The City of Flagstaff has one climate action plan, the Carbon Neutrality Plan (CNP). This $600,000,000 plan aims to make Flagstaff “carbon neutral” by 2030. To achieve carbon neutrality, the city’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions must be reduced by 857,039 metric tons annually (CNP p. 46). As the CNP states on page 5, achieving this goal will require “…drastic shifts in how we heat and power our buildings, travel from place to place, and manage our waste.” The plan strives to make Flagstaff an … [Read more...] about Carbon Neutrality’s Unintended Consequences
Tom Pearson
Will Carbon Neutrality Save Flagstaff?
A little over a month ago, the Flagstaff City Council declined to approve a Flagstaff First petition requesting that wildfire, flooding and drought be made top priorities in the city’s only climate action plan, the Carbon Neutrality Plan. The plan “to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030” was adopted by the Council in June of 2021 in response to their 2020 Climate Emergency declaration. What exactly is carbon neutrality and what can it achieve? For Flagstaff, the goal of carbon neutrality means … [Read more...] about Will Carbon Neutrality Save Flagstaff?
Flagstaff First Addresses Wildfire, Flood Crisis
The results of two exhaustive studies on wildfire and flooding threats to the west side of the San Francisco Peaks were recently presented to the Coconino County Board of Supervisors. The two-part presentation by J.E. Fuller Hydrology and Northern Arizona University addressed both the physical and economic impacts of devastating wildfires and subsequent flooding in the Upper Rio De Flag Watershed. Their conclusion: Flooding could impact 2,000 structures and inflict $2.8 billion in damage and … [Read more...] about Flagstaff First Addresses Wildfire, Flood Crisis
