Letter: California right on climate agreement

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006 | 7:37 a.m.

This is in response to the article on the new climate agreement between California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is the first and only mayor in Nevada to make the smart move to sign the U.S. Climate Protection Agreement. His team at the city planning office has turned this agreement into a resolution that is going before the City Council today, during its morning session.

I use the word "smart" because eliminating the pollution that makes us sick, and reducing the congestion that stresses us out, increases our productivity and well-being.

There is another smart reason, too - one that goes beyond the politics and uncertainty of the existence of climate change. Last year Schwarzenegger announced a goal of lowering California's carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

According to a Washington economic think tank, meeting the 2020 goal will increase the gross state product by $60 billion and give California a competitive advantage in a global marketplace that will soon be clamoring for technology that fights greenhouse gases. They envision a new technological boom, not unlike the one started in Silicon Valley. Plus, as consumers save money on fuel and other energy costs (Philadelphia has saved $3 million a year through energy efficiency), they will have money to spend elsewhere.

I urge Nevada as a whole to consider the overall positive effect of what our neighboring state is doing - from savings in areas such as insurance costs and energy to increases in prosperity created by new technology and by diversifying our economy.

Monica Brett, Las Vegas