Managing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Frederick County's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory Report
On August 24th, 2010, staff from the Sustainability Office presented a
report to the Board of County Commissioners on the Frederick County Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. The report addresses emissions attributed to county government operations as well as the community-at-large. The report and inventory were supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.
View staff's presentation to the BOCC.
Goals
Frederick County has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by the year 2025. This reduction strategy is based on a baseline inventory year of 2007.
Staff plan to conduct an emissions inventory for 2010, which will serve as our first comparison off of the baseline 2007 inventory. The 2010 Inventory will be conducted in the spring of 2011.
Resources
Want to learn more about GHG emissions and how they affect climate? Check out these resources.
The Carbon Corner
What's the difference between global warming and climate change? From our Summer 2010 E-Newsletter
Depending on who is talking, there can be an enormous difference or no difference at all. A lot of people, including many journalists who write about the topic, use the two terms interchangeably. When reporters first began talking about how humans seemed to be doing things that result in heating up the planet, the term they usually used was global warming. That's because the basic effect of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide is to do exactly that. They trap more and more of the Sun's energy and drive the average temperature of the planet upward.
But there is more to it than that. Average temperature is global, while climate is local and involves not only average temperature, but also other factors that can vary, such as precipitation, wind, and extreme weather events. Scientists have learned that raising the Earth's temperature most likely will change many of these factors. So while global warming is what's causing it, what most people are going to notice is not necessarily warming but rather an overall change in climate. The bottom line is that while global warming is not wrong, climate change more accurately describes what is actually happening.
More Information on Carbon
More on this topic from the U.S. EPA
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.html
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA Climate Change web site has four main sections on climate change issues and another section on "What You Can Do."
- Science: Explains current scientific understanding of the causes of past, present and future climate change.
- U.S. Climate Policy: Summarizes the current U.S. policy and describes programs being implemented at EPA and elsewhere.
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Provides information and data on U.S. and international greenhouse gas emissions, and projections of future emission levels.
- Health and Environmental Effects: Provides an overview of how climate change may affect human health, different sectors of society, different regions and the natural environment.
- What You Can Do: Describes actions that individuals and organizations can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Try out their Household Emissions Calculator.
Maryland Climate Change Commission
On April 20, 2007, Governor Martin O’Malley signed Executive Order 01.01.2007.07 establishing the Maryland Climate Change Commission (MCCC) charged with collectively developing an action plan to address the causes of climate change, prepare for the likely consequences and impacts of climate change to Maryland, and establish firm benchmarks and timetables for implementing the Commission’s recommendations. Review their findings, including the
Climate Action Plan Final Report.
Metropolitan Washington Council of Government's (COG) Climate Change program:
COG's climate change program is one of the nation's first initiatives to address local greenhouse gas emissions on a regional level. Download the
National Capital Region Climate Change Report or see other
general resources on climate from COG.