavily on fossil fuels, and this drives up emissions. The CAP outlines ways we can lower these emissions without impacting our quality of life (and in many ways, improving it!) For me, this is the fair thing to do.

I would also like to mention that our County already has many plans, procedures and personnel in place to both prevent and respond to climate-related emergencies. For instance, the Office of Emergency Management “provides resources for preparedness for weather, fire, pandemic and other emergencies”, while the Emergency Operations Plan “provides the framework for how the County will respond to and manage any disaster or emergency that affects the County”. The County has a Hazard Mitigation Plan which covers preparation/response to “a variety of natural hazards including wildfire, flood, earthquake, dam failure and severe weather events”. And just a few weeks ago, I learned of a new program to promote heat stress education and public “cooling stations” around the County. To me, it seems that amending/updating these programs to increase public health response to climate emergencies (if needed) seems more appropriate than “correcting” the CAP to change its focus.

Mr. Hanson’s letter inspired me to read the draft CAP with an eye to what is included regarding local resilience to climate change. What I found is that there are many things in the CAP that would address climate-related threats to LA and its residents such as:

• Encourage efficiency upgrades to homes, including free energy audits, education for owners and contractors, information on financial incentives, and support for low-income residents. Increasing building insulation, upgrading doors/windows, etc. is perhaps the best thing one can do to improve resilience against extreme heat and cold, while saving residents’ money and increasing comfort.
• Promote local renewable energy: More local energy generation would make us less vulnerable to large-scale power outages which can occur after disasters.
• Electrify home appliances and systems at burnout: Switching to electric heat pumps (mini-split systems) provides AC. Switching to induction stoves and heat-pump water heaters reduces heat production and home air pollution.
• Promote urban forest stewardship and tree preservation: provides shade, mitigates flooding, cleans the air.
• Conserve water resources: numerous strategies to preserve our crucial water supply in the face of ongoing drought and heat
• An entire section on “Community Resilience and Wellbeing”: covering vulnerability hazard assessment, education, emergency response planning, support for local food systems/food security, incentives for adaptation upgrades such as fans, air filters, reducing paved areas, etc.
• Expanding community partnerships and outreach: work with LANL and other entities (towns, counties, pueblos) to support public safety and wellbeing as we all experience the effects of climate change in New Mexico.

I concur that we should be doing everything we can to prepare our community for the increasing, diverse impacts of climate change. The County, through a variety of policies and programs, is already addressing much of this. The draft CAP includes some of these, while also providing important recommendations on how we can reduce our GHG emissions to slow change locally, nationally and globally.

I believe, as do many that I have spoken with, that we need to do both as citizens not only of Los Alamos, but of the global community. The rest of the world *is* participating in GHG reduction and I don’t believe that we get a pass out of our responsibilities because we are somehow “too small” to make a difference (as some have asserted.) The CAP is one way for us to step up and help care for ourselves and others in our world.

Please read and comment on the draft Climate Action Plan by Aug. 9 – it’s easy!  https://losalamoscap.konveio.com/los-alamos-climate-action-plan